Safety Of Journalists In Manipur
- An Overview-

By:- Th Mangminthang Gangte *

On the chilling autumn evening of November 17, 2008 a bullet-riddled corpse was recovered from near Langol Hills, a place often referred to as the infamous 'Golgotha' of Imphal in Manipur. But in a State where "encounters" are a daily reality, the news of the discovery of a corpse was nothing shocking and revealing until the victim was identified to be one of the working journalists of the State.

Konsam Rishikanta Singh (22) s/o K Budhachandra Singh of Kakwa Ningomthong Sairom Leirak in Imphal West, a desk staff of the leading English, The Imphal Free Press, published from the State capital Imphal, failed to report for work on that evening. Not long after, his dead body was recovered at Langol Sangai Second Home under Lamphel police station in Imphal West district, barely 25 kilometres away from the office where Rishikanta was supposed to report for work as usual.

Making the situation complicate, neither militant groups active in the State nor the Government forces have claimed hands in the killing incident so far. As was obvious, newspapers published from the state Capital have gone off the stands indefinitely since November 18 and local private TV channels went off the air following the dead of the journalist in the hands of unidentified gunmen.

Meanwhile, the journalists, who have worked under the roofs of their news office are driven together by circumstances to stage a sit in protest at Keishampat in Imphal under the aegis of the All Manipur Working Journalists' Union, AMWJU, since November 19, demanding the fulfillment of the demand raised by the journalists' fraternity to the State Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh, which has been submitted earlier by AMWJU on November 18.

The AMWJU has been demanding judicial inquiry into the murder of Konsam Rishikanta and to book the culprits involved in the killing, from the state Government.

Joining the chorus of protest, on November 22, the Manipur Hills Journalists' Union (MHJU) has also dragged its over-70 members and staged a sit in protest near the Churachandpur Police Station and downed the shutters of their offices against the killing of Konsam Rishikanta by unknown gunmen and to further the demands of the AMWJU.

"The killing of Rishikanta has invoked the feeling once again that media in the State are not safe, an axiom that has been repeated over and again," said AMWJU general secretary Yambem Biren. He said that AMWJU will decide another course of action if the State Government is not responding to the demands of AMWJU in the future. He also pointed out that Rishikanta is the sixth journalist of Manipur being killed by gunmen.

Meanwhile, the AMWJU has also insisted the Press Council of India (PCI), Indian Federation of Working Journalists' Union (IFWJU), and the Editors Guild of India (EGI) to press the State government of Manipur in redressing the grievances faced by the State media fraternity.

Aside from submitting memoranda to the State chief minister and the Governor, the AMWJU has organized a mammoth silent rally on November 26, exactly a week after media houses of the State ceased publication in Imphal, denouncing the silence maintained by the State Government over the killing of Rishikanta despite many representations being dispatched for necessary action. Large numbers of people including senior citizens, civil society organisations, members of AMWJU have participated in the rally.

Keeping aside the condemnation from civil society organizations of the state over the killing of Rishikanta that have poured in, it is strikingly pertinent to mention that around 30 trainee journalists of the Manipur University Mass Communication department had also staged a sit in protest in front of the MU on November 18.

A class representative of the department Oinam Shyamo said that the killing of Rishikanta has created fear psychosis amongst the trainee-journalists of the department. He said that the government authority should fulfill the demands of the AMWJU and should ensure that such killing do not recur in the future while strongly condemning the killing of a working journalist.

Indubitably, the State of Manipur witnessed the longest period (a record fourteen days!) wherein publication of newspapers ceased protesting the assault against the fourth estate by "ultra-legal" and "legal" forces in the past decades once again proving that media persons are not safe in the State - where around 20 armed militant groups are actively operating and several battalions of government forces are deployed to counter the acts of militants.

An Overview:

Indeed, Rishikanta is the sixth journalist to have been killed in Manipur during the past two decades, including four editors.

It may be recalled that in 1993, RK Sanatomba, the editor of the monthly vernacular 'Kangla Lanpung' was shot dead at his house. HA Lalrohlu, the editor of Hmar local daily 'Shan' published from Churachandpur, was killed in 1999. The editor of 'Manipur News', Th. Brajamani was killed in 2000. T. Khupkholian Simte, the editor of a Simte dialect 'Lenlai' monthly magazine was killed in 2001.

Electronic media journalist Yambem Megha was killed by unidentified gunmen in 2002.

Interestingly, in all the incidents of the murder – excepting the cases of HA Lalrohlu and T Khupkholian Simte – no individual or group claims responsibility of the killings while armed militant groups active in the South district of Manipur have claimed responsibility in the killing of Lalrohlu and TK Simte respectively. Even the State Government was not successful in uncovering who is responsible for the cases.

Though the assassins may have had reasons enough for the killings which may or may not be related to daily journalistic affairs, on closer observation one may come to the conclusion that media persons of the State are not safe.

To cite few cases wherein journalists of the State have been held to ransoms, mention may be made that in 2006, the then AMWJU general secretary Ratan Luwangcha was shot at by some gunmen belonging to a militant group of the State. His health remains under strict supervision till date. P. Labango, the editor of 'Kangla Pao' and Bijoy Koijam, the sitting MLA of Manipur, during his journo practicing days, have also by chance survived a life attempt.

Apart from this, Manipur has been witnessing blank editorials, ban of newspaper publications and private TV channels by legal and ultra-legal forces time and again. Editors like Bharat Bhusan, N Biren , RK Ranendrajit, to name a few, were put behind the bar for their writings.

Above all, record has it that during the past decade (1997-2007), there had been thirty two incidents in Manipur in which scribes were assaulted at reporting sites, two cases of attempt to murder. Twenty two cases of detention of journalists while on duty by armed persons were recorded; a case each of reprimand, kidnap, and a case of taking journalists into hostage by armed persons were also recorded. There had also been 17 cases of ban of media houses by the concerned authorities.

The facts sum up that local journalists are no less vulnerable to professional hazards. Given the service rendered by the media persons, the authority concerned should not take easily that the murder of a journalist remains as a mere law and order problem of the State.

Or should we say that Manipur is also incorporated in the map of the land where there is no press freedom! Let us remember the report of "Reporters Without Borders" that more than a third of the world's people live in countries where there is no freedom of press .