Social media on the radar : Midnight raid at MU
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: September 22 2018 -
It is a co-incidence but it is significant.
Just after Works Minister Th Biswajit warned all against abusing social media, the State Government stepped in and suspended social media sites in the morning of September 21, following the ugly episode at Manipur University late in the night of September 20.
How late the unsavoury incident at MU was may perhaps be assuaged from the fact that the said incident missed the deadline of many daily newspapers in Imphal.
What Biswajit had to say may be totally removed from the decision of the State Government to suspend social media sites but there is a common link which may be studied and analysed briefly and accordingly see whether the Government is justified in shutting down the social media sites.
The interesting question is, why has the Government come under the impression that what is happening at Manipur University may be given a different interpretations through the social media sites ?
Is the stand of the Government akin to a presumption that what is spread through the social media sites will mislead the people and add more trouble to the MU crisis ?
Can the MU crisis take an even more downturn than what is currently happening ?
These are questions which the Government must have pondered upon, no doubt, but it is more than obvious that what is actually happening at MU or what happened in the dead of the night at MU campus on September 20 can lead to situations which may not exactly be healthy for the BJP led Government.
Here it would be interesting to ask what the stand of its partners in the Government are to the issue plaguing MU.
Was it morally, politically and administratively correct to let the policemen descend on a place of learning and let them have their way in the dead of the night ?
Where has the understanding of the phrase ‘respecting the sanctity of a place of learning’ gone to ?
This is a question which the BJP led Government at Imphal and New Delhi should try to answer.
The Ministry of Human Resources Development too should answer where its appointment of Pro-VC Professor K Yugindro as the VC in charge will leave the acting VC Professor W Vishwanath ?
Has it issued any notification thereby relieving Professor W Vishwanath of the post of VC in charge ?
If yes then when was it issued and if no then can there be two VCs in charge ?
Remember W Vishwanath was appointed as the VC in charge after the MoA was signed between MUTA, MUSU, MUSA and the Union HRD Ministry on August 16 in the presence of Chief Minister N Biren.
Professor AP Pandey has been suspended, but it is more than clear that the drama at MU is far from over.
Lying in a state of comatose for more than 100 days and this is definitely not how a university should be allowed to function.
Or is it a case of MU not featuring high on the agenda of the Government ?
Or to be more specific is the education of young students of Manipur not of any importance to the powers that be ?
Is one man more important than a place of learning and hence the future of thousands of young students ?
AP Pandey has been suspended, but the man from Varanasi has left behind a spirit which will be tough to exorcise.
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