AMWJU Rallying point of journalists :: Some thoughts on completing 40
- Sangai Express Editorial :: September 19, 2013 -

Forty years young and gaining in strength with each passing year. This is the All Manipur Working Journalists' Union or AMWJU in short.

Way back in 1974, a group of journalists got together, sat down, discussed issues pertaining to their profession and decided to form AMWJU, with 53 members.

Those were the days of the letter press, with the day's paper having only one page, wherein the Editor doubled up as the publisher, the reporter, the sub-editor, the proof reader, the machine man and the compositors and at times even as distributors, hawking their wares at Shamu Makhong and at other places.

Things have certainly moved on since then, with all the media houses adopting the latest technology and progressing from a single paged newspaper to now 8 or 10 or 12 pages and in multi-colour.

The progress that the newspaper houses, especially in Imphal, have made cannot be seen in isolation of the growing influence and importance of AMWJU as the umbrella organisation of all the journalists in Manipur.

It is this which should be read into the 40th foundation day of AMWJU held at the Manipur Press Club on September 16.

It would not be wrong to say that the media houses in Imphal would have been able to weather the storm and stand their ground against so many adversaries, in the absence of AMWJU.

In many ways, AMWJU has been the rallying point for the journalists to come together and unitedly take stands whenever threats and intimidations come from any forces, State or non State actors.

In all these instances and there have been instances galore, the Union has been able to bring all the journalists under one roof and stick to their stand without wavering.

Seen in this context, AMWJU can certainly be said to have progressed in the right direction.

However it would not be entirely right to say that everything has been hunky dory for the AMWJU in the last 40 years.

There have been instances of internal differences which manifested in the formation of another association of journalists some years back.

That this difference has been worked out is fine and welcome, but yet at the same time, there is the niggling feeling that there is nothing to guarantee that history will not be repeated.

As things stand today, the Editors of Imphal based newspapers have already gone ahead and formed the Editors' Committee, Manipur.

There is nothing wrong for the Editors to create a platform for themselves and share thoughts and ideas and take a united stand when it comes to infringement on the editorial rights and policies of the newspapers but the very fact that Editors feel compelled to have their own Committee or body tells many a tale.

Apart from the internal differences which keep on popping up now and then, there are still a lot of things to be done for the journalists fraternity of Manipur and it is here that AMWJU is expected to lead the way.

What welfare measures or programmes are being worked out for the journalists is a question that should be raised on the forty year old Union.

This is a collective responsibility, albeit coming under the umbrella of AMWJU.

Given the situation under which journalists have to work, a strong Union is the need of the time and it is everybody's responsibility to ensure this.