Imphal based media houses : Studying the tag ‘Meitei Press’
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 24 , 2014 -

Meitei Press. Though not official, this is the tag given to most of the Imphal based media houses by numerous hill based civil society organisations.

Time for the media as well as the civil society organisations to introspect and study whether this is healthy for society as a whole or not.

A sure indicator that the divide amongst the major ethnic groups is deep.

Unfortunate it is for sure and compounding this disturbing reality is the manner in which the press, read the Imphal based media houses, too have been dragged into this divide.

Has the tag ‘Meitei Press’ been given because all the Imphal based media houses have been standing by the political and social entity called Manipur in the backdrop of the demand raised for a Greater Lim and Kuki State, or is it because the media here is seen to be biased and too valley centric ?

If it is the former case, then it would amount to sticking to a stand, ‘Either you are with me or against me’.

This is where the hill based civil society organisations need to deeply introspect, for opinions may differ, especially when it comes to something as sensitive as the territorial integrity of Manipur.

Differences of opinion may not necessarily mean that the two parties are adversaries.

On the other hand, the Imphal based media houses too need to look inwards and study whether they have been paying the needed attention to the issues besieging the people of the hills in Manipur.

Can the Imphal based newspaper houses truly say that they have been giving the right footage to historic moments in the hills in the same way as they do whenever June 18 comes ?

It was just a few days back that the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur observed the Remembrance Day in honour of five students who were killed in the ‘line of duty’.

How many media houses in Imphal gave it the prominence it deserved ?

Have the media houses in Imphal been giving equal coverage to the Kuki rebellion against the British from 1917 to 1919 just as they do on Khongjom Day ?

Why have no thoughts been given by the cable networks in Imphal to broadcast news in some of the major tribal languages or dialects ?

At the moment, news are broadcast or read out only in Meiteilon and English. These are all pertinent questions that need to be studied seriously for the tag ‘Meitei Press’ goes against the very notion and idea of Manipur as a political and social reality.

It is not that the media establishments in Imphal have not been giving any attention to the hill areas.

Most of the major newspapers have correspondents in the hill districts but it is seldom that they come out with exclusive/investigative news.

Again most of the English newspapers give due prominence to the statements issued by different hill based civil society organisations. This much is true.

However despite this, there seems to be a disconnect somewhere. It is this disconnect that should be done away with and efforts from both sides are needed.

A few days back, a reader commented on the website of The Sangai Express complaining that not a single candidate from the hills were among the shortlisted candidates for the posts of sub-editors.

The reader either did not go through the names minutely or went through the list with a pre-conceived notion, for the fact was there were two from the hills who were amongst the short listed candidates.

We would also like to add that the two have also crossed the written examination and only the interview remains.

The Sangai Express cannot speak for the others, but we recruit employees on the basis of merit and diligence and not on the basis of community.

For the records, we have had a Tangkhul boy as a sub-editor as well as a Kuki boy as a sub-editor.

That the two have left on their own accord is something else, but right now we have a lady sub-editor, who is a Pamei.

Moreover we also have a Meitei Pangal contributor for the Manipuri edition.

The ‘Meitei Press’ tag does not sit lightly on our shoulders and all employees of The Sangai Express, once they enter the office and sit down to work are not Meiteis, Nagas or Kukis but are journalists doing their job. Amen.