Boxing with one hand tied behind : Suspension of internet
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 16, 2023 -

Asked to box for a medal inside the boxing ring in the Olympics or the Asian Games with one hand tied behind and this is exactly the situation that the print media in Imphal finds itself in today.

Ever since the Government banned mobile data services in the evening of May 3 followed by the ban on broadband services including Reliance Jio Fibre, Airtel Xtreme, BSNL, FTTH on May 4 and kept on extending the ban, bringing out the day's paper has become very much akin to the simile that has just been outlined above.

The media understands the compulsion of putting a ban on all internet services, but it should also not be forgotten that it is the newspaper which is the only medium of information that can be relied upon.

Moreover a ban on the internet does not stop tongues from wagging and perhaps this is best exemplified by the day when youngsters and womenfolk were goaded out of their homes to keep guard in their locality after talks of some elements, dressed in fatigues and disguised as security personnel had started entering the leiraks and leikais to wreak havoc.

The confusion and the sense of alarm spread like wildfire to all the leikais and leiraks of Imphal and what one saw was vigilantes coming out in full strength, defying curfew and setting bonfires in the middle of the roads.

Surely no one in his or her right mind would want this.

What is needed at this moment is informed and credible information and not blanking out information.

In the absence of any credible information, the only source people will rely on are the loose talks and wagging tongues, and this can be dangerous, very dangerous at a crucial time like this.

Even the little information that can be had from the office of the Directorate of Information and Public Relations can and does run into technical snags and this is where all the Imphal based daily newspapers are hard pressed to get as many authentic information as possible.

This is where the Government may give a serious thought on how to keep the now of information to the media houses uninterrupted.

The Government should also keep in mind that what is happening in Imphal and its adjoining areas may and can be covered by the Imphal based newspapers but no one seems to know what is happening inside Churachandpur town, Kangpokpi town and Moreh.

Should one rely on hearsay or what is passed from one individual to the other and which by the time it reaches Imphal can be twisted grotesquely, for remember the tongue can twist.

This is about the flow of information via the internet, which has a direct impact on how it is ensured that the day's newspaper is delivered at the doorstep of each subscriber every morning.

Cast the net a bit wider and this entails so many things.

Thousands of parents must be spending sleepless nights with the thought of how to send the monthly money to their children who are studying in different parts of the country.

It is already the 14th of May and one wonders whether the hostels or the landlords or those running paying guests accommodation would understand the dilemma of the students from Manipur.

How about monetary transactions, wherein many now prefer to go in for cashless transactions via the Unified Payment Interface, a point which has been championed and promoted so much by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi ?

The heavy rush at all the ATMs located across Imphal should give an idea of how hard pressed the common people are to get their hands on some hard cash, now indispensable following the ban on internet services.

To add to the inconvenience of the people are the many empty ATMs.

The serpentine queues in front of all the banks from morning onwards should also be a reminder to the Government and all concerned.

The need to think out of the box and lessen the inconvenience of the people is the need of the hour.

The only hitch is whether the Government is listening or not.

The reality paints a very gloomy picture at the moment and perhaps this is where people ought to take a look back at the savage conduct enacted on the streets and roads just a few days back.

Too many children have been orphaned, too many houses destroyed/burnt, too many of the people allowed the beast in them to come out in all its ugliness.

Manipur will not be the same in the coming days and this is the tragedy.