Fall from grace
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: October 23, 2012 -

MC Mary Kom's unfounded charges of virtual blacked-out by media in her home State has understandably raised the hackles not only of media fraternity here but also among her teeming fans who look up to her an 'Icon'.

While addressing a press conference after a felicitation by the Delhi-based Eternal Partners on Saturday night in the presence of Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla at Aizwal, the Olympic bronze medallist in 51-kg women's boxing reportedly stated that she has been totally ignored by media in her home State throughout her career.

To quote her exactly, Mary said, "Even after I won the bronze while every national media representatives spoke to me, wrote about my feat, but I failed to get a single call from the press in my own state."

This, of course, is far from truth and as All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU) has already pointed out that any person can browse through the archives of any media house in Manipur to see whether media has been discriminating her or not, we could rest the case here.

But her unfounded charges and the anger it generated among media fraternity who have stood with her since the beginning when she was almost nobody has been so unprecedentedly intense that Mary needs to know the bitter truth about International and National media under whose limelight she is basking today waking up only after they came to know about her medal prospect in the Olympic Games.

A day after the inflammatory remark and the harm it had caused, Mary Kom has clarified in a hurriedly convened press meet that she had never ever mentioned the word 'discrimination' and she had been misquoted.

Here, we should remember that the press conference at Aizawl where Mary described Mizoram as her 'second home' had been conducted throughout in Mizo language.

So, it is very obvious that the report filed by PTI and which got featured prominently in almost all the National and International media on the front pages and news portals of their respective editions on October 21 could have been filed only by a local reporter or correspondent who understands Mizo language thoroughly.

Thus, the chances of misquoting Mary Kom in the press conference are remote.

Moreover, considering the sensitive nature of the allegation and the harm it could do to the delicately balanced relationship among different communities not only in Manipur but also in the rest of Northeast region, the PTI reporter or correspondent, whoever he or she may be, would have surely thought over a thousand times before filing any 'make-believe report' as Mary tried to indicate, unless, of course, the reporter or the correspondent has some ulterior motives.

Anyway, the media glare over putting up make up and walking down the ramp in some fashion shows, making guest appearance in some television soap operas with a pair of boxing gloves in her hands or rubbing shoulders with Bollywood actors, who do not even know where she was born, in some socialite evenings is the kind of media attention that she expects in her belligerent home State, then sorry, Mary, you are in the wrong place.