'Worldviews' from the margins
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: March 18, 2015 -

Political assertions in Northeast India have invariably been tied to the idea of protecting unique ethnic identities.

When one looks at the issue from a historical perspective, groups in the region have most of the time banked on the emotional content of political assertions.

The nature of such phenomenon has also been amply reflected in the local media albeit amorphous rationale.

When the media reflects the fluid nature of both identities and the dynamics of political assertions, there can be little or no uniformity of understanding.

However, the primary reasons for not rectifying the content which suits the variegated cultures of the region has been the constant distancing of the Self from broader debates and options.

This is despite the fact that media in the Northeast is not replicating both the functioning model as well as content format practiced elsewhere.

While the political assertions and identity reaffirmations have not been able to fully explore the range and possibilities of alternative routes and ideologies, media too seems to have fallen in a trench despite acknowledging its ultimate role to disseminate news and information.

When trapped in such juncture, one always begins searching for affordable means besides finding new production mechanism of information.

While confronting the State or Non-state actors, every media practitioner should well acquaint themselves with the global ethics on communications.

Making an attempt at infusing innovative ways of sharing free and unbiased flow of information and news does not mean one truly respects the media as an essential component of a democratic State.

The objectives of mass media should be to overcome certain constraints, apathy and lack of knowledge of the issues in the regions often considered non-mainstream.

Media democratisation is possible when views and interests of all are covered irrespective of commercial or narrow ethnic gains.

There should be a new initiative to generate opinions and move beyond images constructed by colonial administrators that still seem to linger on in the post independence era.

Through this route, one can possibly acknowledge lesser known ‘worldviews’ from the margins.