Fanning the Flames

What would have happened if the video depicting the hideous assault on two helpless Manipuri women had not gone viral? The thought is not pleasant as the fires had been raging in Manipur for over two months and while there was concern it still remained on the periphery where the internet ban ensured that what happened in Manipur remained largely in Manipur. There was concern, yes, the Congress for instance reacted with Rahul Gandhi visiting the state, but it was not in proportion to the fires that ravaged homes, displaced 60-70,000 peoples, killed over a hundred, injured hundreds and led to unimaginable trauma.

The sexual assault on the two Kuki women, who have gone through what no citizen of India should, sent a chill down the spine of the country as soon as it was released. The incident was of May, the acts of brutality had been filmed then, and released now. For two long months the women who had seen their closest relatives also killed before their eyes, lived in silence clearly born out of trauma and terror. It has sent alarm bells ringing all over India, and the world, with the Prime Minister being forced to break his silence on Manipur with a few words of regret about the incident. A few persons have been arrested, although the faces of the mob are clearly visible.

The video has created a ripple effect, spilling anger out on the streets of states other than Manipur. Almost every capital in the country has seen protests, even as Parliament is log jammed between a resistant government and a determined Opposition that wants a discussion that ends with a vote and a resolution as against just a short duration discussion in both the Houses. Meanwhile, the tensions continue with peace seeming some distance away. And the people, mainly the Kuki hill tribes, remain displaced.

The tension is spreading across the north east with militant groups in Mizoram issuing warnings to the Meitei community, who have started fleeing the state. The north east, completely neglected by governments over the years, has always smarted under a deep sense of injustice fuelled further by under-development, joblessness, and callous indifference. Except for the exploitation of the rich natural resources in the region, New Delhi has shown interest in the development of the region. Insurgency was thus closely interwoven into the political fabric of the state for decades, under different dynamics and demands. For instance Assam where violence peaked in the 1980’s saw a movement and mass killings over the immigration issue. In Manipur it is between the hills and the Valley, but again over land and territory and a share in the state’s meager resources.

The role of the media in the region and nationally has been extremely unfortunate, fanning flames and creating and reporting fake news. In times of conflict it is absolutely imperative for journalists to use their power to counter fake news, to stick to the bare facts, to move away from biased and emotional reporting, and to watch every word lest the impact feeds into the violence. Unfortunately, the role of the media has been very different. Excited, hysterical anchoring; fake news; sensational coverage of the horrific rape video; wrong facts and figures as headlines; total show of bias; all this and more has been visible over the past weeks with media houses not even bothering to exercise modicum restraint and caution. This is tragic in itself, as the fourth pillar in a democracy is bound under rules of responsibility and tenets of ethics that were flouted. But more of this later.