News - the divisive agent

Border problems have been plaguing the north-east states since some time. As if political greed, student leaders, irrational insurgents, outside power lobbies were not enough, now we have a new entrant to add fuel to the fire. This new agent is the frenzied media which flares up every issue as a border related problem. Take the example of the quarrel between two families in Sadiya last week. It revolved round a marital dispute between a Mising family from Assam and a Nyishi family from Arunachal Pradesh. This family dispute was reported as an inter-state conflict.

 I was very surprised at how the incident was reported by News Live. On Sunday morning this news was being repeatedly telecast. The way news is presented on most channels is sick. Urgent treatment is required. If such news is presented in a sensational fashion, anyone and everyone will be provoked. News in Assam has become very judgmental. News should be news. My father spoke to me of the time when the Nyishis (then called Dafalas) and the Misings (then called Miris) used to have skirmishes now and then. But at that time there was only one state. So things didn’t take the menacing shape of inter-state disputes. A couple of weeks back, there was a fight between boys from the Nocte and Singpho tribes in Bordumsa, Arunachal Pradesh. Had the Nocte area been in Assam and the Singpho area in Arunachal Pradesh, the media would have had a feast by blowing the quarrel out of proportion and calling it an inter-state dispute.

This idea of statehood in north-east, a territory with more than 200 tribes, will be a failure in the 21st century. The best administrative arrangement for an ethnically diverse region like North-east would have been a zonal Republic (based on zones for administrative efficiency) with English as the official language. But that will never be a reality because of ethnic politics, misguided notions of insurgents and vested interests of the power lobbies that operate from other parts of India as well as Bangladesh. These are the people who benefit from unrest in north-east.

 I would also request the Journalists Association of Assam and senior journalists to take the initiative of organizing training classes for news producers, reporters and cameramen. We need trainers from channels like BBC and Times Now, since most of the news channels in Assam are aping the uncultured manner of news presentation rampant in Hindi news channels like Aj Tak or India TV. It’s high time quality is ensured on Assam’s news channels for the present breed is lowering the taste and refinement of the people of Assam and several areas of the neighbouring states as well. The reporters and news editors cannot distinguish constructive criticism from cheap sensationalism. News channels should not be used to create a society steeped in misinformation. The media should endeavour to promote a sober and informed society.

Molokhu Borborua

Guwahati

September 2, 2010