MxMIndia

Tag: Manipur

  • The trapped labourers have finally got a bit of traction from some sections of the media, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Ranjona Banerji: But why was the tunnel built in the first place?

    Ranjona BanerjiBy Ranjona Banerji

    It’s been seven months since civil unrest began in the Indian state of Manipur, six weeks since Israel started bombarding Gaza with its military might after a Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 and 10 days since 41 labourers have been trapped in an under-construction tunnel in the Uttarakhand Himalayas.

    In all these three situations, either little has changed or things have got much worse.

    During this time, the cricketing world played a World Cup in India. Like quidditch in the Harry Potter series, this is a compelling game but has few takers worldwide because of its playing norms and ethos. Even without the requirement for flying brooms.

    Priorities however must be kept and cricket is cricket, a religion in India, an Indian game invented. Add to the clamour for the game itself, the political involvement, from some important person in the Board for Control of Cricket in India to the Prime Minister himself. Please forgive the order in which I have written the last sentence. Under no circumstances did I mean to imply that the important person in the BCCI is more important than the Prime Minister himself.

    This meant that all eyes were on the final, which India was destined to win according to the dispensation’s organisation system. I don’t know the going rate to hire the Indian Air Force to fly past your home when you have a big party, but the BCCI managed to hire out nation’s fighter jets to fly over the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.

    As the game progressed and Australia refused to follow the Indian script, a somewhat less-than-perfect scenario emerged. The Presence of The Great Man did not lead to sport changing its rules. A hasty trophy ceremony full of bad hospitality was the result, plus the usual behaviour of something not going the dispensation’s way – insults and abuse at the winning team. But a quick photo op with the losing Indian team was quickly cobbled together. Where you have cameras and a captive media, why lose the opportunity to make yourself look better under any circumstances?

    Should we return to the first three events mentioned at the beginning? The civil war is still on. Sporadic incidents of violence continue. Anger continues. Government inaction and media disinterest continues. SNAFU is some air force somewhere or the other put it.

    The bombardment is still on. India’s media put on its camouflage costumes, popped down far from the violence zone and did its best war-time acting and returned. It then lost some interest in proceedings, unless it could use them to stir anti-Muslim sentiment in India. The signals from their masters were mixed anyway. The ruling party supports Israel, so the mainstream media had to support Israel. But the official Indian government position has always been to support Palestine. Therefore in India, you can be stopped by the police for supporting the official Indian position and lauded for supporting the official party position. If you were a cowardly TV studio, what would you do?

    The trapped labourers have finally got a bit of traction from some sections of the media. The reasons for the collapse of the tunnel have got little or no attention. Instead, the company tasked with making the tunnel, engineers involved, bureaucrats, the labourers themselves are all going to have to share the blame.

    Why the tunnel is being built in the first place – well, you cannot expect the media to get into that.

    Why were scientists, geologists, various experts ignored – well, you know experts, they rarely say what you want them to.

    I forgot about some assembly elections. They happened and will still happen. We know these to the extent that the Great Man jumped into a costume and waved at crowds. TV told us. As for the results, it all depends on the co-relation between machine and man.

     

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.

  • There was no connection between the two events, that is the Prime Minister and the moon-landing. But this is India. Politicians rule, writes Ranjona Banerji

    The Moon, Modi, Manipur and the Media

    PM witnessing successful landing of Chandrayaan 3 via video conferencing. Picture (edited) source: Press Information Bureau

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiIndia made history on August 23, when the Vikram Lander made a successful soft landing close to the South Pole of the Moon. No other space-exploring nation has managed this. It was a thrilling moment, when the graphic of the rover touched down on the moon’s surface and the control room burst into applause and cheers.

    A great triumph for India’s space programme, for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and all the scientists involved.

    Of course, this is India. Therefore, the Indian media – most of it anyway – and the ISRO feed itself, had focused as much on the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he watched the landing as it did on the landing itself. And then, before we heard anything about the landing, we had to hear the Prime Minister speak from South Africa. There was no connection between the two events, that is the Prime Minister and the moon-landing. But like I said, this is India. Politicians rule.

    The result of this was no science and all congratulatory hysteria. TV channels showed endless images of the moon-landing. All of these were computer generated, but it appears they forgot to tell their viewers. Or maybe the anchors themselves did not know. Who did they think took these images of the landing?

    Later ISRO released the first photos of the moon’s surface, one of which showed the leg of the lander.

    In all the coverage, very little was discussed about why we have undertaken this mission and what we expect to learn from it. You often hear people moaning about India’s lack of scientific temperament. Well, this is why. Our public science outreach is pathetic, science journalism is not encouraged and the result is ignorance. And when ignorance is coupled with jingoism, all you get is a general pall of stupidity.

    While on the Prime Minister and South Africa, the Daily Maverick, a South African online news publication with a weekly newspaper, put out an intriguing story, also on August 23. It stated that the Indian Prime Minister landed in South Africa for the BRICS summit and then refused to get off his plane at Waterkloof Air Force Base, because only a Cabinet minister had come to receive him. The headline called it a “tantrum”.

    This is of course a South African publication which owes no allegiance to the Indian government or the BJP. Shocking!

    The day before, President Cyril Ramaphosa had received the Chinese President Xi Jianping, who was on a state visit. PM Modi was not on a state visit.

    According to the Daily Maverick, Ramaphosa then had to despatch his deputy, who was busy with summit preparations, to receive Modi.

    https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/ pm-modi-refused-to-deboard-plane-as-sa-govt-sent-minister-not-prez-to-welcome- him-in-contrast-to-chinas-xi-report

    https://thewire.in/diplomacy/modi-brics-south-africa-plane-disembark-controversy

    So why have I not posted the original report from Daily Maverick?

    That story is as intriguing.

    It took the official system – and I include the BJP IT Cell here – time to respond to this story. Mind you, no Indian media had carried reports any such incident. Instead, they spun the usual tale of NRIs dancing for Modi.

    But people who went to the Daily Maverick site in a couple of hours, found they were blocked.

    According a series of tweets or Xs or posts on X by the Daily Maverick, they were forced to bar India from accessing their site because of a massive cyberattack from India, attempting to take down their site.

    Later, the South African government denied the Daily Maverick claim, while the Daily Maverick stuck to its story (screenshots attached).

    Even now, most Indian media houses have found it difficult to report on this. The Free Press Journal was the first however to show its calibre and courage. And others like The Telegraph, the Newsminute, Wire followed. But for our “godi” or lapdog media, cue in the outrage at a foreign publication daring to report unfavourably on Modi.

    While on the Newsminute, here’s an excellent report, in a fine series, from Manipur. You know, the place not as far as the moon or South Africa, which PM Modi barely acknowledges exists. Almost four months of anarchy, civil unrest, death and destruction there now.

    https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/walked-all-day-four-kids-kuki-woman-recalls-horror-fleeing-her-village-181488

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.

  • Ranjona Banerji watches the anchor after long and is amazed by how young he looks

    When Arnab Goswami took on the Modi government on Manipur…

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiIn the doom and gloom that is India now, there are occasional moments of gallows humour to cheer us up.

    Like Arnab Goswami screaming that whataboutery on Manipur is wrong, that the Modi government has made a mistake by not sacking Manipur Chief Minister, and so on.

    This is the first time I have seen Goswami’s face in I don’t know how long. So first I was amazed by how young he looks. Then I heard his bombastic shouting and realised it must be good exercise for face muscles. I may try it.

    The clip itself is short. So I have no doubt that Goswami went back to his usual BJP propaganda soon. The channel he runs is supported by the ruling disposition in more ways than one.

    But it was very entertaining.

    We all know, except for old journalists who have forgotten the new rules, even if they championed the hero who changed the rules, that the Modi government will avoid Manipur and do what it can to save Prime Minister Narendra Modi from being questioned on Manipur.

    This is a given.

    But since people will continue to watch TV there is nothing to be done.

    Except entertain yourself on social media.

    Like with the Modi government reaction to the film Oppenheimer.

    And that of former magazine employees who now work for the government. One such wrote a letter to director Christopher Nolan objecting to sex scenes where the Bhagvad Gita was quoted. The objector had not seen the film, but based his objections on social media comments. An honest admission. But also  a good lesson to be careful when journalists liberally sprinkle their copy or TV people their monologues with “sources”. Who knows what their sources are.

    Trolls on Twitter for instance.

    Another such important journalist who once worked for another government has also jumped into the fray on another matter: that the Congress President who is not a Gandhi family member is a puppet of the Gandhi family. This is the same story he has spun for years. But you have to admire his sense of timing.

    With poor Modi being protected from falling airport ceilings, collapsing highways and an increasingly impossible situation in Manipur, it’s all hands on deck to help. And who better than an inside man from the other side?

    I apologise for qualifying journalist with “important”. All journalists are important. Those who live in Delhi and have sources are more important than others.

    I digress. While some old school journalists are up to their usual tricks, others forget the rules have changed and a few try to climb out of the molasses to talk about collapses. Not just Manipur, but landslides, roads, drains and soon, at least 25 per cent of India’s forest cover.

    If you though Manipur was too far away for Delhi to bother about, imagine how far all the Himalayan states are.

    Look out for the amendments to the Forest Conservation Act. Or rather, the new Forest Construction Act. While you sleep, the polity carries on with its destructive policies.

    You could of course also laugh about Elon Musk changing Twitter’s name to X. Extreme foresight about our imminent extinction.

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.

     

  • The mainstream media is unable to point fingers in Manipur, but no such luck in West Bengal, writes writes Ranjona Banerji

    Violence? Floods? All depends on which party

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona Banerji“The mainstream media is unable to point fingers in Manipur. Not towards Chief Minister Biren Singh. Or Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who made one visit of little use. Or the Prime Minister himself, who has not said a word about Manipur yet,” writes Ranjona Banerji

    The Indian media has concentrated with full attention on election-related violence in Bengal. At least 20 people were killed, as a bloody panchayat election was held across the state.

    Several high decibel “debates” were held on TV, where the state government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was held responsible for being unable to control her party, which was accused of some of the violence. The party that may have been responsible for the rest of the violence shall remain unnamed.

    Heck, even I was asked to answer for the violence by trolls on the payroll of the unnamed party, because all Bengalis are responsible for what happens in Bengal and also in my case, because I share a surname.

    After Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress won with a “thumping” majority, the outrage died down in the media and only mutters remained, mainly in the corridors of the unnamed party.

    Such understandable anger at poll-related violence and the consequent responsibility of the party in power remains absent in Manipur. Even though it’s been two months since the violence began. Observers and commentators have likened the situation to anarchy and civil war. Armed Forces munitions have been raided and stolen. Violence continues.

    The mainstream media is unable to point fingers in Manipur. Not towards Chief Minister Biren Singh. Or Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who made one visit of little use. Or the Prime Minister himself, who has not said a word about Manipur yet

    Which party is in power in Manipur?

    It is the unnamed party in power at the Centre as well.

    And hence, the silence. From the party and the media.

    One prominent TV person was even upset that the European Parliament discussed the situation in Manipur. How dare they, when Indian TV doesn’t? The cheek!

     

    **

    The devastating floods in North India have sadly also been reported party-wise. Although to be fair, there has been some universal condemnation of bad planning, Delhi (AAP) and Himachal Pradesh (Congress) have faced more media attention than the rest.

    Am I being unfair? Just compare the level of anger and outrage in the Yelling Media, and you’ll get your answer.

    The big concentration for our captive media is the Prime Minister’s visit to France. Enough said.

    **

    And so to a curious case in the British media. And an abject lesson in how not to do journalism. Or, conversely what happens when gutter journalism is prominent over all other forms.

    The Sun, not really known for any form of serious journalism, carried a story last week allegting that a “prominent” BBC presenter had paid 35000 pounds to a young man, starting when he was 17, to send the presenter explicit photos of himself. The story was given to the Sun by the man’s mother and stepfather, who claimed that the money was used to feed their son’s drug habit.

    The BBC instantly suspended the presenter and began an internal investigation. Speculation went crazy over the identity of the presenter. And the police started an investigation.

    From last Friday to today, the story has practically turned on its head. The so-called “victim” has stated that his parents’ allegation is rubbish. The police have ended their investigation saying that no crime has been committed. The Sun has said it will publish no more stories on this and will cooperate with the BBC’s internal investigation. The Sun also claimed that the parents had not done this for money – which is common in the British media. But there are allegations that The Sun has paid huge amounts for the couple to appear on Talk TV, a sister concern. The presenter is in hospital with mental health issues. His wife is the one who named him to stop the speculation.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bbc-presenter-facing-sex-photo-claims-is-huw-edwards-bbc-says-citing-his-wife-2023-07-12/

    All in all, a right royal mess.

    Was there a story at all? Was The Sun just throwing muck around – not uncommon for the British tabloids – to target the BBC? And why was the BBC so quick to act against the presenter without ample evidence?

    This episode reflects what is the worst of the British media.

    As The New York Times says here, the BBC walked into The Sun’s trap.

    And Huw Edwards was hung out to dry.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/13/world/europe/bbc-huw-edwards-saturation-coverage.html

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.

     

  • If anything does not show India in a good light, and raises questions about press freedom, it's this. writes Ranjona Banerji

    When White House condemned venom thrown at reporter…

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiIf ever India’s insecurity as a nation shows, it is in our relationship to the rest of the world. On the one hand, we are constantly looking for affirmation, especially from the West: India is the greatest, Indians are the greatest, best democracy, best prime minister, most popular leader, best national anthem and so on.

    On the other, we are constant “freedom fighters”: Who cares about the West, we are better, our family values are better.

    Often both these exists at the same time in one sentence.

    And let’s not forget that we are a nation that loves to emigrate. You can find Indians everywhere. Far more than you find people of other countries in our land.

    Should I ignore for now the sad fact that those who leave India to settle elsewhere are touchiest about India being criticised?

    Thus the talk around Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US.

    Best, greatest, they said, they love us and more.

    But when Modi is asked about the reality of discrimination of Muslims and religious minorities in India, out comes the anger. How dare, what about America and so on.

    And this being today’s India, trolls were quick to pick up on the name of the reporter of the Wall Street Journal who asked Modi the question: Sabrina Siddiqui. Her second name sounds Muslim and that alone was enough to set off the rightwing Hindutva brigade.

    https://thewire.in/media/wsj-reporter-sabrina-siddique-modi-question-human-rights-targeted

    The harassment reached such a point that the White House stepped in to condemn the online venom being thrown at the reporter.

    https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/white-house-condemns-harassment-of-journalist-who-asked-pm-modi-a-question/article67013371.ece

    If anything does not show India in a good light, and raises questions about press freedom in India, it is this.

    Indian journalists who question the government are relentlessly trolled online and attacked in the real world. From Israeli spyware being used on them to hacking of devices to raids, court cases and worse.

    Although we are supposed to pretend that all is well in India, everyone is rich, everyone is happy, to further boost the image and ego of the prime minister, the job of journalists is to tell us that we are pretending.

    Does no one see this?

    Modi returns to India, he asks “what’s happening” as if he does not know, and then has a meeting. Having the problem of violence, anarchy and possible civil war in Manipur, he then proceeds to include the inauguration of a few more trains.

    In other times, history shows us, this is how dictators behave. But in India, you will find a media which promotes and tolerates this dissonant behaviour.

    You also have a media which revels in Islamphobia, in othering anyone who is not a chosen upper caste Hindu – “liberals”, civil rights activists, and anyone who criticizes the Modi government loses Hindu status by dint of criticism – and thus furthering the cause of Hindutva.

    As Manipur burns, there is a massive Hindutva movement growing in Uttarakhand.

    A difficult case like the murder of Ankita Bhandari, where the accused’s father was part of the BJP, is being sidelined. The public prosecutor, says the victim’s father, has been assisting the accused.

    There is little in the national or local media about this, even though the murder created much public interest.

    https://www.newsclick.in/ankita-bhandari-murder-case-public-prosecutor-colluding-accused-know-what-family-said

    At the same time, the targeting of Muslims continues in Purola, Uttarkashi.

    https://thewire.in/communalism/purola-posters-muslims-vacate-shops

    It has taken the high court to somewhat calm things down:

    https://indianexpress.com/article/india/purola-mahapanchayat-uttarakhand-hc-8664504/

    The reason I highlight these cases in Uttarakhand is to underline the fact that India is not Delhi and India is not Modi.

    Like Manipur, Uttarakhand is a small state away from the national gaze. But if Manipur spirals down any further or the Himalayas collapse, it will affect all of India.

    You cannot survive as a democracy if the national media promotes a prime minister who inaugurates trains in the midst of various national calamities.

    It doesn’t matter what the outside world says or does not say. Fake online popularity polls will not change this:

    https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/second-edit/douse-the-flames-in-manipur-at-least-now-1228980.html

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.

     

  • Because of the media's obsession with Delhi politics, Modi and life around NCR, everywhere else is just some "remote" place where remote things happen, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Manipur, where’s that?!

    Courtesy: www.mapsofindia.com/maps/manipur/

     

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiNews about Manipur eventually filtered into the mainstream media. Accompanied by the news is an endless stream of “expert” commentary. Most of which is enough to scramble your brain, especially if you are unfamiliar with the politics and social construction of the state. And as ever, our experts are topnotch at “confusion worse compounded”, to quote John Milton.

    To some, it is all tribal warfare. To others it is all drugs. To some it is religion. To others, plain old politics. Or caste. Or money. Or forests. Or land. Or immigrants. Or neighbours. Because of the media’s obsession with Delhi politics, Narendra Modi and life around the National Capital Region, everywhere else is just some “remote” place where remote things happen.

    In reality, if I can be philosophical, there is no real centre. Wherever you are is your centre. When you look up at the night sky, you can assume that the Universe spreads around you from you are. And it is the same for anyone else on any surface.

    But not in India. In India, the Indian media remains wilfully ignorant in spite of all our civilisational and technological advances. For some, the centre is where Modi campaigns or makes speeches. Currently, that is Karnataka. The Prime Minister of India is so busy with his “road shows” that he cannot really be bothered about people killing each other in Manipur. He is busy making absurd accusations and even more absurd claims so that his party can win an assembly election and remain in power. Since he cannot be questioned by the mainstream media, he is free to spread his unique combination of bombast and social and political division.

    The obsession of the Union government with the “image” of India is inextricably tied in with the image of Modi and to this, the Cabinet and most of the mainstream media fall over themselves to prove their loyalty. If a private weather forecaster predicts a below average monsoon, even that is a blot on India’s image and the weight of the administration has to come down on the forecast like a ton of carbon emission. Wait for videos of Modi stopping the El Nino current with the sound of his speeches alone. I’m joking of course. But am I?

    The External Affairs Minister can be heard in a video doing the rounds dismissing the latest Press Freedom Index ratings for India, released annually by the prestigious Reporters Without Borders. Or Reporters Sans Frontieres, an organization which has since 1985 worked in close association with the United Nations to promote the need for a free press, and provides defence and help to journalists on the ground working in conflict areas.

    “Some organisation,” said S Jaishankar or words to that effect, as he dismisses RSF. It is unclear why the RSF ranking upsets the Modi government. It has after all worked as hard as it could to reduce the independent media in India to a mere cipher. And the rest to yapping lapdogs. It should be proud that under its watch the Indian media has slipped to the lowest ranking ever. After all, out of 180 nations monitored, India is at 161. Who knows where we may be next year, at this rate?

    Meanwhile, let me remind you that all those medal-winning wrestlers, right there in the middle of Delhi, the centre of all things, protesting against sexual harassment and assault, remain largely invisible…

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.

     

  • The Editors Guild officebearers are some of the better known names in Indian journalism. One expects them to ensure bias in dealing with such cases

    1 Minute View: Damn all equally, Editors Guild

    1 Minute ViewThe Editor’s Guild statement on Rahul Gandhi’s remark on the Smita Prakash interview is welcome. However, as senior journalist and MxMIndia Consulting Editor Ranjona Banerji writes (http://www.mxmindia.com/2019/01/ranjona-banerji-spare-me-your-outrage-over-pliable/), it’s critical for the Guild to also make a noise when significant and not-so-significant others damn the media with words and actions that don’t speak well for the politicians and their political parties.

     

    In this case at the receiving end was Rahul Gandhi and the Congress. But the ruling dispensation at the centre, specifically the BJP and its biggies must also be damned, by name if and when there is need for it.

     

    Then, as Banerji writes, there has been no statement till date by the Guild on the arrest and detention of Kishorechandra Wangkhem of Manipur. Why not? Is this because the Chief Minister is from the BJP?

     

    The Editors Guild officebearers are some of the better known names in Indian journalism. One expects them to ensure bias in dealing with such cases.