This is an urgent appeal to editors and fellow journalists to ensure that the ghastly happenings in Manipur are well circulated through news mediums. After more than two months of unprecedented civic strife and violence, events in this state have disappeared from the front pages. The incidents of violence were barbaric, with gross violation of human rights becoming routine. As of last week, more than 142 people have been killed in the violence, over 300 wounded, and over 50,000 internally displaced. Despite this, both the state and central governments have not taken adequate measures to quell the violence or address the grievances of the clashing communities.
We urge those covering this situation to go beyond the gory beheadings, burnings, and shootings, and to follow up with diligent fact-checking and contextualise reports of brutality and atrocities.
We need more reporting from states like Mizoram and Assam, where the displaced have taken shelter, to bring alive the consequences of this ethnic war.
Media from across the country must report, and media houses must demand security for their reporters.
No pressure is being exerted on the government by the media to act and hold the state authorities accountable. In what people in the Northeast refer to as mainland India, the daily media coverage by national media outlets has rapidly diminished. The Northeast has a long history of being invisible in the mainstream press.
It is inconceivable that any of this could happen in India’s heartland or Southern states without reporters rushing there in droves or without the developments being the lead coverage. There is little reporting of Manipur by mainstream TV channels.
It is our sincere appeal to the editors to ensure that the Manipur situation is not only given front-page or prime-time coverage but also adequate space in the form of editorials, articles, and prime-time discussions.
We appeal to you to relentlessly document the horror and neglect so that the conflict becomes impossible for the government to treat as business as usual, and so that the full import of what is happening cannot be ignored by citizens and lawmakers.
1. Nilova Roychaudhury, Independent Journalist, New Delhi
2 Hoihnu Hauzel, Journalist, Gurgaon
3. Sevanti Ninan, Journalist, New Delhi
4. Patricia Mukhim, The Shillong Times, Shillong
5. Anuradha Bhasin, The Kashmir Times, Jammu
6. Teresa Rehman, The Thumbprint Magazine, Assam
7. Jyoti Malhotra, The Print, New Delhi
8. Durba Ghosh, Press Trust of India, Guwahati
9. Pamela Phillipose, The Wire, New Delhi
10. Nupur Basu, Independent Journalist, Bengaluru
11. Clara Lewis, Journalist, Mumbai
12. Bachi Karkaria, Times of India, Mumbai
13. Santwana Bhattacharya, New Indian Express, Bengaluru
14. Ramya Kannan, The Hindu, Chennai
15. Deepal Trivedi, Vibes of India, Ahmedabad
16. Maya Mirchandani, Independent Journalist, New Delhi
17. Mannika Chopra, Independent Journalist, New Delhi
18. Amrita Verma, ABP News, Bihar
19. Radhika Ramaseshan, Independent Journalist, New Delhi
20. Anwesha Banerjee, Journalist, Kolkata
21. Nirupama Subramanian, Journalist, Mumbai
22. Kajal Iyer, Independent Journalist, Mumbai
23. Vineeta Pandey, The Asian Age, New Delhi
24. Suhasini Haidar, Journalist, New Delhi
25. Rajashri Dasgupta, Independent Journalist, Kolkata
26. Nirmala Ganapathy, New Delhi
27. Kasturi Roy, New Indian Express, Bhubaneswar
28. Seema Sirohi, Independent Journalist, New Delhi & USA
29. Madhumita Datta, Anandabazar Patrika, Kolkata
30. Aatreyee Dhar, Independent Journalist, Assam
31. Meetu Jain, The Wire, New Delhi
32. Barasa Das, Independent Journalist, Guwahati
33. Sahana Nag Chowdhury, Independent Journalist, Kolkata
34. Vidya Subrahmaniam, Independent Journalist, New Delhi
35. Shikha Mukherjee, Independent Journalist, Kolkata
36. Maya Sharma, Independent Journalist, Bengaluru
37. Rakhi Ghosh, Independent Journalist, Bhubaneswar
38. Seema Guha, Journalist, New Delhi
39. Uma Sudhir, Journalist, Hyderabad
40. Aekta Kapoor, eShe Magazine, New Delhi
41. Muslim Jan, Independent Journalist, Kashmir
42. Kanchan Srivastava, News Portal –Dialogue, Maharashtra
43. Deepa Kadam, Journalist, Sakal, Mumbai
44. Monideepa Banerjie, Independent Journalist, Kolkata
45. Neena Gopal, Independent journalist, Bengaluru
46. Akangjungla Longchar, Morung Express, Nagaland
47. Seetu Tewari, BBC, Patna
48. Ritika, Feminism in India, Bihar
49. Arundhati Mukherjee, Independent Journalist, Kolkata
50. Ezrela Dalidai Fanai, North East Today/Hornbill TV, Aizawl
51. Kavitha Muralidharan, Independent Journalist, Chennai
52. Anita Katyal, Independent Journalist, New Delhi
53. Nasreen Habib, Journalist, Guwahati
54. Shuma Raha, Independent Journalist, New Delhi
55. Mumeninaz Zaman, Journalist, Guwahati
56. Sanskrita Bharadwaj, Independent Journalist, Guwahati
57 Joyshree Usham, Impact News, Manipur
58 Smita Gupta, Independent Journalist, New Delhi
59. Tazeen Qureshy, Independent Journalist, Bhubaneswar
60. Rachna Khaira, Independent Journalist, Chandigarh
61. Coreena Suares, Newsmeter, Hyderabad
62. Chandrima Bhattacharya, The Telegraph, Kolkata
63. Arfa Khanum Sherwani, The Wire, New Delhi
64. Divya Chandrababu, Hindustan Times, Chennai
65. Dhanya Rajendran, The News Minute, Bengaluru
66. Leena, Media Morcha, Bihar
67. Jasleen Kaur, PTC News, Chandigarh
68. Rubee Das, Freelance Journalist, Guwahati
69. Nivedita Jha, Independent Journalist, Patna
70. Kimi Colney, East Mojo, Itanagar
71. Lakshmi Sharma, Independent Journalist, Siliguri
72.Gita Aravamudan, Independent Journalist Bengaluru.
73. Revati Laul, Independent Journalist , Shamli
74 Rajashri Dasgupta, Independent journalist, Kolkata
75. Anuradha Sharma, Independent Journalist, Siliguri
76. Sonal Kellog, Lifenews.co.in founder, Ahmedabad
78. Ritash, Rang Collective, Bengaluru
79 Ritika, Feminism India, Bengaluru
80. Padmaja Shaw, journalist, Hyderabad
81. Sanhita Banerjee, journalist, Kolkata
82 Vasanthi Hariprakash: Journalist, Bengaluru
83. Geeta Seshu, Journalist, Mumbai
84. Tasneem Kutubuddin, Journalist, Chennai
85. Shahina KK, Journalist, Kochi
86. Mandira Nayar, Journalist, New Delhi
87. Revathi Shiva Kumar, Journalist, Bengaluru
88. Swapna Majumdar, Journalist, New Delhi
89. Bidisha Singha, Journalist, Guwahati
90. Sushmita, PTI, Guwahati
91. Parul Sharma, Journalist, New Delhi
92. Linda Chhakchhuak, Independent Journalist, Shillong
93. Sangita Agarwal, Ommcomm News, Bhubaneswar
94. Minnie Vaid, Journalist, Mumbai
95. Sobhana Rupakumar, Journalist, Chennai
96. Vinita Vishwas Deshmukh, Journalist, Pune
97. Naz Asghar, India News Stream, New Delhi and Aligarh
98. Madhu Trehan, Journalist, New Delhi
99. Swati Bhattacharjee, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Kolkata
100. Ninglun Hanghal, Independent Journalist, Guwahati and Imphal
101. Kirti S. Parade, Photojournalist, Mumbai
102 Purnima Sah, The Hindu, Mumbai
103 Raksha Kumar, Journalist, Bengaluru
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