Warning: diversion ahead.
That alone explains why, while Manipur was burning, India television news channels were sleeping – or looking elsewhere. It took the video of a barbaric sexual violence — released last week — to shake them out of their slumber and force them to report on what has become a civil war.
Or were they prompted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expression of “sorrow and anger” last Thursday, to lift their virtual blackout of Manipur since early May when clashes began between the Meiteis and Kukis? Times Now anchor Padmaja Joshi has said it was a disservice to “avert our eyes…” from the “horrific” incident – but that is just what TV news did for over two months.
ThePrint first wrote of the incidence of rape in the state. It also reported on the clashes and protests from 4 May onwards alongside leading English newspapers. But television news diverted public attention to the Karnataka assembly election, the controversy over the film The Kerala Story, PM Modi’s travels, urban crime – and many other topics. On 11 May, I wrote about the indifference of TV news to the violence in Manipur.
Now, TV news, well, at least English news channels, have discovered Manipur. Now, they’re busy playing catch up, crawling all over Imphal, Churachandpur, Segou, et cetera. ‘Manipur is burning for 3 months,’ announced India Today, as if it was news. Now, the channel is at the forefront of reporting on the “atrocities” in the state.
Now, reporters are sending in ground reports on the rape case, and more that have come to light. They have sympathetically highlighted the condition of the victims of violence, of the refugees in the relief camps, in the villages and those who have taken to arms. ‘Times Now at the frontlines,’ boasted Times Now, ‘As Manipur remains on edge.’
Now, in one voice, they demand ‘Justice for Manipur’ (Republic TV) and their anchors have actually criticised the inaction and “mistakes” of the Modi government. (More on that later.)
But this is a delayed reaction. The stories they are telling us, now, concern incidents that are perhaps 80 days old — the news, meanwhile, has moved on to Parliament where the Opposition is demanding a statement from PM Modi on Manipur and has filed a no-confidence motion against his government.
And here’s the irony: Hindi news channels, on Wednesday, were full of ‘Modi v/s ALL’ (India TV) over ‘Sansad mein Manipur pe sangram’ (Republic Bharat), but they’ve barely bothered with developments in the state over the past three months.
Also read: Manipur sexual violence is political. Don’t deny accountability by calling it a ‘mindless mob’
Newspapers are ahead of the story
While TV news channels’ Manipur coverage is on the uptick, it’s on the downswing in the newspapers—barring, of course, the reporting on the gang rape – ThePrint and The Indian Express and The Times of India also managed to speak to one of the two victims (21 July).
Proceedings or rather the ‘Logjam in Parliament’ (The Indian Express) has dominated the print coverage. Reports from Manipur are on the continuing violence or stories about individuals—if Express did a story on a Kuki-Meitei marriage and ‘would be’ mothers in relief camps, The Time of India looked at migrants in Delhi and how the BSF was guarding the village one of its deceased personnel belonged to. The Hindu (24 July) led with ‘Over 13,000 detained in Manipur’ and then had a report on ‘FIR reveals horrific killing of Manipur youth’ – about how a young man in police custody was beaten to death.
Hindustan Times (26 July) found bunkers at ‘Tiger Camp’, built to guard hill villages – a story India Today TV news had also done.
Interestingly, anchors on TV news channels have fulminated much more strongly than the newspaper editorials against the Modi governments in the state and at the Centre.
For example, editorials on 21 July — ‘Questions for Biren’ and ‘In Manipur, fix accountability’ — asked for the Centre to ensure that the situation “doesn’t get worse” (TOI), and that the Biren Singh government “must be held accountable” for its lapses (HT).
Meanwhile on Republic TV, Arnab Goswami was enraged: Every single party is “hypocritical about crimes against women”, he said. He added that the central government has made “terrible mistake after terrible mistake…” and that if an opposition party had been ruling Manipur, the Centre would have probably thought of imposing Article 365 (President’s Rule) by now. He demanded an end to the “whataboutery” after Modi and other BJP leaders mentioned crimes against women in opposition-ruled states.
Rajdeep Sardesai on India Today said “I am sorry” to the people of Manipur for the treatment meted out to them. Pallavi Ghosh of CNN News 18 asked if Manipur would “hurt” BJP’s 2024 election plans. She also wondered why the Centre was “dragging its feet” on dealing with CM Biren Singh – the entire episode reflected on the Centre too, she concluded.
By TV news standards, these are a harsh criticism of the Modi government.
Also read: It took a viral video of rape for India to wake up—Modi to CJI. Manipur was burning for 3 months
TV woke up late
However, TV news cannot divert attention from its own omissions by attacking the government. Had it given Manipur the coverage it now lavishes on the state, the government might have responded more firmly.
But TV news was too busy following the PM’s roadshows in Karnataka and the subsequent government formation there, when clashes first occurred in Manipur in early May. Then it shifted its focus to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘Sheesh Mahal’, Sachin Pilot’s Jan Sangarsh padyatra, the Prime Minister’s visits to Japan, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, ‘Delhi’s Demonic Murder’ — that of Sakshi Reddy’s alleged murder by Sahil (India Today) — the wrestlers’ protests in Delhi, and of course ‘Modi magic’ in the US.
It had no time for Manipur.
The author tweets @shailajabajpai. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)