[vinnomot] Guwahati violence: Media debates continue

SAN-Feature Service

SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE

December 13,2007

 

Guwahati violence: Media debates continue

Nava Thakuria  

 

 SAN-Feature Service : The nauseating incident that rocked Assam is still alive in the media space. The unprecedented violence in the streets of Guwahati on November 24 has not only shook the conscience of the Assamese society, but also arisen a stimulating debate on media's accountability and social commitment while covering such occurrences. The controversy has arisen because of a shocking incident of striping off an agitating girl in broad daylight during the violence in Guwahati that aroused many questions to media.

 

Harsh criticism targets the media, whether it was right repeatedly showing the image of the young girl, who was chased and humiliated by thugs that day? Was it acceptable that the picture of the girl, with some portions blurred, be printed in the front pages of daily newspapers days after the incident? More brutal questions were placed, whether the media persons would have the guts to run the picture if the victim came from an affluent family?

 

The episode began with an estimated 1,000 Adivasis (aboriginal), equipped with traditional bows and arrows, marched to the State Secretariat of Assam at Dispur to raise their voice for inclusion of the community in Scheduled Tribe list, hoping that it would benefit the community of tea plantation workers and ex-workers in higher education and employment. The demonstrators assembled in Guwahati from different parts of Assam following the initiative of All Adivasi Students' Association of Assam. Initially the AAASA   leaders decided to hold a meeting at South Beltola High School in support of their longstanding demands. But a section of participants came out for a procession aiming to reach the Secretariat.

 

Police first tried to prevent the demonstrators, both male and female, which only angered them. Many of them continued the march and suddenly some turned violent and began vandalizing anything in sight. "The angry demonstrators started damaging city buses, private vehicles parked at roadside, shops and even personal property. Even some pedestrians were also not spared by them. Many of them carried their traditional bows and arrows, but a few were equipped with sticks and hammers too," an eyewitness told this writer, who had recorded the incident from a nearby high-rise building.

 

As the protesters approached the government Secretariat complex, police and paramilitary forces came in action together and finally dispersed the rioters with tear gas. Facing a ruthless action, the frightened Adivasis fled in small groups, which were then attacked by local people. Clashes continued for about an hour, with many of the Adivasi demonstrators beaten mercilessly by youths. Ultimately one protester died and as many as 250 were injured, some very badly.

 

Amid the chaos, a high school-level Adivasi girl was stripped naked by rowdy youths and forced to run from the crowd until local residents braved the thugs to give shelter to the humiliated girl. Pictures show the terrified girl running while people take pictures of her. One local resident, named Bhagiram Barman, risked his life to save the girl from more physical assault. Before she was handed over to the police, her naked image was already recorded by the media and cell-phone users.

 

The incident kicked off a storm of protests. Mainstream political parties like Asom Gana Parishad, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist parties demanded the resignation of the Congress-led coalition government. Facing the heat of public outrages, the Tarun Gogoi government ordered two enquiries (one by the Additional Chief Secretary of Assam and the other to be conducted by RK Manisana Singh, a retired judge of Gauhati High Court). Meanwhile, the city police arrested three persons (Prasenjit Chakravarty, Ratul Barman and Sudip Chakdar) for their alleged involvement in molestation case.

 

Various social organizations including the North East Peoples Initiative, Barak Human Rights Protection Committee, Gauhati University Teachers' Association, Asom Mahila Samata Society, Journalists' Forum, Assam demanded action against those responsible for the violence and vandalism. The AASAA leaders called for a 36-hour Asom bandh (general strike), beginning on November 26, which was backed by the All Assam Tea Tribe Students' Union. The All Assam Santhal Students' Union also called another 12-hour general strike. The issue even reached both the upper and lower houses of Parliament in New Delhi, where the stripping of the girl was condemned as barbaric.

 

But it was the media that came under particular assault, and probably for good reason. First, a section of media described the incident as an attack on Adivasis by Assamese demonstrators, where as Adivasis are an integral part of the society for more than a century. A series of public meetings and editorials ensued that. Secondly, while most of the media were vocal about the attacks on demonstrators, they remained silent on the bravery of the local residents who sheltered the victims. The media were full of pictures of the naked, running girl. Even a major English daily published her picture on its front page on November 27, a full three days after the incident took place.

 

A New Delhi based media-watch portal highlighted the issue saying, "Should The Telegraph have carried a front page picture of an Adivasi girl running naked down a Guwahati street after being stripped by ethnic rioters? It used black strips to conceal part of her nudity but her face was only slightly pixelated." The web-page of 'The Hoot' also added,   "Three readers from Tezpur university wrote a letter to the paper that while the strippers showed their barbarism, the editorial board of The Telegraph demonstrated its sadism by publishing the plight of the one stripped."

 

The oldest English daily of the region, 'The Assam Tribune' editorialized, "When a section of the media continues to come up with the visual of the naked Adivasi girl even days after the incident, it is evident that their purpose is simply to sensationalize and blow things out of proportion. It is in such times that the responsibility and the credibility of the media are put to test. A responsible media should act to diffuse tension and not to arouse passions further."

 

The resentment also was high against some Satellite news channels.   The Greater Guwahati Cable Operators' Association even blacked out two channels (NDTV and CNN-IBN) for few days, alleging that they were telecasting a misinterpreted version of the group clash in the city. "The clashes engulfed not the agitating Adivasis and Guwahati people as a whole, but only a section of them joined the chaos. But the news channels went on airing that the residents of Guwahati beat up the Adivasis and also stripped off many girls, who took part in the procession," an official of the association commented.

 

Two powerful regional student bodies, the All Assam Students' Union and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba-Chatra Parishad, also criticized the media alleging that the media repeatedly depicted the image of the Adivasi girl in an obscene way while neglecting to report that she had been rescued by a local youth who gave her shelter. "The media has every right to inform society about the happenings," a student leader said adding, "But they should not use it as a way that only humiliates the victim again and escalates ongoing tension."

 

Rupam Barua, a city based senior journalist lamented, "We can not rely on the argument always that media persons have right to project any thing supported by the facts (photographs). In reality, we have no right to humiliate a girl repeatedly, as she belongs to a less privileged section in the society." Mr Barua concluded with a pertinent question, "By accident, if the daughter of a minister or bureaucrat (or a prominent businessman) was stripped off during the Guwahati violence, had those editors projected the picture in that way?" –SAN-Feature Service

 

Nava Thakuria is senior journalist based in Guwahati, Assam

 

 

       

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