Leader Writer: Paojel Chaoba
Times are changing and the cost of living has gone up. If one visits the Ima Keithel for shopping a morning lunch with local fish in mind, it is with all possibility that a cost of Rs 300 will be incurred for feeding a small family. Maybe,the price of local fish has gone through the roof recently as fishing has been banned in various parts of Loktak Lake.
A local egg costs Rs 10 and there is no fall in cost price of all the essential commodities, and yet it will continue to rise.
Manipur State Government has implemented the 6th Pay Commission and Government employees are able to augment the inflation with ease. The prospect of getting a government job and leading a financially secure life is the primary objectivity fixated in the mindset of the majority. Entrepreneurship is commonly viewed as the second option and thought to be the occupation of educated youths who have failed to land a Government job.
It is heard within the local grapevine or ‘Leipung’ talks of the en vogue amount that one has to dole out for getting the post of a VDF, a police constable, ASI, SI. More murky affairs still pervade in the appointment of other choice Government posts.
The appointment of Speaker ,Th Lokeshor’s better half as undersecretary of the Manipur Legislative Assembly is still shrouded in controversy and an RTI activist who sought information in the regard has still been denied the information. The state of affairs clearly suggests that the Government machinery is working in tandem to cover the dirt under the carpet. Notwithstanding this lone issue, such underhanded practices within the various establishments have been prevalent since Manipur attained Statehood in 1972. Those in power had the might to run the machinery of the State according to their whims, appointments were given albeit fake or real orders and the trend still continue upto a certain extent presently.
So called the Fourth Estate as derived from the British House of Commons proceedings, the media has remained as the self appointed watchdog of the society.
The primary objective of the media is to highlight the actual events occurred. A precise, unbiased and factual account of events is to be recorded and printed. The first Manipuri daily newspaper, the Dainik Manipur came into print in 1922 with a circulation of 300 copies then. Lamyanba Hijam Irabot also printed a manuscript which was cyclostyled and distributed titled under ‘Meitei Chanu’.
The sense of patriotism reflected in the papers then highlighted the suffering of the public and was a clarion call for the under trodden populace to wake up and fight the dealt injustice.
The ethos is still prevalent in the journalist society and papers scream headlines of the present government’s inefficiency in more ways than one.
However, the journalists of the State is vexed by a plethora of issues. It may pertain to walking the tightrope with acrobatic agility for mitigating the various interests of both non-state and state actors. But, the specter which remains the most ominous may be said to be the financial status of the journalist.
In contrast to the our counterparts, the salary of the news hound of Manipur still remain a pittance despite the globalizing trend of exorbitant amount paid to reporters and news staff in other media houses elsewhere.
There is word that reading a single newspaper of the State is ample news for the interested as no noticeable difference is there in the news reports printed in the different media houses of the State.
It is safe to say that though the state media may fail to deliver within the expectations of the public, the amount of time and energy and not to mention the undue pressure faced by the scribes is felt are at par with those working in other parts of the Country.
However, the lack of a proper work policy, health benefits, absence of wage board implementation among others prove to be a major hurdle in properly disseminating one’s role of being a scribe. The issues are numerous and sometimes, media ethics are compromised.
Since the role of the media is also pivotal in bringing about a congeniality, especially in such a chaotic scenario of now. The working conditions of the scribes need to be improved for producing quality reports and as much to hinder being corrupted from various quarters.
The adage that, a hungry man being an angry one, comes to mind here. The media boys should not be incensed lest there be an imminent crumbling of the Fourth Estate at such a juncture when the wound of the Manipuri Nation needs healing.