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03/10/2007: "Beyond the Digital Camera"
Beyond the Digital Camera
Shiluinla Jamir
There can never be a more disgusting news than an elected councilor (supposed to be promoting people’s interest) harassing a media representative, that too, a lady representative. Media is not just media, mere printed papers. This is one inherent medium that keeps all citizens connected. It is one medium that keeps the cycle of human relationship going. It represents people’s voices, people’s aspirations; it is a tool that shapes our consciousness. One issue that I have been struggling to come to term with, since I read of this incident, is how can someone elected by the people trample upon people’s medium of consciousness. Media’s sole relevance is communication. Since communication means reaching people and since people constitute society, media is an inherent element of society. It was so when the first caveman scrawled drawings on rock walls. It is so as computers carry information technology to new and newer horizons. It will remain as long as people need to communicate with another. Media is also a leveler; anyone can voice his or her concern through it. And to terrorize an institution such as this, needs serious re-thinking. This incident is not only about the person involved and the media fraternity. There is obviously something beyond. Our values, our morals have gone haywire. It is in no way an “unfortunate incident” as we might want to portray. It brings to light the surface of a society that remains fallen to male chauvinism and power manipulation. An unholy alliance indeed! Any use of the term “unfortunate” or “stray incident” to describe this happening has to be vehemently condemned, as much as the incident itself.
Media occupies a major chunk of the time afforded by people all over the world and increasingly in India has become an off quoted truism. If (of course any form of violence is not accepted) the lady reporter was from a tabloid trying to capture pictures of celebrities and those photos were to be sold to increase her fatty bank balance then we could have taken the incident with a pinch of salt. But a reporter for a daily, that updates us everyday on the daily happenings, a serious newspaper collecting serious information for us, being harassed is beyond all human imagination.
Remember we are talking of a lady reporter. Yes, a lady reporter! A reporter is expected to be following happenings and events round the clock. If in the broad day light she can be harassed, what is the guarantee that other lady journalist would be safe? I am sure she did not breach any security measures. Even if she had, an elected councilor is in no way empowered to harass her. There are security personnel to take care of her.
What we find here is a blatant misuse, abuse and use of power by the elected leader, a male over the female, over someone whom he rules over, an exercise of power over the powerless. What makes power prone to abuse is not the exercise per se but the motive and manner by which it is exercised. In plain terms, power in and of itself is morally neutral. It is an important and necessary factor in all human relationships. It is the energy, the potential to act, to effect and to shape. Some of the visible manifestations of power we can map from this incident are aggression, domination; destruction and violence, making power assume negative connotations significantly influencing the logic and practice of power. This violent potential of power being exercised by our elected leader makes it necessary for us to interrogate the implication of power at the ideological and praxis level. But we can only interrogate if and when our consciousness is awakened.
It also shows how insensitive and immune we have become to factors and issues that jeopardize our rights as human beings. We often tend to remain either silent or sit on the fence when situation calls us to react (that includes me also). We remain silent because we are afraid (no doubt, when violence has reached this scale any one would be) or because incidents such as this does not affect us directly. When it comes to blatant violation of human and professional dignity through misuse and abuse of power, I believe we should have the courage and the faith to say “No” to it. If we become used to living within our comfort zone and not voice our concerns, our silence will give way to death and our children will hold us responsible one day. What we need today is a consciousness that will disturb us in our apathy, a consciousness that will burn our lethargic heart, a consciousness that will break our silence in the midst of violence. Civil Societies should play a key role in awakening this consciousness.
At the end of the day, what should matter to us is about peaceful living where we can exercise our rights and powers with responsibility. Kindly move beyond the digital camera, there are a lot of thorny issues involved in this episode. As I wind this article, I solicit that all conscious Nagas will raise their heads beyond this ugly event and stand by our press fraternity, especially by the lady reporter who has been harassed while trying to let you and I see events behind the hegemonic spectacles.
