Journalists’ Killings: Justice Eludes In India’s Assam
By Nava Thakuria
15 June, 2011
Countercurrents.org
India remains a dangerous country for the working journalists and so
thus its northeastern province Assam. If India with over a billion
population records 27 journalists killed in two decades, Assam (with
three crore populace) shares major incidents of journalist killings in
the country in all these years. The trouble torn State lost over 20
editor-journalist-correspondents in the last two decades, where no
conviction has been made in any case.
Committee to Protect Journalists, an international media rights body
has recently disclosed that 864 working journalists around the world
have been killed in different incidents since 1992. The New York based
media rights body also reveals that India is one of the 13 risky
countries where journalists are murdered on a recurring basis and
governments are unable (or unwilling) to prosecute the killers.
Other nations, where journalists are targeted regularly for deaths and
governments fail to solve the crimes include Iraq, Somalia,
Philippines, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Afghanistan, Nepal, Mexico, Russia,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Brazil.
Among the journalist victims, 547 journalists were killed with
complete impunity. The CPJ also reveals that India is one of the first
20 countries where journalists are murdered on a recurring basis and
governments are unable (or unwilling) to prosecute the killers. India
officially records 15 unsolved cases of journalists killing with
impunity.
Other nations, where journalists are targeted regularly for deaths and
governments fail to solve the crimes include Iraq (unsolved cases:
93), Philippines (64), Algeria (57), Colombia (35), Russia (29),
Pakistan (20), Mexico (20), Somalia (18), Rwanda (15), Tajikistan
(14), Turkey (14), Brazil (13), Sri Lanka (10), Sierra Leone (9),
Afghanistan (9), Bangladesh (8), Angola (7), Cambodia (7) Peru (6)
etc.
The CPJ’s Impunity Index 2011, compiled as part of the organization’s
global campaign against impunity, indicates that local journalists
remain the victims in the vast majority of unsolved cases throughout
the world.
The CPJ research shows that the deadly, unpunished violence against
journalists often leads to vast self-censorship in the rest of the
press corps. More over, the situation finally compels many journalists
to avoid sensitive topics, leave the profession, or flee their
homeland to escape violent retribution, informed CPJ Executive
Director Joel Simon.
Working in insurgency stricken Assam, which publishes nearly 25
morning daily newspapers and supports 6 local satellite news channels
is increasingly becoming dangerous for working journalists. The
ongoing insurgency and unrest among the youth of this region, where
over 15 armed outfits have been fighting New Delhi on various
demands varying from sovereignty to self-rule, put tremendous
challenges on the journalists based in the State. The media persons,
most of them are out of insurance cover are subjected to numerous
threats from insurgents, surrendered militants and even the
anti-insurgent security agencies.
The victim editor-journalist-correspondents of Assam include Punarmal
Agarwala (killed by the banned militant outfit United Liberation Front
of Asom in 1987), Kamala Saikia (killed by ULFA in 1991), Pabitra
Narayan (1995), Dipak Swargiary (1995), Parag Kumar Das (shot dead in
broad day light in 1996 by surrendered ULFA), Manik Deuri (killed by
Bodo militants in 1996), Panja Ali (1997), Nurul Haque (1998),
Ratneswar Sarma Shastri (killed by ULFA in 1999), Dinesh Brahma (
2003), Indramohan Hakasam ( 2003), Prahlad Gowala (killed by timber
mafia in 2006), Bodosa Narzary (2007), Mohammad Muslemuddin (2008)
and Jagajit Saikia (2008), Anil Majumdar (2009), Bimala Prasad
Talukder ( 2010) etc.
But surprisingly enough, not a single perpetrator of all these
killings has been punished till today.
Nava Thakuria is an independent journalist and presently covering
Northeast India and also its adjacent neighbors like Bhutan, Tibet,
Burma and Bangladesh. He also contribute to local television channels
of Assam.
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