Morung Express News
Dimapur | February 18
When conflicts break out in Nagaland, information is the first casualty. Yet, the right information for people caught in conflicts could transform the ground situation and make space for peace.
Given the road connectivity in Nagaland State, it is difficult for journalists to reach peripheral areas and phones become the essential tool for gathering reliable information. On the other hand, Government machinery is often averse to sharing information from the ground, giving way to rumour mills that spread quick; even quicker these days through social media.
“There is a tendency here to look inwards. People feel that more information they give, worse the situation on the ground will get,” said a senior retired administrator. “We are fuelled by rumours with unmanageable consequences. We need to device an open, calibrated and objective mechanism to share information at times of conflict,” he noted.
While most Deputy Commissioners of districts do not like to share ground realities openly—though they are in the best position to—newspapers have to call second rung official sources to confirm news. In most states, even in neighbouring Manipur, the State appoints a spokesperson to round up information for the day to be released to the media. If not, a robust Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) does the job, but Nagaland’s DIPR has its share of bureaucratic hurdles, reducing it to a Government notice board.
“We are supposed to do exactly this—make sure the right information is out there but government officials on the ground either lack trust or lack awareness on how the media functions,” informed a senior bureaucrat from DIPR, Nagaland. Administrators on the ground do not want to “take the blame” on having shared information which “may get misreported” or may just be wrong.
Credibility, said the senior retired bureaucrat, is at stake here and government officials don’t want to come across as taking sides, which could jeopardise steps towards restoring normalcy. And this happens very often—every move by government officials has to be carefully calibrated lest one tribe thinks s/he is favouring the other.
To get round this situation, the district administration in Tuensang appointed a spokesperson during the conflict in 2015. The person’s duty was to compile information regarding steps taken by the government, administration or police, and reliable information emerging from the ground—about arson, killing, loot or peace measures—and give to the press (or the DIPR to disseminate to the press).
“This should be continued whenever any crisis breaks out. DIPR officials are placed in every district headquarters but we are also often unaware of what happens on the ground. We are not updated about daily reports sent out by the district administration. While DIPR cannot do investigative reports from the ground, we can definitely disseminate to the press what can be made available to us,” said the senior DIPR official.
Besides, the DIPR is now attempting to train new inductees of the Nagaland Public Services to “deal with the press.” For the senior retired bureaucrat, though, the responsibility of conflict resolution should be shared.
“In multi-tribe districts, people’s organisations and individual leaders are best informed about the ground situation. They are also main counsellors to the people. This should be harnessed. At the end of each day, during conflict situations, organisations of various tribes should meet along with government officials, share particular information and then disseminate relevant material to the public through reliable media channels,” noted the senior. “It is through information sharing that all entities can also be held accountable.”
While establishing this crucial link between the people and the State, journalists in Nagaland also need to roll up their sleeves for the conflict at hand. As the Editor of Eastern Mirror, Witoubou Newmai puts it, “arm chair journalism needs to stop in Nagaland. Media here is gagged by our own lethargy—we should get out there and get the stories, not wait for press releases to decide our pages.”
Put together, this could significantly transform a conflict situation from debilitating into the active involvement of all in peace building.
