[Assam] Chawla Mindset (Letters to the Editor, The Sentinel, 13 SEPTEMBER 2008 )

[Buljit Buragohain]

Chawla Mindset 

This refers to the letter ''Prabhu Chawla's Prejudice'' (The Sentinel, September 9, 2008). 
What an excuse from Prabhu Chawla? Is it the laconic reply of a veteran journalist? It is a great injustice that India Today does not like to recruit a correspondent in the Northeast due to its business policy. Should the media select a location for news coverage on the basis of circulation? We feel here in Delhi, in every field, the Northeast is discriminated by the Centre. If discrimination is shown by one of the largest media groups in the country, what will happen to the ruling government and common people? If all the leading media groups can recruit correspondents for the Northeast, why not India Today? Even satellite news channels have their stingers in Assam. Still the people of northern India have a prejudiced notion that we in the Northeast live in trees, and we eat monkeys, snakes, etc! 
All leading 'national' media groups collect money in Delhi for the relief of Bihar flood victims. Even MPs have contributed to Bihar flood relief works from their MPLAD funds. But why not for Assam?
 
 
Prarthana Gogoi,
New Delhi.
 
 
(Letters to the editor,The Sentinel,13 SEPTEMBER 2008 )



--- On Tue, 9/9/08, Buljit Buragohain <buluassam at yahoo.co.in> wrote:

From: Buljit Buragohain <buluassam at yahoo.co.in>
Subject: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (The Sentinel,TUESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2008 )
To: assam at assamnet.org
Date: Tuesday, 9 September, 2008, 10:36 AM







Prabhu Chawla’s Prejudice 

On September 6, Prabhu Chawla, Editor of India Today, delivered a lecture on ‘‘The Pros and Cons of Coalition Politics’’ at IIT-Guwahati as part of Techniche-2008. During the interactive session, we pointed out to Mr Chawla that his lecture on coalition politics covered areas from Kashmir to Karnataka and from Goa to Kolkata, but that he did not mention the Northeast or Assam, which too is witness to coalition politics, even once. In response, Mr Chawla said that his subeditor had deleted/omitted it from the presentation, and he just skipped the point by saying “that is a different issue”!
Later on, we asked him to tell us the reason why India Today does not have a Northeast correspondent based in the region. He replied that due to ‘‘business policy’’, his magazine would not keep any correspondent in the Northeast! So, someone would come from Kolkata if needed. And later on, he also said that ‘‘Northeast is a separate part of the country’’!
The point is that if a veteran journalist like Prabhu Chawla can have such distorted views of the Northeast, think of what people in general, in the so-called mainland, would think us. In that case can development really be uniform? Will it not provoke the militants further? Mr Chawla should clarify. 

Buljit Buragohain,
Biraj Kr Kakati,
IIT-Guwahati.



      Share files, take polls, and make new friends - all under one roof. Go to http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups/