Stories of Resilience: Media Voices from India’s North East

This report was published on August 3, 2021, by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a non-governmental organisation based in New Delhi. It outlines the “harassment, attacks and intimidation” faced by journalists and media professionals in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The report reveals the “financial, political, legal, physical and psychological pressures” faced by media professionals working in these states. It identifies the major challenges faced by the local media, made worse due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The report notes that pressures created by state authorities, dearth of infrastructures which enable reporting, gender discrimination and lack of security are some of the major systemic hurdles which obstruct free reporting in the northeastern states of India. The situation is made more volatile by the “insurgencies, political and ethnic strife, conflict and citizenship exercises” that the region experiences. Stories of Resilience has been authored by Dr. Piyashi Dutta, assistant professor at Amity University, Haryana, and Aditya Sharma, head of media and advocacy at CHRI at the time of the publication of the report. Sanjoy Hazarika, international director at CHRI and chair of the Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, has edited the report.The report incorporates narratives and experiences of five acclaimed journalists from the region: Patricia Mukhim, editor of The Shillong Times; Tongam Rina, deputy editor of The Arunachal Times; Teresa Rehman, author of The Mothers of Manipur and managing editor of The Thumb Print magazine; Diganta Sharma, human rights journalist and author of Nellie, 1983; and Pradip Phanjoubam, editor of the Imphal Review of Arts and Politics.This 82-page publication is divided into six sections: Introduction (Section 1); The Predicament of a Trade (Section 2); Journalism and Resilience (Section 3); Navigating Identities and Diversity (Section 4); Vulnerable Careers (Section 5); and On the Digital Frontlines (Section 6). Sections 2-6 are summarised below:The Predicament of a TradeThis section focuses on the threats and violence faced by journalists in the northeastern states of India, through the experiences of Patricia Mukhim...