Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
April 2012
Time and tide waits for no one. Such is the truth for any media house. Eastern Panorama - the 1st full-fledged English magazine of the north east started from a 48 page black white magazine and progressed to a 64 page multi coloured magazine in recent times and has been evolving ever since its inception in April 1992. With the countless obstacles faced in the early nineties in pre and post press facilities when a lot depended on the Kolkata market and on the postman and our BSNL landlines. Today, the internet, email, mobile phones and the enhanced in-house capabilities have changed the face of the media operations throughout the world. However memories of the past spark the same urge and hunger to strive and succeed in reporting the north east region of India as it is: the motto that has guided us for the last two decades.
Yes, ‘Reporting north east as it is’ is no simple feat as our region is a confluence of ethnic diversity in its true sense. We are a mini India in India. The challenges of reporting on the north east are numerous as we still lack some of the basic infrastructure and resources required to achieve this feat. When today’s editorial desks across the world have the leisure of the internet at its fingertips, in April 1992 the concept seemed light years ahead. Eastern Panorama has truly contributed in the field of journalism and has played the role of a catalyst to bring about the emotional integration of the people of the northeastern region. It is no secret that when Eastern Panorama was launched in April, 1992, many states of the northeastern region did not have a full-fledged publication and the information regarding each state was not available within a single platform. It can be said that our greatest achievement in the last two decades has been in bringing the north east Indian states on one platform.
When Eastern Panorama was started, insurgency was at its peak in the north east region. Be it the ULFA or the ATTF or the ABSU to name a few out of the many, almost the entire north east region was engulfed in violence. EP wrote extensively against these outfits, brought out its columns and investigations besides revealing scams and much more to the readers’ delight and this was done in spite of many odds and threats from insurgent groups. This was part of the daunting task of not compromising on journalistic ethics and reporting the truth fearlessly, fairly and without any favour. This resulted in Eastern Panorama being acknowledged across India and our publication was awarded a national award for free, fair and public spirited journalism in the year 1995 the citation of which was signed by the former Chief Justice of India Y V Chandrachud.
The memories of the last 20 years are still fresh. I wish to share a few with you. The very first issue of Eastern Panorama carried an investigation on AIDS in Meghalaya which had ripple effects and on 3rd April, 1992, all newspapers including the national ones carried the same taking clue from Eastern Panorama. During the period, I had the opportunity to interact with at least three Prime Ministers of India, the likes of Shri H. D. Deve Gowda, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr. Manmohan Singh. A group of journalists from non Delhi based areas were invited to the Prime Minister’s residence, in which Dr. Singh talking to me personally commented that Mizoram is a well governed state.
The north east is very sensitive and our desk once made the mistake of depicting Manipur as Nagaland in one of our illustrations. The reactions in Manipur were harsh; the copies of Eastern Panorama were burnt by the hundreds. I had to tender a personal apology to the people of Manipur. Similarly, once the tribes’ names were interchanged for Arunachal Pradesh and we faced reactions even though the fault was of the dispatcher of the article. I also remember attending the press meet of Shri T. N. Seshan, who was the Election Commissioner, whom I questioned on the IMDT Act to which he did not reply and lost his cool. These are just a few memories which I have shared with you, though in actuality it’s a long list of events, both sweet and sour. A journalist’s life is one which sees and assesses the different tests of life but truly, his main role is to keep the readers informed and nothing beyond.
Every issue that concerns the people of the north east has found a place in Eastern Panorama. As opposed to the misconception, Eastern Panorama was not meant only for negative events. They were reported to awaken the concerned authorities and to a larger extent we were successful in doing so. The positive news and development of the region also found equal place in Eastern Panorama which highlighted the achievements of the people and governments of the different states of the region. These were covered, analyzed and published in Eastern Panorama as our mantra at all times was to report the north east as it is. An honest portrayal of the region alone can bring about its development as the policy makers constantly get the right feedback from the issues of Eastern Panorama.
In this special issue, we have brought out a flashback of the last 20 years. The task could be accomplished because of very sincere efforts of our Executive Editor Mr. Harsh Jhunjhunwala, Sub-Editor Mr. Daniel Nampui, Rupa Rani Sonowal, Namrata Shaharia and the creative team of Pynskit Langstang and Reynold Rymbai. Not to forget our Senior Media Executives Mrs. Sarbani Roy and Mrs. Reeta Kamble who worked day and night to make this publication happen. We have also invited a series of prominent authors to contribute to this magazine. Some of those who obliged us include IIM Shillong professor Natalie West Kharkongor and M.P.Bezbaruah Hony. Director, Administrative Staff, College of India, New Delhi.
Thanks to all our readers and advisers, who are the backbone of the publication we have had an eventful and fulfilling 20 years of publication and with your support and patronage, here’s looking forward to the next 20.