How metro media has failed Meghalaya

Within days of the disappearance and murder of Raja Raghuvanshi of Indore in the rainy, misty hills of the Sohra area of Meghalaya, the metro media across the country was swift to rush to judgement on the region and its people. The noise brigade included ill-informed, hectoring anchors, angry family members, clueless reporters, shallow politicians, a bunch of social media morons and even the venerable The Times of India, one of whose reports described the region where I now live as "the crime-prone hills."Even as the truth about the murder case is unravelling, I want to look at how people reacted to it and handled the situation and the mess that the so-called notional national media, which I describe as the metro media — for these are their constituencies, especially of their owners.I live in Shillong these days, having moved here after decades in Delhi, whose weather, pollution, traffic and politics I find increasingly toxic. There's a forest not far from my home and I awaken to birdsong and the splash of green and many flowers and orchids in our garden. Shillong has problems, including bad traffic, but it is cleaner than Delhi.When news of the missing couple broke, I thought, like many others, that they had probably gotten lost and would be found soon, as in other cases.When the story of his murder and his missing wife was flashed, the metro media, with its noisy anchors and ignorant reporters, started attacking the state, its government and its people. Both TV and print media rushed teams to Shillong and Sohra, better known by its older name of Cherrapunji — the place which held the record for the heaviest rainfall in the world till losing it to the nearby Mawsynram.Meanwhile, with shrill music and shriller voices, social and traditional media also broadcast what grieving and angry relatives had to say. I was appalled at the coverage. Having been a professional reporter, I have always believed in the following basic reporting skills — don't jump to conclusions, talk to as many people as possible at the site of an incident, including officials, local residents and especially the local media, some of whom are very knowledgeable.Journalists and editors from New Delhi, Mumbai and other metros have been parachuting into the North-east for decades, with little ground knowledge and scanty research. They become experts overnight without speaking any local language (there are 250+ communities in eight states who speak almost as many languages) or understanding the complex situations.The Sohra murder case is a classic example of the media falling into the trap of rhetoric, with assumptions trumping facts, hard-nosed reporting and reflection.People in Meghalaya, particularly in Sohra, were outraged by the vile, prejudiced reporting, insinuations and, worse, the accusations. The news cycle of calumnious charges was bad for their reputation; it was terrible for Sohra as a safe and tourist-friendly destination. Home stays and hotels are available in Sohra in a range of budgets for backpackers and also those seeking five-star comfort, overlooking spectacular cliffs and gorges.Over the decades, Sohra has grown as a destination that became a "must" for visitors to the emerging travel golden triangle of Meghalaya, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Local cuisines are boosted by a new approach by hoteliers, restauranteurs and guest houses that offer vegetarian platters from Rajasthan and Gujarat and even Assamese thalis. The place is always bustling.With the growth of homestays, the livelihoods of many have become intertwined with tourists and travel in Sohra, Shillong and other towns. However, as Kashmir shows, if destinations are to attract footfalls, they must address the issue of safety, a priority of travellers. A blow to it can dent a small economy like Sohra and, overall, of Meghalaya.Under pressure, the government and local communities held their patience. Chief Minister Conrad Sangma also steered Meghalaya calmly. "The government remained calm, it worked professionally, especially the police who stitched the clues together," said Cyril Diengdoh, director of Meghalaya's Tourism Department. He pointed out how local people came together quickly to help, including the West Jaintia Hills Adventure Association. Their teams helped the police locate Raghuvanshi's body, enabling the law enforcement agency to connect the dots in the murder case.Echoing others, Diengdoh said that the "media needs to be much more responsible, they were just too quick to judgment …. People were angry as they were being labelled as criminals, it affected them as such things had never happened here with tourists."With the Ahmedabad flight disaster, this sordid case vanished from the metro media's headlines. But the people of Sohra are made of a different mettle. They held a candlelight vigil for Raghuvanshi. It shows to the country as well as media and the ignorant where the better India truly lives.Apologies are flowing in from TV anchors and others for their reporting as well as from relatives of the affected families. But to me, what is better is that last weekend, Sohra was teeming with tourists.There is one thing which does intrigue me: media groups invested large funds in covering a sensational murder case from the Hindi heartland. Why couldn't they send their units from Shillong to Manipur — where a much more complex story remains unreported? That would have needed professionalism and guts. Although, even as I write these lines, I know that without background knowledge and understanding of the field, that too would have ended up as a 'parachuting expedition'.Sanjoy Hazarika is an independent columnist.

How metro media has failed Meghalaya

Sanjoy Hazarika

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