Mukroh killings warrant introspection, not feed blood-thirsty people

Talk about picking a week to travel.

I was in Sikkim when I heard that four people had been killed near the Assam-Meghalaya border. Like most people, I was also glued to my phone, trying to read updates as and when my internet worked (Sikkim internet deserves its own column one day), trying to understand what conspired.

I might as well have given up.

In the first few hours, reports kept saying that “timber smugglers” had been killed, although anyone who had even a single source on the ground knew that was not the case. EastMojo, as you know, has a small team and our Meghalaya correspondent wasted no time in starting from Shillong and reaching Mukroh, which is over 100 km away from the capital. In the meantime, every other media outlet, never to miss an opportunity, was running headlines that do not merit space in any democracy. From people claiming that timber smugglers had opened fire on the police and were thereby killed in retaliation to timber smugglers attacking police with locals’ support, every headline lacked any supporting evidence. Even as EastMojo’s team was trying its best to find out what happened, the local media started another rumour: Assam-Meghalaya border had been sealed. Who sealed the border? Assam or Meghalaya? Who issued the order? Is there a written order, and if yes, who signed it?

Also Read | Solution to Northeast border conflicts lies among locals, not in Delhi

None of these questions matter when TRP is your only aim.

At EastMojo, we were feeling the pressure: do we release news similar to what others are doing? Or do journalism as we know it? We called the cops in both Assam and Meghalaya. They confirmed that there were no ‘official’ orders about any borders being sealed. Not in Jorabat, not in Garo Hills, and not in Karbi Anglong. Assam Police was ‘advising’ people against travel to Meghalaya to prevent any potential hate crime incident, not because “Meghalaya had closed its borders”.

But we were not done here. By the end of the day, every person with a phone and a motive wanted us to believe that Meghalaya residents were attacking Assamese in the state. Some even wanted us to ‘look’ into three Assamese residents murdered in Shillong. We did not bother because, of course, these were rumours and had not a shred of truth.

Also Read | Assam continues ‘advisory’ against travel to Meghalaya

And the forest guard who died? Why were media houses pushing the narrative that he too had been shot? If only they had checked with the hospital that performed his post-mortem. They would have found that the guard died due to a deep gash around his neck, indicating that he had been attacked by a Dao, a local knife/machete.

I would like to point out one more thing here: I appreciate how the two state governments have handled the situation. Given his frosty relationship with the BJP and an election a few months away, Conrad Sangma could have launched at the Assam BJP government for political gains but he chose to stay calm. Instead, he made it very clear in his first press conference after the killings that Assam Police killed innocents. Then, he ensured that the Central government had his ear and fixed a meeting with the Union Home Minister in no time. All this while ensuring that central agencies like the CBI look into the matter.

His Assam counterpart also behaved admirably, accepting that Assam Police should have exercised more restraint and suspended some officials concerned with the matter.

Also Read | Mukroh ground report: ‘Assam Police killed five farmers, not smugglers’

Now, I am the last one to defend politicians: I have learnt better in my decades of journalism. However, I am also wise enough to acknowledge when they learn lessons. Last year, at the peak of Assam-Mizoram border tensions, the Assam government had an ‘unofficial’ blockade against Mizoram, denying the state essentials like fuel and even medicines at the height of the pandemic. That earned Assam a bad name across the region and thankfully, this time, there was no such incident.

Our region has too many issues that need urgent attention, and the vexed border issues are one among many. At EastMojo, we have shown how bad things are in Meghalaya even before the Mukroh killings. The last thing we need is people who will go to any length to flame tensions. And this applies as much to citizens as it does to media folks. I understand the need to feel angry and do something: I have been there. But by sharing doctored images and unconfirmed reports, you ensure our region remains backwards. Who benefits when you destroy public property and attack security forces? What justice do you seek by nearly lynching a driver who had nothing to do with the incident? We need justice for those who were killed in Mukroh. This includes the Assam forest guard who was killed by irate locals. Justice that comes at the cost of someone is not justice, it is appeasement. And we know where appeasement has led the Northeast.