The boundary row between Assam and Mizoram is further being fuelled by the highly provocative reporting by the media. In particular, the media in Assam have been reporting a one-sided story. Many of their reports are deprived of facts and are very provocative in nature. For the last few days, ever since the deadly clash between the security forces of the two states led to the death of six people, the media in Assam have been continuously running propaganda against Mizoram. In the name of media, they are making provocative reports which will add fire to the fuel.
The situation is so bad that the Northeast India Federation of Journalists (NIFJ) has appealed to media persons and media houses to exercise restraint while reporting and covering the Assam-Mizoram boundary incident. The appeal made by the NIFJ is timely and the journalists of both the states, in particular of Assam, should pay heed and introspect. A few years ago, when the boundary row between Arunachal and Assam turned deadly at Tarasso, the media had carried out a similar kind of propaganda against Arunachal and its people. They attempted to show the tribals as being kind of barbaric. The same thing is being repeated with the Mizos now. The media should confine themselves to factual reporting. Any kind of wrong reporting can disturb peace and cause lasting damage to the relation between the people of Mizoram and Assam.