PUCL's Manipur Crisis Report Slammed for Inaccuracies and Bias
A recent report by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) on Manipur's ethnic crisis has been criticised for inaccuracies and biased language. The report, released on April 18, 2023, has sparked controversy due to its misrepresentations and lack of balance.
One of the key issues is the report's handling of forest evictions. It wrongly claimed that villages were to be evicted from the Churachandpur-Khoupum protected forest, which is not the case. Between 2015 and 2023, 413 households were indeed evicted from 24 reserved and protected forests, but there's no evidence of targeted victimisation based on community.
The report also confuses the distinction between reserved and protected forests, demonstrating poor research. It repeats a false claim from the Editors Guild of India that these forests have been weaponised to target one community. The PUCL report further uses biased language, such as saying one community was 'thrown out' of the valley while another 'left the hills'.
The report includes allegations of censorship and threats against journalists. A Meitei journalist claimed the All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU) operates like 'godi media' and is pro-Biren Singh. Another journalist alleged they were threatened and arrested for refusing to follow consensual news lines set by AMWJU. However, PUCL did not give AMWJU a chance to respond to these allegations before publishing.
The PUCL report on Manipur's ethnic crisis has been criticised for its misrepresentations, lack of balance, and biased language. It highlights the importance of thorough research and fair representation in such sensitive issues. The report serves as a reminder that words once published can live on, even if inaccurate, and motivated research may ignore the principle of audi alteram partem - the right to a fair hearing.
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