Several important issues of Armed Conflict Reporting and International Humanitarian Law were discussed during a day-long media workshop on the subject of armed conflict reporting and humanitarian law organized at the National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam (NLUJA) today.
The day-long workshop was organized jointly in collaboration with International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), NLUJA and Journalists' Forum Assam (JFA). The programme was aimed at providing vital information to the working journalists of the region. Over 50 working journalist from different parts of Assam and Manipur participated in the workshop.
ICRC Communication Coordinator Marek Resich explained the ICRC mandate and mission before the participants and narrated the role played by International body during conflict situation around the world. Communication and Political advisor ICRC Surinder Singh Oberoi said that safety should be priority for the journalists while covering conflict situations.
“My suggestion to the journalists who cover the conflict zones should give priority to their safety. If you take risk and lose your life, there is no use. India being one of the most dangerous places for journalists one has to be extremely careful,” said the Oberoi, while remembering his assignment as a journalist during the Kargil war. Gurjeet Singh, Vice Chancellor of NLUJA highlighted the importance of International Humanitarian Law and role of media in changing the fate of society. Besides, Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Additional Director General of Police of Assam, Benjamin Warhren, Deputy Head of ICRC, Regional Delegation for South Asia, Renuka Devi Barkataki, Chairperson, of Indian Red Cross (Assam branch), senior journalist DN Chakraborty were also present on the occasion among others. Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, who attended the workshop as Chief Guest, criticized the sensational ways adopted by local television channels to create confusion among the viewers.
“Media has been doing a tremendous role in highlighting the issues of our society but some occasions media especially television seems to be doing unnecessary things by creating sensations,” Mahanta said. He also said that the state authority should provide sufficient amount of information to the journalists for balancing the news. The workshop was attended by journalists from across the northeast.
An initial sadness and grief following the unforeseen death of Assam’s cultural icon in Singapore at only 53 have slowly turned into outrages with a sole demand for justice to Zubeen Garg, as millions of his fans and admirers got convinced that something wrong had happened to their prince of melody during an unplanned sea-yacht outing in the southeast Asian nation. The heart-breaking news that brought the India’s north-eastern State with 3.3 million people to a standstill turning its capital city into a sea of humans weeping, sobbing, crying and exclaiming why Zubeen was put to die in the islands nation, thousands kilometer away from his motherland, on 19 September 2025. The...
The heartbroken news arrived from Singapore in multiple media outlets, which baffled the people of Assam, but immediately in outrages among the young generation, who were born in eastern India and brought up with the melodious voice of iconic singer Zubeen Garg. The sadness and melancholy soon turned into outrages with a vital question, why Zubeen was taken to Singapore as he was not physically well for months. Millions of his fans were annoyed when they encountered some clippings of videos on social media, where the singing sensation was seen swimming in the seawater (without a life-jacket), whereas he was cautioned by the doctors in Guwahati to avoid the fire and water body. The...
Guwahati: Since 1 February 2005, Assam government has implemented the National Pension Scheme (NPS) for the government employees. All Assam Government NPS Employees’ Association terms it an anti-employee policy and a mockery in the name of pension. The Union government, instead of restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), has taken initiatives to replace the NPS with a new one named Universal Pension Scheme (UPS).
The third biennial conference of the association, held on 24 August at Rupnagar in the city strongly opposed this move and demanded the reintroduction of the OPS. President Achyutananda Hazarika and general secretary Apurba Sharma announced that from next month...
The natural gas leakage from Bhatiapar crude oil well continues for 15 days, even though the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) along with an expert team from USA continue working for full dousing of the RDS-147A under Rudrasagar oilfield in Sivasagar district of eastern Assam. The blowout began on 12 June 2025 and uncontrolled leakage compelled nearly 350 families to leave their places for safety reasons. Besides the local villagers living near the old well, the high pressure gas flow impacted the surrounding environment heavily. Lately, the ONGC issued a statement claiming that ‘a significant progress in controlling the well at RDS 147A’ was made. It also added the...
When hundreds of media workers died of Covid-19 complications across India, a few people thought the corona disaster would also devastate the print media with sharply declined circulation figures resulting in shrinking advertisement revenues. Many established newspaper-publishing groups either closed many of their editions in the post-corona period or drastically reduced the number of employees to cope up with the hard situation. Some newspapers were shut down forever and many owners were compelled to sell their publications. The troubles are now brewing for the oldest media house in north-eastern region after a Dimapur-based English daily recently ceased its publications. The...
Guwahati: Amid stained bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the head of Dhaka-based interim government Dr Muhammad Yunus exchanged warm greetings on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. In an official letter (dated on 4 June 2025), PM Modi on behalf of the people and government of Bharat conveyed good wishes to Dr Yunus and the people of Bangladesh on the auspicious occasion of the Islamic festival.
This holy festival is an integral part of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of India and is celebrated with immense joy and fervour by millions of people of Islamic faith across the country. It reminds us of the timeless values of sacrifice,...
In the decisive war against Pakistan in 1971, India won and a new nation was born, but a small State in eastern part of Bharat had to pay a heavy price with millions of East Pakistan refugees, for which Assam still cries but nobody cares. With an absorbent border with Bangladesh and unconvincing political will from the government, augmented by continued callous attitude of majority Asomiya people, the situation remains grim even today. New Delhi supported the Mukti Bahini (the freedom aspiring Bengalis of East Pakistan) in their movement against West Pakistan and finally the atrocious Pakistan forces had to surrender on 16 December 1971. But the newly born sovereign country was not...
The current interim government of Bangladesh, led by Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, remains busy pursuing the final reports by a number of reform commissions with their proposals and subsequent discussions with the political party representatives. Even after nine months of its formation in Dhaka, the situation across the south Asian nation continues to be murky. Needless to mention that a sense of joy and expectation surfaced among nearly 170 million Bangladeshi nationals, when the caretaker government was constituted following a massive student-led uprising compelled sitting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee (to India) on 5 August last year. Enjoying the...
A recent controversy erupted following a social media post by a television journalist, associated with Gauhati Press Club (earlier Guwahati Press Club) in northeast India, brought many questions for the media body, which invited a minister in Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s cabinet for a cultural program, but shockingly ‘faced derogatory comments’. The particular post was generated by the journalist working for a satellite news channel owned by the CM’s family, and his outburst that the State health & family welfare minister Ashok Singhal disrespected a delegation from GPC, was taken seriously. According to the journalist, the GPC delegation went to invite Singhal for a...
The recently concluded by-polls for 48 legislative assembly constituencies in 14 States (along with two Parliamentary constituencies in Kerala and Maharashtra) divulged an important fact that no less than 41 assembly seats needed the special elections as those were vacated by the respective legislators after they were elected to the lower house of Indian Parliament. The representatives of different political parties (irrespective of their ideologies or position in the governments) participated in the last general elections and succeeded to be lawmakers in the 18th Lok Sabha.
One may wonder how all these members of State legislative assemblies turned Parliamentarians...
Add new comment