l It’s been some time now that we have been relieved of being “Annanized” by the media, both print and electronic. And that is a relief. The national news channels were having a field day with all the talk shows and interviews with the who’s who and all for the sake of educating us viewers about corruption and a bill to put an end to it.

Let’s see what happens in the days to come and how much corruption the Lokpal can curb in reality. Will a law be able to dig out the dirt that has set deep into our social fabric?

It may arrest scams and corruption that run into crores of rupees but what about the palm-greasing that takes place everyday? This is where the problem of the common man lies.

The Rajas and the Kalmadis don’t make a difference to him. Moreover, where does the media draw the line in covering events?

It launched a blitzkrieg for 12 days when Anna Hazare went on a hunger strike but does the cause of Irom Chanu Sharmila, the world’s longest hunger striker, have no viewership appeal?

Sharmila has been on hunger strike against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, which empowers troops to detain and even shoot someone on the suspicion of being a militant, for almost 11 years.

Does her fight against an act so evil in design lack the glitz and glamour of Annaji’s fast?

Maybe there was some activity by the media when Sharmila started her hunger strike to rid the northeastern states of this act. But all is forgotten and she now languishes in a hospital, being force-fed by the government through a nose tube.

Is influx from Bangladesh not of any national importance? Or is it only localised to the affected states? There is a slow but sure demographic change happening in the Northeast and if not checked earnestly, the lackadaisical attitude of the powers that be could spell doom for the entire nation in the days to come.

Does the national media feel it worthy to highlight the seriousness of the situation (as most people staying outside the Northeast don’t have a clue about its geography) or does it only find blasts and ethnic clashes that paint a gory picture of the Northeast worthy of coverage?

Mainland India must change its ambiguous outlook towards the Northeast.

In hindsight, The Telegraph dated September 5, 2011 had carried a story, Sharmila speaks up on romance, on its front page while in its September 6 edition, the headline read Sharmila challenges Centre. Telepathy?

Micky Douglas, Jorhat