Censorship – News Media/Documentaries

Within hours of sending in her bimonthly column to The Assam Tribune on the violation of human rights and ‘dehumanization’ of Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, veteran journalist Patricia Mukhim was told by the paper on August 6 that the management had decided not to carry the piece. She was also instructed to concentrate only on Meghalaya.

Patricia, who has been the editor of The Shillong Times for almost two decades now, started contributing to the Assam Tribune, one of the largest-selling English dailies in the northeast, around 2014. On Wednesday, she sent in her piece to the Tribune which was to be published the next day, August 7. Soon after being informed about the rejection, the Padma Shri-winning journalist decided to cut off her ties with The Assam Tribune and not contribute to the paper henceforth. This, she announced in a Facebook post.

Expressing her disappointment at the development, the Meghalaya-based journalist wrote on the social media platform, “To be told what to write on and how to write are the marks of an authoritarian regime. It’s better to be a free spirit than be tied in knots and have your thoughts imprisoned.”