Panos South Asia media fellowships on Conflict reporting in Northeast India announced
Panos  South Asia's media fellowship to research conflict-related issues in Northeast India have been announced.The Fellowships for the third cycle of its 'Plural Media and peace-building in  Northeast India' which runs from July 2008- June 2009 have been awarded to three print journalists, two radio journalists and a television journalist. Following is the list of the successful applicants and their proposed work.

Print

• Ms. Tongam Rina: Ms. Rina works with Arunachal Times and is based in Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh). Her proposal deals with the divergent realities of different sets of refugees in Arunachal Pradesh. She wishes to look at the manner in which the media and political collectives within the state have reacted to the presence of refugees in the state. She will look at a range of issues that affect “political refugees” and “development-induced refugees” in the state.
• Mr. Mridul Kumar Handique: Mr. Handique is a freelance journalist who works primarily with an Assamese weekly Xwmbaar but also contributes to other print and radio media in Assam. In his proposal, he wishes to conduct an in-depth study of the Rabha Hasong Autonomy Movement and the kind of conflicts that it generates among non-Rabhas in the proposed autonomous area. Central to his work is the question as to why autonomous territorial demands are seen as (a) conflict resolution mechanisms by the state and certain non-state beneficiaries and (b) also as the source of conflict between different groups within the territorial area demarcated.
• Mr. Pulin Kalita: Mr. Kalita works with an Assamese daily, Dainik Asam, and is based in Guwahati (Assam). He wishes to write a series of articles on ethnic problems, migration and land-relations in a mixed enclave in Nagaon district in Assam. Mr. Kalita wants to locate the anatomy of conflicts within the three dominant faultlines of migration, religion and human rights discourse. The objective of his project is to (a) explore the changes in demographic patterns in the said enclave; (b) locate reasons for migration of people to and from the enclave and (c) explore pathways for mutual understanding and cooperation between settlers and indigenous peoples.

Radio

• Ms. Kshetrimayum Chitrabanu Devi: Ms. Devi works with All India Radio and is based in Imphal (Manipur). Her proposed work deals with women’s voices in the armed conflict in Manipur. She wishes to interview a range of women to assess the manner in which they continue with life despite the ongoing militarization of everyday life. She will focus on the role of women’s associations and other civil society collectives and her work will be based on primary interviews.

Television

• Mr. Dipankar Sen Gupta: Mr. Sen Gupta works with both television and print media and is based in Agartala (Tripura). He has worked extensively with the displaced Reang (Bru) people who fled from Mizoram in 1997 and are now based in various refugee camps in Tripura. During the course of his fellowship, he wishes to produce an in-depth documentary on the life, trials and tribulations of the displaced Bru people in Tripura.