Press Unity on Display at Rabindra Bhavan Protest in Agartala
Agartala, Feb 9: Journalists and media workers from across Tripura on Monday staged a three-hour mass sit-in and protest meeting in front of Rabindra Bhavan in Agartala, in support of an 11-point charter of demands aimed at ensuring safety, financial security and institutional dignity of the media fraternity.
The protesters demanded concrete steps to safeguard journalists, free land allotment for housing to journalists in their respective working areas, and an allocation of Rs 50 lakh to the Journalists’ Welfare Fund in the forthcoming state budget. They also sought doubling of journalists’ pension and family pension, enhancement of government advertisement rates, regular advertisements for weekly newspapers, and a 50 per cent concession on electricity charges for recognised media houses.
Later, a delegation led by senior editor Subal Kumar De later met Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and submitted a memorandum outlining the demands. The Chief Minister assured the delegation that the issues raised would be examined and necessary action taken.
The delegation, however, warned that failure to deliver justice regarding allegations against two ruling party MLAs would compel them to approach the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister and the President of India.
More than 800 journalists and media workers from all subdivisions of the state participated in the programme, sources claimed. Around 150 journalists from the Janajati community, under the banner of the Khumulwng Press Club, also joined the agitation, reflecting widespread unity within the media fraternity.
Addressing the gathering, senior editors and media representatives strongly condemned what they described as increasing social, economic and physical intimidation of journalists.
Speaking at the protest, Subal Kumar Dey, Sanjay Pal, Shanit Debray, Pranab Sarkar, Dibakar Debnath, Narayan Patwari, Sebak Bhattacharjee and newspaper hawkers’ leader Nanigopal Saha alleged that two sitting MLAs—Ram Prasad Pal and Ranjit Debbarma—have been misusing their constitutional authority to harass and intimidate senior journalists for reporting on alleged corruption, unethical conduct and communal violence-related activities linked to them.
The speakers claimed that the intimidation was aimed at suppressing critical reporting and concealing allegations of wrongdoing, thereby straining relations between the media and the government. Terming the issue a serious threat to democratic values, they demanded immediate legal action against the legislators.
The protestors further called for assured budgetary support for the Journalists’ Welfare Fund from the 2026–27 financial year onwards, doubling of advertisement rates for recognised print, television and digital media, and the introduction of a special advertisement policy for weekly newspapers to ensure their financial viability.
Other demands included punitive action against individuals misusing administrative and constitutional authority to silence journalists through social media campaigns, immediate investigation into the allegations against the two MLAs, and strict enforcement of guidelines to prevent misuse of press stickers on vehicles.
The media fraternity also urged the state government to expedite the long-pending judicial proceedings in the cases of slain journalists Sudip Dutta Bhowmik and Shantanu Bhowmik, both unresolved for over nine years, and ensure exemplary punishment for the perpetrators.
Besides, the protestors demanded the introduction of group insurance coverage and a special monthly allowance for newspaper distributors (hawkers), describing them as an essential yet neglected pillar of the media ecosystem.
The speakers concluded by calling for unity within the media fraternity and reaffirmed their resolve to continue the democratic struggle until the demands are addressed in the larger interest of press freedom and democracy.