Shillong, Sept 19: A new digital platform dealing with borders was launched on Monday.
www.borderlens.com focuses on stories from the eastern borderlands of India.
Journalist Bidhayak Das (in picture) is the founding editor and Nayanjyoti Bhuyan is the co-founder of borderlens
The objective is to provide a repository that helps to bring out stories on people, their livelihoods, sustenance, local economy, land, rivers and waterways, trade and commerce as well as security and geopolitics.
Launching the media platform, Bidhayak said the intention is to provide an alternative space compared to the mainstream media.
“Stories of people, such as the hill and plain tribes and other communities who inhabit these places and their lifestyles would add a very important dimension to not just getting the messaging right about our borderlands, but also help build constructive, people-centric, and humane perspectives around the mentioned issues and keep us all connected to the reality on the ground”, the website says.
Journalist and president of the Shillong Press Club David Laitphlang also spoke.
Keynote speaker was Gautam Mukhopadhyay, senior visiting fellow at Centre for Policy Research and former ambassador to Myanmar, Syria and Afghanistan.
A panel discussion on ‘Eastern Borderlands-Rethinking livelihood, security, and connectivity in the digital age’ was held.
The speakers were Srikanth Kondapalli, Dean of School of International Studies and professor of China studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, Desmond Kharmawphlang, folklorist, professor and head, department of Centre for creative and cultural studies, NEHU, Rida Gatphoh, Dak-Ti Craft, state woman social entrepreneur and Dr Ambuj Thakur, assistant professor of history, Teok College, Assam.
