New Delhi: The Wire’s journalists, their reports and those by freelancers whose work has been published by The Wire have been shortlisted by Human Rights and Religious Freedom (HRRF) Journalism Awards 2022 on June 6, for making a mark in their reporting on communalism and hate speech.
Shortlists were announced across five categories of the awards: ‘Best Text Reporting’, ‘Best Photo Story’, ‘Best Video Story’, ‘HRRF Young Journalist of the Year’ and ‘HRRF Best Media Organization’.
The shortlisted candidates were chosen across categories from more than 100 submissions from across India. The winners will be announced on Sunday, June 19.
The five reporters shortlisted in the ‘HRRF Young Journalist of the Year’ category are:
Alishan Jafri, a freelance journalist who often writes for The Wire. Jafri writes on communalism in India, and has consistently reported on Hindutva activists and leaders who played a prominent role in the Delhi 2020 riots. He has watched online propagation of hate closely and has reported on dog-whistling terms like “land jihad” and “redi jihad”.
Ismat Ara, a freelance journalist, also reported extensively on the implications of communalism and hatred for The Wire. She has covered minute topics like the consequences of ‘love jihad’ claims slapped on a Muslim teenager in Uttar Pradesh and on the reactions surrounding a temple encroachment in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar.
Naomi Clarette Barton, who is audience engagement editor at The Wire, has reported on hate crimes and polarising speeches of the ruling party’s politicians.
Also on the shortlist are of Fatima Khan, who works at The Quint, and has reported on communalism, and conflicts between Rajasthan’s tribal communities and Hindu bodies.
The shortlist ends with Aishwarya S. Iyer, who works at Scroll.in, and has written on how Hindutva activists hijacked India’s child protection body. Another of her stories covered how Delhi riots’ accused from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Bharatiya Janata Party were aiming to become civic leaders.
In the ‘Best Text Reporting’ category, Kaushik Raj was shortlisted for reporting on the anti-Muslim sloganeers at The Kashmir Files screenings for The Wire.
He also reported on the teenager who had opened fire at students from Jamia Millia Islamia who were marching against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. Another one of his stories covered how a Hindu priest in Madhya Pradesh threatened mass sexual violence against Muslim women in the presence of the police. All these stories were done in collaboration with Alishan Jafri for The Wire.
In the ‘Best Video Story’ category, Shehlat Maknoon Wani was shortlisted for his role in the immersive investigative collaboration titled Delhi 2020: The Real Conspiracy for The Wire.
