Chicago, Illinois (August 24, 2024)— The Indian American Muslim Council, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos, today announced the winners of the annual Human Rights and Religious Freedom Journalism Awards at a ceremony in Chicago, Illinois.
“Today, we honor the unwavering courage and integrity of the journalists who have stood on the frontlines of truth, amplifying the voices of the oppressed and defending the fundamental rights of all people. Their fearless commitment to justice and religious freedom, often in the face of tremendous adversity, is not only inspiring but essential in the fight to preserve India’s pluralistic values. These winners are not just reporters—they are the conscience of our society, and their work is a powerful force for change,” said the IAMC president Mohammed Jawad.
Suchitra Vijayan, author and founder of The Polis Project, delivered the keynote address for the evening. She is the author of the critically acclaimed books Midnight’s Borders: A People’s History of Modern India (Melville House, New York) and How Long Can the Moon Be Caged? Voices of Indian Political Prisoners (Pluto Press).
“ India’s media today operates in the shadow of an unofficial state of emergency. We are no longer writing or reporting in a democracy. What we are witnessing is the absolute and totalitarian control of information and news, along with the capacity to disappear those who resist the state, many of whom are journalists. The Indian police and judiciary have not only failed to prosecute crimes against journalists but have also contributed to their persecution through the systematic violation of their rights,” Vijayan told the crowd of over 250 Indian-Americans who attended the ceremony.
“Today, journalists lack the infrastructure, the support, and most critically, the resources needed to continue their work. As we gather here to celebrate the best of journalism—that which reports human rights violations, documents state violence that disproportionately targets minorities and the marginalized—we must also find ways to support it,” Vijayan added.
This year, we received more than 210 entries across four categories.
Here is the list of finalists and winners:
Best Text Reporting on Human Rights & Religious Freedom (Joint Winner)
Finalists
Atul Dev (The Guardian)
‘He likes scaring people’: how Modi’s right-hand man, Amit Shah, runs India
Shreehari Paliath (India Spend)
How Rohingya Refugees Are Impacted By Limited Access To Healthcare
The Toll Of Refugee Life On Rohingya Mental Health
Vijayta Lalwani (Article 14)
How The Modi Govt Is Trying To Silence Critics In The Diaspora By Banning Them From India
Aritra Bhattacharya and Saurabh Kumar (Series on Article 14)
Astha Savyasachi (Reporters Collective)
Centre hands over 62% of new Sainik Schools to Sangh Parivar, BJP politicians and allies
Joint Winner
Astha Savyasachi (Reporters Collective)
Centre hands over 62% of new Sainik Schools to Sangh Parivar, BJP politicians and allies
Vijayta Lalwani (Article 14)
How The Modi Govt Is Trying To Silence Critics In The Diaspora By Banning Them From India
Best Photo Story on Human Rights and Religious Freedom
Finalists
Umar Altaf Para (Maktoob)
Photos: Masjid Akhondji demolition breaks Muslim neighbourhood in Delhi’s Mehrauli
Praveen and Ananya Jain (The Print)
Tears, tales of harrowing escape & a few reasons to smile — life at a Kuki relief camp in Manipur
Manisha Mondal (The Print)
Assam to Mizoram & 20-hour bumpy ride—how Kuki-Zomi students return to Manipur to get degrees
Winner
Umar Altaf Para (Maktoob)
Photos: Masjid Akhondji demolition breaks Muslim neighbourhood in Delhi’s Mehrauli
Best Video Story on Human Rights and Religious Freedom (Joint Winner)
Finalists
Tej Bahadur Singh (Newsreel Asia)
UNEQUAL LIVES | Everyday Struggles of Dalits in Gujarat
Akanksha Saxena, Irfan Mehraj & Khalid Khan (Deutsche Welle)
On drugs – Kashmir’s heroin epidemic
Danish Faooq Pandit (The Wire)
Haldwani Unrest: Violence, Arrests and Unanswered Questions
Saptarshi Basak (The Quint
One Year of Manipur Violence: Horrors of Relief Camps — From Imphal to Churachandpur
Winner
Akanksha Saxena, Irfan Mehraj & Khalid Khan (Deutsche Welle)
On drugs – Kashmir’s heroin epidemic
HRRF Young Journalist of the Year Award 2024
Finalists
Srishti Jaswal (Rest of World / Al Jazeera)
The data collection app at the heart of the BJP’s Indian election campaign
Promised ‘Gram Swaraj’ Eludes Varanasi Villages Narendra Modi Adopted
Inside the BJP’s WhatsApp machine
‘Climate change killed my family’: Unusual monsoon hammers India’s Himachal
G20 face-lift: Delhi removes poor people, but not poverty
Fatima Khan (The Quint)
‘QR Code Shows He’s Muslim’ — Online Platforms Leave Vendors, Workers Vulnerable
Uttarakhand: The Making Of A ‘Hindu-Only’ Devbhoomi
10 Years Since Muzaffarnagar Riots: Missing Bodies & The Right To Be Declared Dead
Elections 2024: In This Uttar Pradesh Town, Eid Is A ‘Black Day’ For Many Muslims
Not Just Muzaffarnagar: Muslim Students Across India Recall Teachers’ Hate
Rokibuz Zaman (Scroll.in)
In Assam, over a thousand Muslim families evicted from railway land – but not their Hindu neighbours
‘No Muslim can win, now or in the future’: In Assam’s Barpeta, delimitation fears confirmed
View from the Margins: Rabindra Mallick’s long struggle to prove he is not Bangladeshi
Why Assam’s Muslims see discrimination in state’s flagship scheme for the rural landless
In a first, security forces rain pellets on protesters in Imphal
Winner
Fatima Khan (The Quint)
‘QR Code Shows He’s Muslim’ — Online Platforms Leave Vendors, Workers Vulnerable
Uttarakhand: The Making Of A ‘Hindu-Only’ Devbhoomi
10 Years Since Muzaffarnagar Riots: Missing Bodies & The Right To Be Declared Dead
Elections 2024: In This Uttar Pradesh Town, Eid Is A ‘Black Day’ For Many Muslims
Not Just Muzaffarnagar: Muslim Students Across India Recall Teachers’ Hate
Special Category: HRRF Best Story on Human Solidarity
Winner
Shweta Desai (The Christian Science Monitor)
How a Muslim tailor and Hindu priest fought hate in Ayodhya, India
