On March 14, 2020 Indian journalists Arfa Khanum Sherwani, senior editor of the news website ‘The Wire’ and Bengaluru-based freelancer Rohini Mohan jointly won the “Chameli Devi Jain Award 2019” for outstanding Women mediapersons. The honourable mention was received by Rukmini S, an independent data-journalist from Chennai.
Key Points:
i.Award contribution: The annual award recognises social concern, dedication, courage and compassion all over India from the print, broadcast and online media category.
ii.Arfa Khanum Sherwani: She was selected for her reporting from conflict situations in Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh (UP).
iii.Rohini Mohan: She has been chosen for her reportage on NRC (National Register for Citizens) exercise in Assam & set a new benchmark for investigative journalism. Rohini also published two books based on her journalistic work on Sri Lanka’s civil war. She had also won Tata Literature Live! [First Book award- Non Fiction] and Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize.
iv.Rukmani S: She deserves special recognition for pushing the boundaries of data journalism in India.
v.The jury comprised political scientist Zoya Hasan, journalists Sreenivasan Jain & Manoj Mitta.
About Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Mediapersons:
The award is an Indian journalistic award which was instituted by the Media Foundation in 1980, named after Chameli Devi Jain, a legendary freedom fighter, community reformer who went to prison during India’s freedom struggle.
Chairperson of Media Foundation- Harish Khare.
