Awards for journalists

FRONTLINE journalists Praveen Swami and Asha Krishnakumar were recently honoured with prestigious journalism awards. Praveen Swami, a Special Correspondent based in New Delhi, won this year's Prem Bhatia Award for Political Journalism. Asha Krishnakumar, a Special Correspondent based in Chennai, won the Second Annual Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism.

The award Praveen Swami won is named after Prem Bhatia, former Editor of The Tribune, and he was chosen for it "in recognition of his decade-long scrutiny of the complex relationship between government, defence forces, insurgency, intelligence and terrorism".

The citation observed:

"Regarded by peers as one of the best journalists on the Kashmir `beat', Praveen Swami has reported and analysed the intricacies of insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir in the last decade. In this, he has combined three traits of an ideal reporter: an uncompromising respect for facts, an ability to ferret information out of the most officious bureaucrat, and a cultivated unwillingness to be overawed by the epauletted officer.

"Praveen Swami has in particular almost made it his business to examine closely the claims made by the Defence Ministry, an establishment that otherwise refuses to submit itself to norms of democratic accountability and public scrutiny. He has documented chinks in our intelligence set-up as well as questioned the unhealthy relationship between the generals and the politicians. His most recent expose on `Operation Sarp Vinash' has made the critics and admirers sit up and take a second look at our counter-insurgency doctrines and practices.

"Besides authoring a book on the Kargil War, Praveen Swami has written a number of articles in academic journals, all on Kashmir-centric topics. Praveen Swami represents the new generation of Indian journalists that does not believe that no questions need be asked about `national security'. His kind of journalism embodies capacity and competence for the much-needed informed dissent."

The award, which carries a citation and a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh, was presented to Praveen Swami on the occasion of the Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture in New Delhi on August 11.

ASHA KRISHNAKUMAR has been commended for her "thorough, compassionate and determined reporting... revealing the shameful abuses suffered by the most vulnerable people in society, children, and bringing their voices to life". The award, administered by the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and underwritten by the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund and Reuters, has been instituted in honour of Kurt Schork, a freelance reporter who was killed in a military ambush while on assignment for Reuters in May 2000. Kurt Schork was best known for his hard-hitting reports from Bosnia during the siege of Sarajevo.

The award, which carries a cash prize of $10,000, recognises exceptional reporting that sheds new light on controversial issues, including conflicts, human rights concerns or cross-border issues in a particular country or region.

A note from the Columbia University said: "[Asha Krishnakumar's] coverage of the large-scale prevalence of child bondage in the silk-weaving industry, the distress among handloom weavers in Tamil Nadu and the constructive ways in which they can be helped, and the medical malpractice evidenced in kidney commerce led to reforms by the Tamil Nadu government."

Asha Krishnakumar will be honoured at an awards ceremony to be held at the Graduate School of Journalism on October 28.

In 2002, Asha Krishnakumar won the Lorenzo Natali Prize for Journalism: Excellence in Reporting Human Rights, Democracy and Development for the Asia and Pacific category, awarded by the European Commission and administered by the International Federation of Journalists.