The Wire's Siddharth Varadarajan Honoured with Media for Unity Digital Award

New Delhi: Journalists, filmmakers and writers were honoured with the ‘Media for Unity Awards’ presented by the Nai Duniya Foundation April 19. This was the first-ever Media for Unity Awards for journalists who uphold the values ​​of justice, peace and social harmony at a ceremony held at the India International Centre in Delhi on April 19.

The awards honoured the contributions of leading figures in Indian media, literature and arts, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, veteran journalist Mrinal Pande, founding editor of The Wire Siddharth Varadarajan, Suhasini Haidar of The Hindu, and writer-journalist Arun Shourie, among others. They were honoured for their outstanding print, digital, television, theatre and literature achievements.

A panel headed by former Chief Election Commissioner Dr. S.Y. Qureshi selected individuals from art, literature, and journalism across various media platforms.

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, veteran journalist Mrunal Pandey, founding editor of The Wire Siddharth Varadarajan, Suhasini Haidar of The Hindu, and writer-journalist Arun Shourie, among others were present at the awards. Photo: Atul Howale

This program was held at the India International Centre in Delhi. Justice Madan Lokur, in his keynote address, said "There is an ongoing assault on the independence of the press, and similarly, on the independence of the judiciary. The manner of assault may be different, but the effect is the same."

Lokur pointed to several examples that highlight the gravity of the situation. "We've had journalists imprisoned for years without bail. And not just journalists, people like Umar Khalid and Gulfisha Fatima have been in jail for more than four years without bail. Why? Is there a shortcoming in the judiciary? Or is the judiciary afraid to grant bail, even when there is no evidence? These are questions we must ask," he said.

Citing more such distressing cases, Justice Lokur added, "Father Stan Swamy died in jail despite his ill health. Professor Sai Baba, who is almost 100% disabled, was kept in jail for years before being granted bail. Whether it's the press or the judiciary, these are serious problems we are facing today."

The Wire's founding editor, Siddharth Varadarajan, was honoured at the event. 

The Wire is completing ten years of independent journalism this year. Varadarajan said that this award is not just an individual achievement but a collective effort by the team of The Wire. 

Varadrajan expressed concern about the current state of journalism in the country and also mentioned the crackdown on several journalists in the past few years.

Siddharth Varadarajan addressing the 'Media for Unity Awards’ presented by the Nai Duniya Foundation. Photo: Atul Howale

Varadrajan said, "My colleague Prabir Purkayastha of 'NewsClick' spent months in jail under a framed UAPA case, also Digital Journalists from Kashmir like Fahad Shah and Sajad Gul have spent nearly two years behind bars, under UAPA, under the PSA again on fabricated frame charges. Siddique Kappan had to wait over two years for bail. This is the reality."

He added, "These are the times we are living in where freedom of expression in different forms has become a challenge. The Wire is very proud to be part of a thriving digital media ecosystem where dozens of websites and portals are doing fantastic work in different languages across the country - working under difficult circumstances, with hardly any capital or money, and with the spectre of threats constantly looming."

Justice Madan Lokur, Shahid Siddiqui, Chairman of Nai Duniya Foundation and S.Y. Qureshi, former Chief Election Commissioner and head of the main jury of these awards, presided over the event. Among the award-winning dignitaries were The Hindu's Suhasini Haidar, who received the Kuldip Nayar Award for English Journalism and Om Thanvi, who was recognised for Hindi Journalism.

Navin Suri (Milap) won the Urdu Journalism Award, while veteran journalist Mrinal Pande received the Prabha Dutt Lifetime Achievement Award. Veteran journalist and author Arun Shourie was honoured with the Khushwant Singh Award for Books and Literature for his work 'The New Icon'.

Full list of award winners

• Kuldip Nayar Award for English Journalism: Suhasini Haidar (The Hindu)
• Prabhash Joshi Award for Hindi Journalism: Om Thanvi
• Maulana Abdu Waheed Siddiqui Award for Urdu Journalism: Navin Suri (Milap)
• Digital Media Award: Siddharth Varadarajan (The Wire)
• Prabha Dutt Lifetime Achievement Award: Mrinal Pande
• S.P. Singh Electronic Media Award: Preeti Chaudhary (India Today)
• Shyam Benegal Visual Media Award: Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha
• Habib Tanvir Award for Theatre: M.K. Raina
• Khushwant Singh Award for Books and Literature: Arun Shourie (The New Icon)
• Swami Agnivesh Award for Social Causes: India Love Project (interfaith/intercaste marriages)

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.