The IPI India Award for Excellence in Journalism, 2024 has been awarded to "Sunflower fields and no man’s land" by Bhanu Prakash Chandra in THE WEEK (print category), an account by the photo-journalist about his foray, on his own, into the battlefront in Ukraine, from where he gave several graphic and gripping accounts of the conflict, supported with poignant photos, all taken by himself.
The award comprises a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a trophy and a citation.
The jury was unable to select any entry in the broadcast category deserving the Award. However, considering that there were several entries in print/digital and broadcast categories, covering different angles of the strife in Manipur, it was decided that the best five entries - 1.The Print, 2. Vijaita Singh (The Hindu), 3. The Caravan (Greeshma Kuthar), 4. Scroll.in (Arunabh Saikia & Tora Agarwala) and 5. Ashutosh Mishra (India Today) - be given cash prizes and citations as a mark of appreciation and acknowledgement of the media’s efforts to bring out the various facets of the human tragedy caused by the civil strife.
The selection was made by a distinguished jury of editors headed by Madan B Lokur, former judge, Supreme Court of India, after considering the entries received. Other members of the jury were Riyad Mathew, Chairman, IPI-India, and Chief Associate Editor & Director, Malayala Manorama; Shobhaa De, eminent columnist; and Vijay Joshi, Editor-in-Chief, Press Trust of India.
Instituted in 2003, the award has been given to 20 media organisations and journalists in print and electronic media so far.
The India Chapter of the IPI is an active forum of editors, publishers and senior executives of newspapers, magazines and news agencies, all of whom are members of the International Press Institute. The Indian Chapter has successfully hosted the World Congress and General Assembly of the IPI in India in 1966 and 2001, and has been taking up various issues related to the freedom of the press in India.
Founded 72 years ago in New York by a group of editors from 15 countries, the International Press Institute has grown into a truly global organisation committed to the furtherance of the freedom of press. Vienna-based IPI is committed to promotion of free exchange of accurate and balanced news among nations. It has also been in the forefront of safeguarding the freedom of the press against restrictions imposed on the free flow of information.
