By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi, April 27, 2022: An Indian has won a prestigious international award for outstanding journalists who dedicate their lives to create a better world.
Sukanya Shanta, a senior assistant editor at TheWire.in, an Indian news portal, has been selected for this year’s Fetisov Journalism Award for her work on caste discrimination in Indian prisons. Her story has received the first prize in the “Contribution to Civil Rights’ category.”
“Such awards recognize the vital role journalists play in investigating wrongdoing and bringing information to our readers that is free, fair, and true,” says a statement from The Wire on April 28.
Shanta has close to 10 years’ experience writing about law and social justice. She has visited and stayed in several India prisons as a part of her research work with Amnesty International India. She has a master’s degree in law.
Her award winning article, “From Segregation to Labour, Manu’s Caste Law Governs the Indian Prison System,” was published on December 10, 2020, in TheWire.in. The article, part of the series ‘Barred–The Prisons Project,’ was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
The website of the Fetisov Journalism Awards says the winners are outstanding journalists from all over the world who change the world for the better with their groundbreaking stories.
The Fetisov Journalism Awards are open to journalists from any country around the globe. The awards give greater publicity to inspiring reporting made by talented journalists from around the world.
The website also claims the winners get the largest monetary prize in the history of the international journalism, but does not specify the amount.
It says the mission of Fetisov Journalism Awards is to promote universal human values such as honesty, justice, courage and nobility through the example of outstanding journalists as their dedicated service and commitment contribute to changing the world for the better.
The award aims to promote contemporary journalism as a unique profession that contributes to transforming the lives of individuals, communities and the world as a whole. It disseminates information about inspiring deeds of the award nominees and winners.
It also tries to bring journalists together as a community of like-minded people willing to raise journalism to an entirely new level and to meet new demands.
It’s indeed an outstanding feat. Hearty Congratulations to Sukanya Shanta! You have done India proud.