INDIAN EXPRESS, THE WEEK GET IPI EXCELLENCE AWARD

Stressing that the media is accountable to the readers and the nation, former Chief Justice of India and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) A.S Anand advised the journalists to stay within the lakshman rekha of ethical practice. Anand was speaking at an event to present the 2009 International Press Institute India Award for Excellence in Journalism, in the National Capital, on March 23. The award was given to Smita Nair of The Indian Express and Bidisha Ghosal of The Week. The Indian Express won the award for its sustained investigation into the Malegaon and Modasa blasts of 2008 and the alleged role of Hindu extremists and organisations. Ghosal was awarded for her reports on the exploitation of widows of debt-burdened farmers in Maharashtra. Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal, who presented the awards to the winners, pointed out that “freedom of expression is most powerful when those without a voice can express themselves through the media. Both stories that were rewarded fulfilled that role.”  On October 22, 2008, The Indian Express’s Mumbai-based reporter Smita Nair broke the story that police investigations had found that Hindu militant groups were behind the blasts in Modasa and Malegaon. In the following months, a team of Express reporters – Nair, Chandan Haygunde, Kamal Saiyed, Manu Pubby, Milind Ghatwai, Vikram Rautela and Sagnik Chowdhury – stayed resolutely on the story, joining the dots of the terror plot.