New Delhi: ThePrint has received honours from The International Press Institute (IPI) for its extensive coverage of the ethnic conflict in Manipur that broke out last May.
In a letter addressed to ThePrint’s Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta, the institute said the commendation was part of the jury’s efforts to “acknowledge the media’s collective effort to bring out various facets of the human tragedy caused by the civil strife”.
The jury is headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur, a former Supreme Court judge. As a token of appreciation, an amount of Rs 20,000 and a Scroll of Honour will be given at an award ceremony at a later date. Apart from ThePrint, five other media houses have received IPI’s commendation.
Five reporters—Karishma Hasnat, Ananya Bhardwaj, Moushumi Das Gupta, Sreyashi Dey and Sonal Matharu (formerly with ThePrint)—along with photojournalists Praveen Jain and Suraj Singh Bisht covered the events in Manipur throughout 2023.
Karishma Hasnat provided real-time on-ground coverage from the moment tensions first broke out in May 2023, including the first incidents of arson and stone-pelting in parts of Churachandpur, a Hill district, and the neighbouring Valley district of Bishnupur.
Photojournalists Praveen Jain and Suraj Singh Bisht were behind ThePrint’s visual coverage of the aftermath and the silence that followed each flare-up since May 2023.
In the first few weeks itself, Moushumi Das Gupta reported how the ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities had exposed fault lines within the state bureaucracy. According to both serving and retired senior government officials, the division between non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki officers and staff had escalated to an unprecedented level, permeating all levels of the state administration, from senior to mid-level to junior officials.
Similarly, Ananya Bhardwaj’s article in July 2023 showed how a “completely divided” police force failed to restore any normalcy, with some accusing the police of colluding with miscreants from their own communities.
In another July 2023 report, Sonal Matharu covered the impact of fake news on the deadly cycle of violence. At the time, Meitei mobs led reprisal attacks against Kuki tribal women after a photo of a young woman’s body wrapped in a plastic bag went viral in Churachandpur as that of a Meitei woman allegedly raped and killed by Kuki men. It was later confirmed to be the body of Aayushi Chaudhary from Delhi, allegedly murdered by her parents in November 2022.
Sreyashi Dey’s October 2023 ground report painted a poignant picture of how many Kuki-Meitei relationships were splitting under the heat of hate. “The terror faced by mixed marriage couples and the abandonment are among the least talked about horrors that tore the fragile fabric of Manipur society,” it noted. Psychologists said its impact is likely to be felt for a long time as the divide remains palpable on the ground.
Last year, the IPI had awarded the prestigious India Award for Excellence in Journalism to ThePrint’s on-ground coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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