Five journalists, whose powerful stories reflected the values of integrity, empathy, courage, and truth in journalism, received The Danish Siddiqui Journalism Awards 2025 at a ceremony held at the India International Centre, New Delhi, on Sunday, 4 May. The awards, instituted in memory of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, recognise impactful journalism across multiple categories.
Speaking at the event, Dr SY Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India and the award ceremony’s chief guest, emphasised on the importance of independent journalism in a thriving democracy, as he applauded the recipients for their commitment to reporting on often ignored or underrepresented issues.
The 2025 Awardees
Meghna Bali, South Asia Bureau Chief, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was awarded in the Broadcast category for her investigative work "Indian Students Duped in Multi-Million Dollar Australian Visa Fraud." Her reporting uncovered systemic exploitation in Australia's migration system and brought national attention to the challenges faced by Indian international students.
Sarvapriya Sangwan, Editor-Digital Videos at BBC News India, won in the Broadcast/Digital category for her Hindi-language series "The Last Man." Through in-depth ground reporting, the series documents the lives of India's most marginalised communities, highlighting the socio-political challenges.
Saumya Khandelwal, a contributing photojournalist for The New York Times, was recognised in the photojournalism category for "The Brutality of Sugar: Debt, Child Marriage and Hysterectomies." The story, co-published with the Fuller Project, uses visual storytelling to expose the exploitation of women and children in Maharashtra's sugar industry.
Greeshma Kuthar, an independent journalist, was awarded in the Print category for her investigative report "Saviour Complex: Why the Biren Singh Government Gives a Free Hand to Arambai Tenggol" published in The Caravan. Her work offered a rare, ground-level view into the rise of vigilante groups amid the ethnic violence in Manipur.
Vaishnavi Rathore, Reporter at Scroll.in, was recognised in the Print/Digital category for her report "On the Great Nicobar Island, Why the Future is Fearful." Her story examined the environmental and social impacts of development on Great Nicobar Island.
A distinguished jury, comprising senior journalist and author Rajdeep Sardesai; Vaishna Roy, editor at Frontline; Kishalay Bhattacharjee, dean of the Jindal School of Journalism and Communication; and Gabrielle Fonseca, South Asia editor at Reuters Pictures, selected the awardees from a wide range of submissions.
Speaking at the ceremony, the jury shared, "These awards not only honour the legacy of Danish Siddiqui but also reaffirm our belief in journalism that informs, investigates, and inspires. The winners this year have told stories that demand attention and action."
The ceremony also featured a panel discussion titled "Bridging the Trust Deficit: Restoring Credibility in Indian Journalism," which explored the pressing challenges facing the media today and strategies to rebuild public trust. The discussion brought together leading voices from the industry: Sanjoy Majumder, Managing Editor and Co-Founder of Collective Newsroom, Ritu Kapur, Co-founder and CEO of The Quint, as well as Sardesai and Bhattacharjee. Poulomi Saha, Senior Editor at the India Today Group, moderated the session.