Mahatma Gandhi used to believe that the development of India lay in the true progress and development of its villages. Journalism is a mirror of society, which reflects many stark realities that often remain unheard.

On Monday, The Statesman recognised four remarkable journalists for their contribution to the field of rural journalism, their conscientious and detailed work in bringing forth the grievous situations and issues that the people of rural India face. These winners are the voice for the masses, whose voices often remain unheard. Major issues in rural India often drown in the cacophony of trending news and urban disparities; however, the work of these journalists acts as hope of the masses by exhibiting the real picture of rural India.

Aparna Karthikeyan, working at the People’s Archive for Rural India, was presented with the first prize under The Statesman Awards for Rural Reporting for her reportage on the lives of farmers through their relationship with crops, which is deeply rooted in India’s national and regional culture, while Jyoti Yadav won the second prize under the same category for her reporting on Bihar’s Dalit women and their plight that they face for being under the mercy of greedy doctors.

The third prize was bagged by Vignesh Ayyasamy, formerly an independent journalist, who now works for the BBC for his reporting on the skilful and innovative tracing of the rise and fall of the Uthukuli butter, linking it with the socio-economic changes. Uzmi Athar, chief correspondent at Press Trust of India was awarded with the Cushrow Irani Prize for Environmental Reporting for her work on the devastating effects of climate change resulting in increased salinity and reduced freshwater sources.

Uzmi Athar
Uzmi Athar, a chief correspondent of Press Trust of India, in an interview with The Statesman highlighted how climate change causing rising sea levels and reduced freshwater sources have resulted in escalating challenges faced by communities. In her report ‘Along Kerala’s coastline, rising salinity means daily wage struggle’, she highlights how Chellanam, a coastal region of Kochi struggles with water scarcity, resulting in the area having 600 households depending on trucked-in water or arduous hand-carried deliveries of water for daily sustenance.

She stated, “This story was done in association with PTI and Associated Press, and I was to report from Kochi along with my mentor. I have been coming across several articles highlighting how salinity has been impacting groundwater resources. It was in February, when I had started gathering ground reports and I noticed that people used to wait for hours for tankers to bring water, while some had to row to a completely different district to get some fresh water. While there have been several stories on water scarcity in Kochi, nobody has really linked it with salinity. I even met researchers from the University of Kochi, who told me that the increase in salinity is directly linked with climate adversity. I met Anthony, who had accepted water scarcity as a way of life and that was heartbreaking. When you think of Kerala and Kochi, you think of development, yet this was a stark reality for many.”

According to Uzmi, desalination plants have been installed in the area and must be made fully operational to fight water scarcity.

Aparna Karthikeyan

A senior fellow at the People’s Archive of India, Aparna Karthikeyan’s report on ‘In TN: The struggles behind the scent of jasmine’ (a part of the series Let Them Eat Rice), is both innovative and deeply immersive that provides everyone with a fresh perspective on the lives of farmers and their relationship with crops and how it is linked with the national and regional culture. Through her work she delves into the question of adaptation undertaken by farmers to strive in the challenging environment. “I feel there is not enough being written on the livelihood, the, the politics of production; however, there is much being written about the food on the plate. Most of us do not focus on how the food on our plate has been obtained, even the most basic, while there has been the discourse of rice and lentils, do we really talk about the turmeric farmers or salt? This really made me wonder about the labour and how this food is reaching our tables, the livelihood, and the struggles of the farmers. It really hit me how unconnected we were with the food producers while travelling from one village to another.”

She feels that farmers should do value addition of their produce to increase their income and food security. According to her, “They must factor in their labour that most farmers do not opt for.”

Jyoti Yadav

Working as a ground reporter at The Print presently, Jyoti Yadav has been a relentless journalist seeking truth for eight years now. She has splendidly chronicled the lives of rural India and her report, ‘Bihar’s Dalit women at the mercy of greedy doctors-robbed of the uterus in 2012, kidneys now’ highlights the grave reality and systemic issue with the healthcare system in Bihar. Her report talks about Sunita Devi, a 27-year-old woman from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, who upon her post-surgery discovered that along with her uterus, both her kidneys had been removed as well “Sunita Devi, with stomach pain, was taken to a nearby clinic by her parents where she was informed that she had to remove her uterus because of some complications; however, the compounder and the doctor had not only removed her uterus but her two kidneys as well. She was not the only victim, her case draws a parallel with a decade-old scam in Bihar, the ‘uterus scam’ which had resulted in almost 700 women going through unnecessary hysterectomies. Illiteracy, and having no social capital, Dalit women are the worst victims of these medical scams. Sunita now receives four dialysis every week, abandoned by family and loved ones; the state too has failed her.”

Vignesh Ayyasamy

Vignesh Ayyasamy, a former independent journalist, now working for the BBC, his report ‘Uthukuli butter: The case of missing buffaloes and a small town’s identity’ focuses on the sharp decline of buffalo rearing which had a negative impact on the production of the famous Uthukuli butter and how it is linked with the broader socio-economic changes and economic transformation. He states, “Uthukuli, located just 15 km east of district capital Tiruppur had gained fame for its butter for a long time. However, as Tiruppur emerged as India’s major textile export hub, Uthukuli slowly lost its identity because sometimes big developments consciously or unconsciously result in the loss of a small economy, which is exactly what happened with Uthukuli.”

This reporter from BBC feels that supervision and monitoring are essential through GI tags which will help reduce the risks of Uthukuli butter legacy from getting contaminated.”