NDTV journalist Ravish Kumar has won the prestigious Roman Magsasay Award for 2019 for his contribution to the field of journalism. The board of trustees for the award committee acknowledged Kumar’s ability to give ‘voice to the voiceless’ while speaking truth ‘soberly to power.’
The citation by the Roman Magsasay Award Foundation read, “In electing Ravish Kumar to receive the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes his unfaltering commitment to a professional, ethical journalism of the highest standards; his moral courage in standing up for truth, integrity, and independence; and his principled belief that it is in giving full and respectful voice to the voiceless, in speaking truth bravely yet soberly to power, that journalism fulfills its noblest aims to advance democracy.”
Kumar, who presents daily programme Prime Time on NDTV India, received plaudits from the award committee for his show. The foundation said that it often dealt with real-life, under-reported problems of ordinary people.
It said, “Striving for a people-based journalism, he calls his newsroom ‘the people’s newsroom’. He is most vocal on insisting that the professional values of sober, balanced, fact-based reporting be upheld in practice.”
These are the five recipients of Asia’s premier prize and highest honor, the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees. #RamonMagsaysayAward pic.twitter.com/HrLG1qVt6L
— Ramon Magsaysay Award (@MagsaysayAward) August 2, 2019
Kumar has been with the NDTV since 1996 and has often been targeted by right-wing trolls for his criticism of the government led by the BJP.
Its previous winners included RK Laxman, P Sainath, Arun Shourie, Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjiv Chaturvedi.