At a time when the media in India are going through a difficult period, NDTV journalist Ravish Kumar has been awarded the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award. He has been awarded for ‘harnessing journalism to give voice to the voiceless.’ Ravish is currently the managing editor of the Hindi news channel NDTV India. The Magsaysay Award is considered to be Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Therefore the award carries huge respect, and Ravish winning it is a huge achievement. One of the finest journalists of our time, he has been associated with NDTV since 1996. Over the years, he has been associated with many impactful news reports, including the series on universities and on employment, reports on demonetization and election ground reports, and, of course, prime time debates.
However, Ravish has been a target of online trolling, and several threats have been issued to him and his family. Especially since the Narendra Modi-led BJP government came to power in 2014, he has become a target of right wing supporters. Despite all of this, he has been a shining star in the Indian media scene. At a time when the majority of media houses and journalists have become spokespersons of the ruling government, there are rare species like Ravish Kumar still doing the simple job of questioning those in power. This Magsaysay Award is a victory for truth and real journalism. It will definitely inspire young, budding journalists of the India. The real duty of a journalist is to always question those in power and not become their ally.