Union Law Minister Arjun Meghwal on Friday awarded the first – The Jethmalani Award for Journalism in Service of Humanity to well-known conflict journalist Aditya Raj Kaul at a ceremony in New Delhi to mark the centenary of renowned legal eagle and former Law Minister of India Ram Jethmalani. Aditya received a Gold Medal and a Cash Award of 14 lakhs ($17000). Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Rajya Sabha Members Mahesh Jethmalani and Kartikeya Sharma also presided over the event along with former Chief Justice Dipak Misra and eminent legal voice Fali S. Nariman, S. Gurumurthy.
The Jethmalani Award Prize for Legal Journalism was awarded to Media Organisation Bar & Bench who received a Copper Medal and Cash Award of one lakh and eleven thousand. The Jethmalani Award for Empowerment was won by The Indian Express Special Correspondent Hina Rohtaki who received a Copper Medal and a Cash Award of one lakh and eleven thousand.
Aditya Raj Kaul is a journalist covering conflict, national security and foreign affairs since 15 years. He is presently Executive Editor, National Security and Strategic Affairs with TV9 Network in the founding team of India’s first news OTT News9Plus.
Aditya has worked in several Indian media organisations including The Times of India, Times Now, CNN-News18, Republic TV and BTVi. In last more than a decade I’ve reported from almost 20 countries including Iraq, Israel, Palestine, South Korea, Australia, Jordan and China. Aditya also reported for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) during the COVID19 Pandemic.
“I am honoured to receive the award for my work on human rights, justice and counter-terrorism. When I started my career over 15 years ago, I had no awards on my mind. Today however is a surreal feeling,” Aditya told Exchange4Media after the ceremony.
“I dedicate this award to my parents Dr. Advaitavadini Kaul and Dr. Utpal Kaul who have worked tirelessly to provide me the best education and life against all challenges in life after our forced exodus in Kashmir from 1990. I owe them everything in my life”, he said.
Aditya also thanked his mentors and eminent journalists at the ceremony for the top honour. “I thank my first editor and Guru Arnab Goswami presently Editor in Chief of Republic TV for teaching me the art of TV reportage and having courage of conviction. He held my hand at a very young age and provided the mantra to dedication towards journalism. I also express my gratitude to my boss Mr. Barun Dass, CEO and MD of TV9 Network, for his leadership, motivation and guidance for human-interest stories and bringing a paradigm shift in Indian media landscape”, he said.
Aditya born 13th April 1989 in Srinagar, Kashmir. On 19th January, 1990 his community of Kashmiri Pandits was forced to flee from their homeland due to sudden eruption of terrorism. His family moved to Jammu and took shelter for a few months inside a garage in Jammu before rebuilding life from scratch in New Delhi.
In recent years Aditya has focused on making award-winning documentaries from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan focusing on communities in suffering from state oppression like the Baloch in Balochistan, denial of education to girls in Afghanistan and lonely battle for justice by the family of Indian journalist Danish Siddiqui who was killed by the Taliban. Aditya has also worked on a series of documentaries from Jammu & Kashmir on conflict and changing situation in the valley after Article 370 abrogation.
Aditya’s reportage on counter-terrorism, radicalisation and terror attacks has also attracted regular threats from terror groups including Lashkar E Tayyiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and SFJ.
In 2006 at the age of 16, Aditya initiated India’s first social media led campaign – Justice for Priyadarshini Mattoo for a victim of rape and murder. The campaign led to a nationwide uproar and protests. Delhi High Court took suo motto cognizance of the protests and put the case on fast track which resulted in death sentence to the criminal who was son of a top police official.
Aditya was also well-known for initiating a campaign for affirmative action which led to President APJ Abdul Kalam inviting him and his United Students organisation for a dialogue at Rashtrapati Bhawan in May 2006.
Later in 2006, Aditya initiated a youth voluntary group Roots in Kashmir to campaign for justice to the Kashmiri Pandit community worldwide. Roots in Kashmir organised exhibitions, protests, awareness seminars and peaceful creative protests to seek justice for terrorists like Yasin Malik. It was due to Aditya’s efforts that 10 years later Yasin Malik was arrested and today faces trial as per law of the land.
The Jury of the Awards was led by former Chief Justice Justice Sharad Bobde with following members Kiran Majumdar Shaw, Atul Kasbekar, Raghu Rai, Dr. Harivansh Narayan Singh, Dr. Sasmit Patra, Kalyani Shankar, MD Nalapat and Shekhar Mehta.