Aditya Raj Kaul wins The Jethmalani Award for Journalism
The Jury was led by former CJI Justice Sharad Bobde
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.
Kaul 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 has been covering conflict, national security and foreign affairs for 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.
Kaul has worked in several Indian media organisations including The Times of India, Times Now, CNN-News18, Republic TV and BTVi. In the last more than a decade he has reported from almost 20 countries including Iraq, Israel, Palestine, South Korea, Australia, Jordan and China. He has 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,” Kaul 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.
Kaul also thanked his mentors at the ceremony. “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 the 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.
The Jury of the Awards was led by former CJI 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.
