Scroll’s Arunabh Saikia and Tora Agarwala win accolades at IPI Award

Scroll’s Arunabh Saikia and Tora Agarwala won accolade at the International Press Institute India Award for Excellence in Journalism on Friday for their reportage of the ethnic conflict in Manipur.

While announcing the award in December, the press institute had said that the jury, headed by former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur, was unable to select a winner in the print/digital and broadcast categories.

However, the panel decided to award five entries cash prizes and citations for “covering different angles of the strife in Manipur”, it had said.

Apart from Saikia and Agarwala, Vijaita Singh from The Hindu, Greeshma Kuthar from The Caravan, Ashutosh Mishra from India Today, and The Print were given the accolade.

The press institute said that the decision was taken as a “mark of appreciation and acknowledgement of the media’s efforts to bring out the various facets of the human tragedy caused by the civil strife” in Manipur.

Since May 3, 2023, at least 258 persons have been killed and more than 59,000 persons displaced due to clashes between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmars communities in the state.

Saikia was one of the first reporters to put a spotlight on the conflict. He returned to Manipur several times in 2023 and reported on the partisan role of the state government and the complete breakdown of coordination between the state police…

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