New Delhi, March 20: It is a matter of pleasure that Dr. Rahul Ramagundam, Associate Professor in the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Jamia Millia Islamia (JM) received the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Non-Fiction Category for his book The Life and Times of George Fernandes. In its 17th edition, the Award was given at the glittering ceremony held yesterday (19th March) at Maurya ITC, Chanakayapuri, New Delhi.
Three alumna from JMI also won the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism on Tuesday.
Mr Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and the Chief Guest, gave away awards to the assembled winners. The Ramnath Goenka Award has been instituted by the Indian Express Group, commemorating its founder-proprietor, Ramnath Goenka.
All three winners are alumna of the MA Convergent Journalism course offered by the university's Anwar Jamal Kidwai Mass Communication Research Centre (AJK MCRC).
Niha Masih (Batch of 2008-10) won the award in the Foreign Correspondent Covering India category (print) for the year 2021 for a story on surveillance of human rights activists. Masih is a staff writer with the Washington Post (currently based in Seoul).
Zoya Hussain (Batch of 2020-2022) and Hera Rizwan (Batch of 2020-2022) were jointly awarded for their story on hysterectomies among India’s women manual scavengers for the year 2022 in the investigative journalism category. Hussain is an independent journalist currently associated with Mongabay while Rizwan is a journalist with BoomLive.
These students from JMI's Convergent Journalism have brought laurels to the university in the past as well. They have secured national and international awards including Ramnath Goenka Award, UNFPA-Laadli, among others.
The Convergent Journalism programme at AJK MCRC, JMI, was initiated in 2005. The course has produced excellent journalists over the years who continue to produce valuable journalism in both national and international media.
Prof. Eqbal Hussain, the Officiating Vice Chancellor Jamia Millia Islamia congratulated the awardees and said that such achievements of JMI teacher and alumni are a great motivation for the current students and recognition of the teaching learning at the University. These laurels continue to inspire the students and teachers to strive for excellence in their academic and professional pursuits.
