SHILLONG: The South Asia Media Defenders Network (SAMDEN), while congratulating the three Indian photojournalists for winning the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in the feature photography category for their images of Jammu and Kashmir, recognised their work as fearless albeit under difficult conditions, a statement said.
“Apart from reflecting the challenges and tensions faced by ordinary people as well as government personnel, their work was truly fearless as they surmounted daily difficulties, in a situation fraught with danger, obstacles and tension,” said SAMDEN, a network of editors, broadcasters, bloggers, media professionals and writers largely from South Asia, anchored in the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), in the statement.
The Pulitzer Prize awards outstanding journalism by US media.
The award to the photojournalists — Dar Yasin, Mukhtar Khan and Channi Anand of the Associated Press (AP) — also comes at a time when media worldwide has expressed solidarity for journalists in Jammu and Kashmir, who are facing serious criminal charges and pressure for performing their duties to reflect the realities in the Union Territory.
The network underlined the words of the Norwegian Prime Minister, who, on Tuesday, declared that in the current COVID-19 crisis “disinformation can kill but correct information, based on facts, can save lives.”
“The role of the media remains at all times, especially in crisis such as the ongoing pandemic, to report the facts, without fear or favour, bias and despite pressure, to maintain balance and professionalism,” said the network, adding that governments and duty holders should welcome such reporting for it can bring facts and situations to their notice of which, because of the lockdowns, they may be unaware.