NEW DELHI: The 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Photography, given to three Kashmiris, will inspire many others to tell the region’s story, several Kashmir-based journalists have said.
Mukhtar Khan, Dar Yasin and Channi Anand won the prize “for their striking images of life in the contested territory of Kashmir as India revoked its independence, executed through a communications blackout,” the Pulitzer Prize board announced on Monday.
“It is an honor to receive this award and I feel happy,” Khan told Arab News on Wednesday, while Anand said that the prize “was a recognition” of his journey in a 20-year career.
While the award stirred controversy in India, it was hailed by other Kashmiri journalists.
“It will inspire many others to continue telling the story of Kashmir as it is on the ground,” said Fahad Shah, editor of The Kashmir Wala.
“The award comes at a time when journalism in Kashmir has become the hardest job, with terror charges being imposed on some journalists in recent times,” he told Arab News.
Khan, Yasin and Channi captured the early days of New Delhi’s ongoing military lockdown of Kashmir, which was followed by the revocation of the territory’s autonomous status, mass arrests, curfews and a communications blackout.
The three Associated Press (AP) journalists defied the limitations and managed to show to the world what was happening in the region that was suddenly completely cut off.
They had to locate the areas of significance, capture the images and deliver the pictures to their desk located outside Jammu and Kashmir.
“These things made us more determined than ever to never be silenced,” Yasin said in the AP’s special coverage of the Pulitzer Prize win. “It was always cat-and-mouse.”
He said that amid demonstrations and military attempts to quell them, journalists faced mistrust from both protesters and troops. They were unable to go home for days, or even let their families know they were okay, he said.
To send their material to the AP, they always sought out strangers willing to carry memory cards and flash drives to their office in New Delhi.
Some people refused, some agreed, Yasin said, adding that most of the memory cards and drives arrived.
The trio’s prize-winning work has both professional and personal significance to him. Yasin added: “It’s not only the story of the people I am shooting, but it’s my story. It’s a great honor to be in the list of Pulitzer winners and to share my story with the world.”
Meanwhile, the prize stirred political controversy in India itself as Rahul Gandhi, leader of Congress — the country’s main opposition party — congratulated the journalists on their win.
The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) immediately condemned the congratulations, labeling them “antinational”.
