SAJA is pleased to announce the winners of this year's awards, which represent an excellent batch of journalism. The winners were scored and selected by panels of independent judges.

THE DANIEL PEARL AWARD
Established in honor of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was killed while reporting in Pakistan, this award recognizes outstanding investigative reporting that exhibits courage under difficult circumstances and exposes important public issues. See, for example, a previous Daniel Pearl award winning story about Kashmir during the recent military takeover by Modi’s government for the GroundTruth Project.

Winner

India Under Surveillance
Niha Masih, Joanna Slater
The Washington Post

Read the series here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Finalists

Online censorship is growing in Modi’s India
Paroma Soni
Columbia Journalism Review

The Hindu Extremists at War With Interfaith Love
Angad Singh (Producer), Ahmer Khan (Field producer), Masihuzumma Ansari (Associate producer), Siddarth Bokolia (Camera operator), Puneet Sharma (Camera operator), Jose Flores (Editor), Oliver Gruber (Production assistant), Neda Tolui-Semnani (writer), Karishma Vyas (Senior Producer)
Vice News Tonight

BUSINESS REPORTING

Winner

Facebook Under Fire
Cat Zakrzewski, Gerrit De Vynck, Niha Masih and Shibani Mahtani
The Washington Post

Finalists

Trapped in Silicon Valley’s Hidden Caste System
Sonia Paul
WIRED

How Big Tech Is Importing India’s Caste Legacy to Silicon Valley
Saritha Rai
Bloomberg News

ARTS & CULTURE

Winners (TIE)

The Slow Death Of Artistic Freedom In India
Tatsam Mukherjee
Slate

Why minorities are abandoning India’s trailblazing queer forums
Ankur Paliwal
Rest of World

Finalist

Chef Asma Khan on breaking barriers with familiar flavors
Imtiaz Tyab
CBS News

HEALTH REPORTING

Winner

How Science in India Became a 'Political Weapon' Under Modi; 'Everyone Here Is Alone' ; One Son's 48-Hour Fight to Save His Parents
Karan Deep Singh
The New York Times

Read the series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Finalists

These twins are 5 years old. They lost both parents to covid-19.
Joanna Slater
The Washington Post

India's Deadly Delta Wave
Angad Singh (Producer), Ahmer Khan (Field Producer), Surabhi Tandon (Correspondent), Karishma Vyas (Correspondent and Senior Producer), Jahangir Zaidi (Associate Producer), Omar Khan (Associate Producer), Akash Bisht (Associate Producer), Gabrielle Caplan (Associate Producer), Supreet Bargi (Camera Person), Puneet Sharma (Camera Person), Siddarth Bokolia (Camera Person), Adam Deniston (Editor) Alejandro Soto (Editor), Kyri Evangelou (Editor), Adriane Quinlan (Writer), Brian Josephs (Writer), Craig Thomson (Executive Producer)
Vice News Tonight

COMMENTARY & OPINION

Winner

Policies Mandated by Multilateral Institutions Are Contributing to India’s COVID Catastrophe
Puja Changoiwala
Scientific American

Finalists

Will Pakistan Be the Next Country to Fall to a Taliban-Style Takeover?
Hasan Ali
The Nation

What America Missed About the FedEx Massacre
Angad Singh (Producer and Host), Adriane Quinlan (writer),  Ana Simoes (Graphic Designer), Andrew Marulanda (Editor), Scott DeAngioletti (Camera person), Dan Cain (Camera person), Karishma Vyas (senior producer), Emily Drew (Senior Broadcast producer)
VICE News Tonight

STORY ON ANY SUBJECT

Winner

Return to Afghanistan Under Taliban Rule
Imtiaz Tyab
CBS News Face The Nation

Finalists

Housing Crisis in California
Mustafa Mirza
VICE News Tonight

Part 1, Part 2

Dalit Scientists Face Barriers in India’s Top Science Institutes
Ankur Paliwal
Undark Magazine

STUDENT JOURNALISM

Winner

What Went Wrong at Cook County Jail
Kiran Misra
South Side Weekly and Shadowproof (Collaboration)

Finalists

The dirty business of wetlands restoration
Tanay Gokhale
Local News Matters

How Suburban Influence Defeated a Resolution to Condemn the Indian Government
Kiran Misra
Chicago Reader