69. Narla Venkateswara Rao Puraskar

PARI Founder Editor, P. Sainath was awarded the Narla Venkateswara Rao Puraskar by the B.R. Ambedkar Joshua Phule Periyar Literature Foundation on February 18, 2024. The award is instituted in the memory of Rao who was an eminent journalist and writer.

68. Uzhavar Award for Best Agricultural Journalist

Aparna Karthikeyan has won the Uzhavar Award, instituted by the Uzhavan Foundation. This award, 'Best Agricultural Journalist' is for her consistent coverage of farmers, particularly women farmers.

67. Ricardo Ortega Memorial Prize for Broadcast Media 2023

Shalini Singh has won the SILVER in the Ricardo Ortega Memorial Prize for Broadcast Media 2023, given by the UN Correspondents (UNCA) for the Climate Change stories done for PARI in 2019-2020.

In Jhunjhunun, brides must be bought
and • Jhunjhunun, Rajasthan

66. Sanjoy Ghose Media Awards 2023

Jigyasa Mishra has been announced co-winner of the Sanjoy Ghose Media Awards 2023 in the category Recognizing Excellence in Rural Reporting and Empowering Young Voices . This award is for her story “ In Jhunjhunun, brides must be bought .”

Saniya Mullani (centre), 17, prepares for a Taekwondo training session in Kolhapur’s Bhendavade village
PHOTO • Sanket Jain

65. Laadli Media Awards 2023, Jury Appreciation Citation

In October 2023, PARI-MMF Fellow Sanket Jain won a Jury Appreciation Citation at the Laadli Media Awards 2023 for his story on the impact of climate change on the mental health of athletes.

64. Laadli Media Awards 2023, Jury Appreciation Citation

In October 2023, PARI Fellow Amrutha Kosuru won a Jury Appreciation Citation at the Laadli Media Awards, 2023 for her story on the widows of manual scavengers.

63. Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards, 2023

In September 2023, Sanket Jain won Emerging Journalist of the Year Award at Covering Climate Now for his three-part series covering the impact of climate on mental health.

62. Statesman Award for Rural Reporting 2022

In September 2023, Sanket Jain , won the second prize in the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting for his story on climate change affecting the mental health of aspiring athletes.

61. Chinta Ravi Memorial Award, 2023

In July 2023, PARI Founder Editor P. Sainath received the Chinta Ravi Memorial Award in Kozhikode, Kerala.
The citation read: 'The Chinta Ravindran Foundation is proud to present its 4th Chinta Ravi Memorial award to Dr. P. Sainath, the founder of the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), the lone pan-Indian multimedia network wholly dedicated to rural India that serves as ‘an archive and living journal of the history of rural India’ and tries to capture ‘the everyday lives of everyday people...’

The Rani of Thoothukudi’s salt pans
and • Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu

60. True Story Award, 2023

In June 2023, Aparna Karthikeyan was among 12 finalists of the True Story Awards , Bern, Switzerland. Her story on the salt pans in Tamil Nadu made it to the final list.

59. Asian College of Journalism awards, 2023

In May 2023, Parth M.N. received a special mention at Asian College of Journalism awards in the social impact journalism category. He was honoured for the series of stories he did from UP on access to public health.



58. Press Institute of India and International Committee of the Red Cross, 2022

In December 2022, Parth M.N . received the second prize at the awards hosted by the Press Institute of India and International Committee of the Red Cross . The PII-ICRC awards honoured the best stories on climate change in 2022.



57. Imagining the Nation State grant, 2022

In November 2020, PARI Photographer Palani Kumar received the Imagining the Nation State grant from the Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation for his socially responsible photography.


56. Martin Adler prize at the Rory Peck Awards, 2022

In November 2022, Parth M.N . was the runner up at the Martin Adler prize at the Rory Peck Awards in London. The award goes to one independent journalist in the world. And this was the second time in a row that Parth was the runner up for this award.


A house in Arjunwad village that was destroyed by the floods in 2019
PHOTO • Sanket Jain

55. Earth Journalism Network Asia-Pacific Fellowship, 2022

On August 24 2022, Sanket Jain was awarded the Earth Journalism Network Asia-Pacific Fellowship for a three-part series on climate change and mental health in rural Maharashtra.

54. Zee Tamil’s ‘Tamizha Tamizha Award’, 2022

In June 2022, Palani Kumar received major recognition from Zee Tamil’s ‘Tamizha Tamizha Award’. These awards are presented to people whose work uplifts the pride and prestige of Tamil Nadu state and its language.


53. International Sports Press Association, 2022

On June 12, 2022 PARI Senior Fellow Sanket Jain received the International Sports Press Association's Young Reporter Special Commendation award in the writing category.

52. The Dayanita Singh-PARI Documentary Photography Award for Palani Kumar, 2022

Hasselblad Award-winning photographer Dayanita Singh has collaborated with PARI to institute the Dayanita Singh-PARI Documentary Photography Award



51. P.V. Sukhatme Gold Medal, 2022

PARI Founder Editor P. Sainath was awarded the P. V. Sukhatme Gold Medal by the Indian Social Science Academy (ISSA) at the 45th Social Science Congress in Vandalur, Chennai, on March 28, 2022. The ISSA, in its citation, notes that PARI “serves to build bridges between the knowledge of the social sciences, the humanities and the lay public… very importantly, PARI publishes in 13 Indian languages and is free to access, without any subscription fee.”


50. Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation grant, 2022

Sanket Jain was the recipient of a Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation grant in March 2022 towards supporting his PARI Senior Fellowship. The Foundation was impressed by his ongoing work on rural artisans and their vanishing livelihoods. In particular, the Foundation mentioned his story on toran makers .

49. Alfred Friendly Fellowship, 2021-22

Parth M. N. was awarded the Alfred Friendly Fellowship in June 2021 to visit and train in the United States from April 2022. The programme includes a three week-training at the Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri, Columbia. After which he will work two and a half months at the Los Angeles Times .


A Brokpa preparing for a journey to Chander village, around 12 kilometres from Lagam

48. Centre for Pastoralism grant, 2022

PARI Senior Fellow and photographer Ritayan Mukherjee was awarded a travel grant by the Centre for Pastoralism, Bhuj, Gujarat in February 2022. This will enable him to continue his ongoing work with and on nomadic pastoralist communities in India.


47. Thakur Foundation Fellowship, 2021

Parth M.N. was awarded a Thakur Foundation Fellowship in January 2022 to cover issues of access to healthcare and the state of civil liberties in India, for PARI.

46. Ramnath Goenka Award, 2021

Team PARI won the Ramnath Goenka Award in the Environment, Science and Technology Reporting category in December 2021. This was for PARI’s ongoing series on Climate Change through the voices and lived experience “of farmers, labourers, fishermen, forest dwellers, seaweed harvesters, nomadic pastoralists and honey tappers, among others.” The award notes that the series contains “more than 20 stories, covering the length and breadth of India” by a 14-member PARI Team who “covered forests, seas, river basins, coral islands, deserts, arid and semi-arid zones, rural and urban areas (and) made the crisis relatable to the reader.”


'My kaat [uterus] keeps coming out'
, , and • Nandurbar, Maharashtra

45. Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity, 2021

PARI Reporter Jyoti Shinoli won a Laadli Media Award in November 2021 (given by Population First) for her story 'My kaat [uterus] keeps coming out' , published on June 17, 2020.

One nation, no ration card
and • Darbhanga, Bihar

44. Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity, 2021

PARI Contributor Sanskriti Talwar won a Laadli Media Award in November 2021 for One nation, no ration card , published on October 20, 2020.

UP panchayats: for whom the polls toll
and • Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

43. Press Institute of India-ICRC Award, 2021

PARI Reporter Jigyasa Mishra won a Special Mention at the Press Institute of India -International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Awards in November 2021, for her story UP panchayats: for whom the polls toll , published on May 10, 2021. The theme of this 15th edition of the PII-ICRC awards was 'Superheroes: Battling at the Frontline in the Time of Crisis'.


42. Martin Adler Prize (Rory Peck Awards), 2021

PARI Fellow (2017) Parth M.N. received the runner-up award of the Martin Adler Prize at the Rory Peck Awards in London in November 2021. The Rory Peck Trust honours one freelancer in the world every year, and Parth’s ongoing work in PARI made the final shortlist of three journalists.

41. Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award, 2021

PARI Fellow (2017) Parth M.N. made the shortlist (for a body of work that is entirely in PARI) of 10 journalists from over 250 contenders across 55 countries for the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award in November 2021.


40.  Thakur Foundation Fellowship, 2021

Jigyasa Mishra was awarded a Thakur Foundation Fellowship in October 2021 to report on public health and civil liberties, and related topics, for PARI. This is an extension of the same fellowship awarded to her in August 2020.



39. PRCI's Chanakya Awards for Journalism, 2021

PARI’s former Executive Editor Sharmila Joshi won the Best Story on Environment Awareness Award at the Public Relations Council of India's Chanakya Awards for Journalism in September 2021, for her story Churu: Blowing hot, blowing cold – mainly hot , published on June 2, 2020.


38. PRCI's Chanakya Awards for Journalism, 2021

PARI Senior Reporter Jaideep Hardikar won the Author/Writer of the Year Award for his book Ramrao: the story of India’s farm crisis at the Public Relations Council of India's Chanakya Awards in September 2021.


37. PRCI's Chanakya Awards for Journalism, 2021

PARI Reporter Jigyasa Mishra won the Best Story on Water Management Award at the Public Relations Council of India's Chanakya Awards for Journalism in September 2021, for her story Footprints of protest in the sands of a mine , published on June 6, 2020.

36. The Fukuoka Grand Prize, 2021

PARI's Founder Editor P. Sainath won the Fukuoka Grand Prize (Japan) in September 2021 for his outstanding journalism and as the founder of PARI. The award is conferred every year to honour individuals who have made contributions to the fields of Asian studies, Asian art and Asian culture. Read more

35. Pulitzer Center grant for ‘Societal Fallouts of Covid-19’ series, 2021

PARI Fellow (2017) Parth M.N. won a Pulitzer Center grant in September 2021 for a series of stories from the Marathwada region. The 20-part series in PARI examined the impact of the pandemic-lockdowns on some of the most marginalised sections of society.

34. Asian College of Journalism Awards, 2021

The PARI series on women’s health received a Special Mention in the Investigative Journalism category (of the Asian College of Journalism Awards, Chennai) in June 2021 for stories published in the year 2020. The award goes to Anubha Bhonsle , Amruta Byatnal , Jigyasa Mishra , Jyoti Shinoli , Kavitha Muralidharan , Medha Kale , Pallavi Prasad , Priti David , and Sanskriti Talwar for their stories from February to November 2020.

Tucked away in a tiny village in Tamil Nadu’s Erode district, turmeric farmer Thiru Murthy’s story is one of hard-earned achievement – aided by social media, abetted by ingenuity
PHOTO • M. Palani Kumar

33.  Azim Premji University research grant, 2021

Aparna Karthikeyan was awarded a research grant in April 2021 by Azim Premji University. This enables her ongoing and hugely successful series in PARI since September 2021 – looking at seven groups of farmers in Tamil Nadu through the universe of their crops.

32. Bodhivruksha Award, Spoortidhamma, 2021

PARI's Founder Editor P. Sainath won the Bodhivruksha Award for his journalism work and as the founder of PARI. The award is conferred every year on persons who have dedicated their lives to enabling and empowering socially excluded communities through their meaningful interventions. The award to Sainath was conferred on April 6, 2021.

31. WAN-IFRA’s South Asian Digital Media Awards, 2020

The PARI Team won the silver prize of WAN-IFRA’s South Asian Digital Media Awards, 2020. PARI bagged the Silver in the category 'Best Special Project for Covid-19' in the awards announced on December 3, 2020. Beginning from the last week of March 2020, PARI published (by the end of December 2021) nearly 200 landmark stories (besides numerous reports in the PARI Library ) related to impact of the lockdown on the livelihoods and daily lives of the most marginalised segments of India. Read more


30. Thakur Foundation Fellowship, August 2020

Kavitha Muralidharan was awarded a Thakur Foundation Fellowship in August 2020 to produce high quality content and reports on Public Health and Civil Liberties and related topics for PARI.

29. Press Institute of India-ICRC Award, 2020

PARI Reporter Jigyasa Mishra won a Press Institute of India -International Committee of the Red Cross Award for her story Footprints of protest in the sands of a mine , published on June 6, 2020, in the category Best Article on a Humanitarian Subject. Read more


28. Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity, 2020

PARI Reporter Jyoti Shinoli won a Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity (given by Population First, Mumbai), 2020, for her story No crime, unending punishment , published on August 10, 2018. Read more

Ananda Vikatan - Top Ten Humans of 2019

PARI Photographer Palani Kumar was recognised as one of the Top Ten Humans of 2019 by leading Tamil publication Ananda Vikatan in January 2020 for his body of work, particularly that visibilising the work of manual scavengers in an otherwise desensitised world.

27. Prem Bhatia Award for Journalism, 2020

The PARI Team won the Prem Bhatia Award for Journalism on Environment and Development Issues (given by the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust, New Delhi) “for its extensive field reports, including climate change effects and the impact of the pandemic on rural India.” Read more

Tamil Nadu’s seaweed harvesters in rough seas
, , and • Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu

26. PRCI's Chanakya Awards for Journalism, 2020

PARI Fellow (2019) M. Palani Kumar won the Public Relations Council of India's Communicator of the Year: Best Story of the Year Award for Tamil Nadu’s seaweed harvesters in rough seas , published on October 31, 2019.

25. PRCI's Chanakya Awards for Journalism, 2020

PARI Reporter Jyoti Shinoli won the Public Relations Council of India's Communicator of the Year: Best Content of the Year Award for her story Pardhi school bull-dozed by Prosperity Highway , published on June 17, 2019.

‘Our houses are vanishing. Nobody cares’
• South 24 Parganas, West Bengal

24. Press Institute of India-ICRC Award, 2019

PARI Fellow (2016) Urvashi Sarkar won the first prize in the Best Article category for her article ‘Our houses are vanishing. Nobody cares’ , published on July 20, 2018.

23. Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, 2019

PARI Fellow (2017) Yashaswini Raghunandan’s film That Cloud Never Left was selected for the India Gold category at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in October 2019.


22. FILAF Film Festival, 2019

PARI Fellow (2017) Yashaswini Raghunandan won the Gold Filaf at the Festival International du Livre d'Art et du Film (FILAF Film Festival) in France in 2019 for her film That Cloud Never Left.

21. Tutti I Premi Del Pesaro Film Fest, 2019

PARI Fellow (2017) Yashaswini Raghunandan received a Special Mention for her film That Cloud Never Left at the Tutti i Premi Del Pesaro Film Fest 2019 , Italy.



20. Best Experimental Documentary Film Award, 2019

PARI Fellow (2017) Yashaswini Raghunandan’s film That Cloud Never Left won the award for Best Experimental Documentary Film at the Sharjah Film Platform in December 2019.


19. Kasseler Dok Film Festival, 2019

PARI Fellow (2017) Yashaswini Raghunandan’s film That Cloud Never Left was awarded a Special Mention at the Kasseler Dok Film Festival in Kassel, Germany, in November 2019.



18. International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2019

PARI Fellow (2017) Yashaswini Raghunandan’s film That Cloud Never Left was premiered at the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam (in The Netherlands) in January 2019.

17. Red Ink Award, 2019

PARI Reporter Jyoti Shinoli won the Red Ink Award (given by the Mumbai Press Club) in the Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality category for her story Collecting 6,000 leaves a day for a living , published on May 3, 2018.

Marathwada's risky second sowing
and • Parbhani, Maharashtra

16. Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award, 2019

PARI Fellow (2017) Parth M. N. won the Indian Express Group's Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award (in the Uncovering India Invisible category) for his series of stories from Marathwada .

15. The Statesman Prize for Rural Reporting, 2018

PARI Author Puja Awasthi won the Statesman Prize for Rural Reporting for two stories published in PARI on July 5 and August 3, 2017: Beaten but unbowed – Sunanda Sahoo's silent struggle and Drums and dreams beyond pickle and papad

Widowed by tigers, abandoned by the state
• South 24 Parganas, West Bengal

14. Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity, 2018

PARI Fellow (2016) Urvashi Sarkar received the Laadli Media Award (given by Population First), 2018, in the Features category for her story Widowed by tigers, abandoned by the state , published on October 12, 2017.

Cutting cane for 2,000 hours
and • Belgaum, Karnataka

13. Lorenzo Natali Media Prize, 2018

PARI Fellow (2017) Parth M. N. received the Lorenzo Natali Media Priz e (given by the European Commission) for his story Cutting cane for 2000 hours , published on February 6, 2018.

12. South Asian Short Film Festival, Kolkata, 2018

Fifteen PARI videos/ films were selected for SASFF-2018: 13 films in the Competition: Documentary section and 2 in the Official Panorama Viewing category. ( See the full list of these videos and films at the end of this page, as well as the list of five PARI films/videos selected in the 2019 Competition: Documentary section of SASFF . )

From Gangappa to Gandhi
• Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh

11. Parigi Hanumantha Rao Journalism Award, 2018

PARI Fellow (2017) Rahul M. received the Parigi Hanumantha Rao Journalism Award for 2017-2018 (given by the Parigi Hanumantha Rao Foundation, Andhra Pradesh) for his stories published in PARI.

10. Justice M. G. Ranade Award, 2018

The first Justice M. G. Ranade Award (inaugural year, given by the Justice M.G. Ranade Award Vasant Vyakhyanmala), went to P. Sainath , recognising the unique nature of the new journalism “initiative called the People’s Archive of Rural India .”


9. Basavashree Award, 2017

The Basavashree Award (Sri Muruga Matha, Chitradurga, Karnataka) went to P. Sainath for “service rendered through the People’s Archive of Rural India to the rural folk in the way of a Journalism Movement.”
The award was returned to Sri Muruga Matha on September 2, 2022.


8. Appan Menon Memorial Award, 2017

The Appan Menon Memorial Award (given by the Appan Menon Memorial Trust, New Delhi) for “the work being done by the People’s Archive of Rural India to document life in rural India.”

7. C-Shell Media and Literary Awards, 2017

The C-Shell Journalism Prize 2017 (Dubai) for “extraordinary and in-depth reporting of rural India and the unique achievement that is PARI .”


6. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak Award for Excellence in Journalism, 2017

The Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak Award for Excellence in Journalism (given by the Kesari Mahratta Trust and Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune) to PARI's Founder Editor P. Sainath, recognising his launch of PARI .

5. Anant Bhalerao Smruti Puraskar, 2016

The Anant Bhalerao Smruti Puraskar (given by the Anant Bhalerao Smruti Foundation, Aurangabad) went to P. Sainath for “incisive reporting of rural India, the People’s Archive of Rural India and its approach to boosting journalism in Indian languages.”

4. Krantisinh Nana Patil Memorial Award, 2016

The Krantisinh Nana Patil Memorial Award (given by the Krantisinh Nana Patil Foundation, Sangli, Maharashtra) to PARI's Founder Editor P. Sainath (recognising, also, the importance of PARI ).

Weaves of Maheshwar
• Khargone, Madhya Pradesh

3. National Film Awards, Government of India, 2016

PARI Fellows (2015) Nidhi Kamath and Keya Vaswani received the Silver Lotus (Rajat Kamal) for the Best Promotional Film at the 63rd National Film Awards, 2016, for their film Weaves of Maheshwar , published in PARI on May 2, 2016.

2. Praful Bidwai Memorial Prize, 2016

The first Praful Bidwai Memorial Prize (given by the Praful Bidwai Memorial Committee, New Delhi) to PARI and Founder Editor P. Sainath for “his reportage and commentary on agrarian distress and the source of information and inspiration that is PARI.” Read more

1. Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity, 2015

PARI Fellow (2015) Purusottam Thakur received the Laadli Media Award 2014-15 (given by Population First, Mumbai) in the Best Investigative Story category for the story Making history, heading for a hundred , published on March 20, 2015.

Special Mention : In April 2020, the United States Library of Congress informed us that they had selected the PARI website for inclusion in their web archives: "We consider your website to be an important part of this collection and the historical record."

South Asian Short Film Festival, March 2019: List of PARI videos/films

Competition: Documentary

1. Sinchita Maji/ Ganpati Yadav's Gripping Life Cycle / India/ Marathi/ 17M
2. Ankan Roy & Others / Possessed by His Art, a Bahurupi Transforms / India/ Bengali /05M
3. Vishaka George & Others / I Feel So Happy to See the Paddy Growing / India/ Malayalam/05M
4. Anubha Bhonsle & Others / Into The Chakshangs Of Imphal / India/ Manipuri, Meitei/05M
5. Subuhi Jiwani/ Farming Doesn't Give Us Our Sustenance / India/ Hindi/04M

South Asian Short Film Festival, March 2018: List of PARI videos/films

Competition: Documentary

1. Archana Phadke/ Captain Elder Brother’ and the Whirlwind Army / India/ Marathi/ 06M
2. Shreya Katyayini/ Tussar: The Crumbling Cocoon / India/ Hindi/ 12M
3. Sinchita Maji/ Heavy Lifting in the Hills / India/ Marathi/ 09M
4. Sayantoni Palchoudhuri/ Jahangir's Story / India/ Hindi/ 08M
5. Sayantoni Palchoudhuri/ Vote for Boat / India/ Hindi/ 08M
6. Stanzin Saldon/ The Loom is My Love, My Legacy / India/ Ladakhi/ 09M
7. Sinchita Maji/ Basudeb Baul / India/ Bengali/ 12M
8. Ankan Roy/ Bahurupi: A Family of Many Faces / India/ Bengali/ 10M
9. Shreya Katyayini/ When the Queen Strikes / India/ Hindi/ 15M
10. Anubha Bhonsle & Others/ Ima Keithel: Every Day is Women’s Day / India/ Manipuri/ 15M
11. Aparna Karthikeyan/ The Dance of the False Legged Horse / India/ Tamil/ 18M
12. V. Sasikumar/ Mending Boats with Music / India/ Malayalam/ 15M
13. Purusottam Thakur/ The Fading Weaves of Duajhar / India/ Odiya/ 16M

Official Selection: Panorama – Documentary

14. Sinchita Maji/ Threadbare in Santipur / India/ Bengali/ 13M
15. Sinchita Maji/ Dhol on Wheels / India/ Bengali/ 06M

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