Nilita Vachani wins ACJ award for investigative journalism

Nilita Vachani won the inaugural ACJ Award for Investigative Journalism in the print/online category for her story published in The Caravan magazine in November 2015. 

Vachani’s story is about the exploitation of Manju Das, a domestic worker from West Bengal, by powerful businessmen of South-Asian origin in the United States. Vachani was presented a citation by the jury and Rs 2 lakh in prize money for her work. The winner was chosen from a pool of 111 entries.   

The final jury comprising chairperson Leila Seth and members TJS George, Mrinal Pande and Mukul Kesavan chose Vachani’s story for the prize.

The broadcast category saw only four entries this year, none of which was considered prize worthy. The awards, which will be given annually, have been instituted by the Media Development Foundation, the trust that administers the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), to act as a catalyst to inspire more journalists, editors and newsrooms to pursue investigative work, and in the process, raise the standards of journalism and contribute to the public interest.