The International Press Institute (IPI)’s Indian National Committee on Friday presented its 2014 Award for Excellence in Journalism to daily newspaper Hindustan Times and weekly newsmagazine The Week at a ceremony in Delhi.

The Committee honoured the Hindustan Times for an investigation by Harinder Baweja into acid attacks on women in India. The Week garnered its award for an investigation by Tariq Bhat and Arvind Jain on the plight of widows in the border village of Dardpora in Kashmir who had lost their husbands amid ongoing strife in the disputed valley.

India’s minister of state (independent charge) for environment, forests and climate change, Prakash Javadekar, who presented the awards told those in attendance that while sensitive reporting by the media on gender issues is a major contributing factor for female empowerment, gender sensitisation of male children at home and school is just as important.

The Hindustan Times investigation focused on the practice of disfiguring and shaming women by throwing acid on them. The series spoke of victims who had suffered in many ways, and how some of them carried on with the fight by prodding an indifferent society. It culminated in a campaign called “Stop Acid Attacks”, intended to enlist the support of the society for the cause.

A four-person jury of distinguished editors and publishers said the investigation “was not only timely but it generated lot of public attention about acid attacks”. It added: “The focus on a very heinous crime has raised awareness and initiated discussion on preventive steps.”

The Week’s award-winning investigation examined the plight of 120 widows of Dardpora – “abode of pain” in English – whose husbands were killed either by militants or by security forces over the last 25 years. Dardpora, which lies close to the Line of Control dividing the region, has seen many of its men lured by militancy, even as security forces have focused deadly attention on them.

Jurors noted that “the huge suffering of widows and children due to militancy has been highlighted in the investigative feature, and is a pointer that the gun is not the answer to the problems faced by Kashmiris”.

The jury was headed by Justice Dr. A.S. Anand, former chief justice of India and former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission. Other members included N. Ravi, chairman of IPI’s Indian National Committee and director of The Hindu; M.K. Razdan, editor-in-chief of the Press Trust of India; and Riyad Mathew, senior assistant editor of Malayala Manorama.

The award carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakhs (approx. €2,600), a trophy and a citation.

Sanjoy Narayan, editor-in-chief of The Hindustan Times, accepted the award on behalf of the newspaper while Bhat, The Week’s senior special correspondent, and Jain, the magazine’s chief photographer, accepted the award for their publication.

Philip Mathew, a fellow of the Vienna-based IPI and managing editor of Malayala Manorama, presided over the function, which was attended by senior members of the media fraternity and political leaders, including former minister Natwar Singh and CPI leader D Raja, MP.

Ravi, who currently serves as a member of IPI’s Executive Board, said, while welcoming guests, that IPI’s Indian National Committee instituted the annual award in 2003 to recognise and honour the best work by an Indian media organisation or journalist working in print, radio, television and Internet mediums in furtherance of public interest, including safeguarding the freedom of the press and other freedoms, such as human rights.

IPI’s Indian National Committee is an active forum of editors, publishers and senior executives of newspapers, magazines and news agencies, all of whom are members of IPI. The global network was formed in 1950 at Columbia University by 34 leading editors from 15 countries on the belief that a free press would contribute to the creation of a better world.