Award for activist scribe

Sanctuary Asia magazine’s Wind Under the Wings Award was presented to Anahita Mukherji and The Times of India (TOI) at a function at the National Centre for the Performing Arts on December 18, 2015. For the past year the 32-year-old assistant editor with TOI has reported on the devastating effect of 1,50,000 metric tons of coal lying in the open on Bombay’s eastern seaboard which has posed grave health hazards to those who live and work in the area.

From left: Anahita Mukherji, Jayan Menon and Deepak Parekh

The citation, carried in Sanctuary Asia of December 2015, mentions: "With 10 years of reporting on public interest issues under her belt, The Times of India’s Anahita Mukherji expertly marries tenacity to activism, and activism to writing. A graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, Mukherji has carved a niche for herself as an exceptional environmental reporter. One who is unafraid of invoking the ire of the powerful interest groups that she methodically exposes.” The citation also notes that she has consistently followed up on a Bombay High Court petition filed by activists seeking to prevent the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board from giving its ‘consent to operate’ to the Bombay Port Trust to handle coal, and revealed the manner in which the pollution board has neglected its duties.
This bore fruit when in September 2015 the Port Trust issued a notice stating that it would stop handling coal and clean up the entire area of coal by October 30. When, under duress from vested interests, the Port Trust wrote to the Pollution Control Board seeking a fresh consent order, Mukherji slammed the board for reneging on its earlier commitment. "While the issue continues to burn, Mukherji critiques the government’s apathy and vows to keep writing till the coal is moved out of Bombay once and for all,” the citation notes.
It is for her "incorruptible values and extraordinary perseverance to cover a neglected but crucial story” that the reporter and the newspaper "have proved to be a fighting force” for the city’s ecological health, "and for this we honor them,” the citation says.
Mukherji had earlier received the Sanskriti award for journalism in 2010 (see "Sanskriti Award for scribe,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, January 7, 2011). Instituted by the Sanskriti Pratishtan in 1979, the Award is aimed at inspiring and honoring young talent in various fields in the 25-35-year age group.