On a stormy Manhattan Saturday, more than 40 SAJA members and friends gathered to celebrate Monica Saigal's new novel, "A Kiss in Kashmir." The event was held at the home of SAJA President Sree Sreenivasan and his wife Roopa Unnikrishnan. A Kashmir-inspired menu was curated by Saigal, a long-time food writer (and one of Mashable's top 10 food writers on Twitter). She discussed her book, her writing process, why one of her books took 6.5 years and more. She signed copies of the novel for the attendees. 

You can see an album of photos from the event here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/phB6wZozVPkHY7vQ9

HOW YOU CAN HELP SAJA:

Clockwise from upper left: Amar Shah; Sree Sreenivasan; Allana Akhtar; Raakhee Mirchandani.

SAJA's new Zoom series, SAJA VIRTUAL, brings timely panels, talks, workshops and more to our members wherever they are. You can attend live or watch a recording later.

On Wednesday, March 13, we kicked off the series with "Writing Books for Young Readers." Many thanks to our author-members Raakhee Mirchandani & Amar Shah, who shared so many great tips and ideas. And thanks also to SAJA Secretary and freelance healthcare writer Allana Akhtar for being an outstanding moderator. 

Among the comments: "So inspiring!" (Charu Suri)... "Wow — I'm just loving this passion and energy! (Patricia Kitchen)... "So many thanks to all! Your joy and passion are truly inspiring... as is your advice! Keep shining!" (Diane Patrick)... "Thank you all so much for this!" (Ghazala Irshad). 

You can watch the recording here: https://bit.ly/saja_virtual_1

Here's how you can help SAJA:

• Please share your feedback about the event.
  
• Become a member — you don't have to be a journalist or South Asian to be a member. http://bit.ly/saja.org/membership
• • Encourage your friends to become members.
• Support us through events: Have a venue we can use pro bono or subsidized? 
• • Have ideas for events? 
  • Want to join our 30th anniversary planning committee? 
  • Let us know. president@saja.org
• Support us by making a tax-deductible donation: http://saja.org/donate
• • We have donated more than $400,000 in scholarships and fellowships — all thanks to folks like you!

Watch for more events coming your way on our events page.

Cheers, Sree
Sree Sreenivasan | president@saja.org 
President, SAJA, South Asian Journalists Association
Connect w/ us: Twitter, IG, YouTube

On Feb 29, 2024, SAJA-NY hosted a full-house event at Asia Society with acclaimed author Amitav Ghosh and distinguished journalist Razia Iqbal. We were celebrating the launch of "Smoke & Ashes," Ghosh's latest book, about this history of opium. Our first event with him was in 1995! Many thanks to our long-time collaborator, Rachel Cooper, Director of Global Cultural Democracy for Asia Society. You will see photos below of the speakers, Cooper and Sree Sreenivasan, SAJA president.

Watch a recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFoVjONHDRI

NOVEMBER 16, 2021

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SOUTH ASIAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION ("SAJA")

The Board of Directors of SAJA hereby gives notice that the Annual Meeting of Full Members of SAJA will take place on Thursday, December 16, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. Register here.

All Full Members of SAJA are invited to attend and participate.

Associate Members, Student Members, Non-members and other SAJA supporters are also encouraged to attend but cannot vote at the meeting.

Agenda for the meeting:

(1) Report on the activities of SAJA in 2021;

(2) Presentation of the annual financial report;

(3) Presentation of the annual members report;

(4) Election to fill in the five vacancies on SAJA's Board; and

(5) Other matters, if any, duly presented to Full Members at the Annual Meeting.

With respect to the election of board members to fill in the five vacancies scheduled to occur at the end of 2021, nominations have been received from five candidates (see list below). At the meeting, these five candidates will be named to fill in the five vacancies, as having been elected without contest.

The five candidates are: Deena Zaidi, Farnoush Amiri, John Laxmi, Mythili Sampathkumar and Sabrina Malhi.

Read more about each candidate here.

*****

Because of the location of the meeting at a restaurant (which may be noisy), it is not practical to set up a virtual connection. However, if you are a Full Member and are unable to attend and participate in the meeting in person, you may participate in the proceedings by proxy, by submitting this form:

CLICK HERE.

By clicking the above button, and filling out the form, you authorize Ms. Anusha Shrivastava, currently an Advisor to the SAJA Board, to attend and vote on your behalf at the Annual Meeting on any matters which may be duly brought to a vote at the Annual Meeting.

Ms. Shrivastava has agreed to attend the meeting in person and fulfill the duties as proxy for those Full Members who choose this option.

Signed: Board of Directors of South Asian Journalists Association

***

NOTE: Following the conclusion of the Annual Meeting, a Holiday Party is planned at the restaurant. Please join. This is organized by SAJA but attendees will pay for their own drinks and food.

Thank you for joining us for #SAJA2020. It's been our pleasure to bring you a series of virtual events, culminating in our awards ceremony, which you can watch in full above.

And a big thank you to our sponsors: 

   Gaur Family   

And congratulations to the finalists and winners of our 2020 awards!

COVID-19 reporting:

Winner: Over 10 agonizing days, this migrant worker walked and hitchhiked 1,250 miles home. India's lockdown left him no choice - Mohit Rao for CNN

How the Pandemic Is Reshaping India - Billy Perrigo and Neha Thirani Bagri for TIME

Dispatches from the world's largest lockdown: exodus, hardship, solidarity - Joanna Slater, Niha Masih, Parth M.N., Taniya Dutta for Washington Post

Nonfiction Writing:

Winner: A Hunger Strike in ICE Detention - Rozina Ali for The New Yorker

Following The North Star - Shaheen Pasha for Longreads

Stories About My Brother - Prachi Gupta for Jezebel

Daniel Pearl Award:

Winner: Democracy Undone - Soumya Shankar for The Ground Truth Project

Investigation: Amazon Sells Clothes From Unsafe Factories in Bangladesh - Karan Deep Singh for Wall Street Journal

The War on Afghan Women - Karishma Vyas for Al Jazeera

Business Reporting:

Winner: Take a Ride Along the Punjabi American Highway - Jaweed Kaleem for L.A. Times

For India’s Caste-Based Sewer Cleaners, an Uncertain Robot Rescue - Puja Changoiwala for Undark

63,000 openings and 19 million applicants: inside India's employment conundrum - Joanna Slater for Washington Post

Race And Diversity Reporting:

Winner: The Contradictions of a Progressive Police Chief - Kiran Misra for Southside Weekly

Amid outcry, these police agencies banned chokeholds. But critics say more reforms needed - Shirso Dasgupta for McClatchy

Swann Street NW Neighbors Shielded Strangers, Stood Up to Police - Ashish Malhotra for Washington City Paper

Arts and Culture Reporting:

Winner: Vital Signs with Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Bhutan - Correspondent: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Executive Producer: Elisa Berkowitz, Senior Producer/Writer: Samantha Bresnahan, Field Producer: Sugam Pokharel, Photographer: Sanjiv Talreja, Editor: Anthony Whaley for CNN

Trying to Define a Cuisine Shaped by Absences - Vidya Balachander for The Juggernaut

Kamala Harris' defining Indian influence - Shashank Bengali for L.A. Times

Photography:

Winner: A Day in Delhi's Resettlement Colonies - Kiran Misra for Pulitzer Center

Photo Essay: Gold in the Kutupalong Camp - Fariba Alam for The Juggernaut

Fortify Rights/Doha Debates Rohingya Instagram Fellows - Azimul Hassan for Fortify Rights

Reporting on Any Subject:

Winner: New Workers of the World - Vauhini Vara for Bloomberg

Robbers, strawberries & black-market economics: How to bake a cake in Caracas - Simran Sethi for Washington Post

In Ghana, a Bumper Crop of Opinions on Genetically Modified Cowpea - Ankur Paliwal for Undark

The Network of Hindu Nationalists Behind Modi’s “Diaspora Diplomacy” in the U.S. - Rashmee Kumar for The Intercept

The Impeachment of President Donald J. Trump (series) - Versha Sharma for Now This News

SAJA Journalism Awards are now closed. A big thank you to the judges who helped us recognize great journalism this year! See their names below. And watch the whole awards ceremony here.

Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2019 SAJA awards!

The Daniel Pearl Award for outstanding reporting about South Asia: All media

WINNER: Ari Alstedter

The Billionaires and the Guru

Bloomberg

WINNER: Annie Gowen

The rise of Hindu nationalism in Modi's India (series of stories)

The Washington Post

FINALISTS:

Nahlah Ayed, Stephanie Jenzer

1 year after Rohingya exodus, only handful have returned

CBC

Sophia Jones

The Many Dangers of Being an Afghan Woman in Uniform

The New York Times

Outstanding enterprise reporting about South Asia or the worldwide South Asian diaspora: All media

WINNER: Apoorva Mandavilli

The World’s Worst Industrial Disaster Is Still Unfolding

The Atlantic

FINALISTS:

Sonia Paul

The children of H-1B visa holders are growing up — and still waiting for green cards

PRI's The World

Sarita Santoshini

India's Hill Country is the First Stop on Heroin's Deadly Route

Foreign Policy

Outstanding business reporting about South Asia, or the worldwide South Asian diaspora: All media

WINNER: Makepeace Sitlhou

Sweet or Salty: Could Black Rice Become Manipur’s Quinoa?

Popula

FINALISTS:

Ambreen Ali

At the Wheel: Women Drive Pakistan's Ride-Sharing Industry

Ozy.com

Ananya Bhattacharya

Blockchain is helping build a new Indian city, but it’s no cure for corruption

Quartz India

Outstanding arts, culture, and lifestyle reporting about South Asia, or the worldwide South Asian diaspora: All media

WINNER: Sarah Khan

Surface: Force of Nature

Surface

FINALISTS:

Bhavya Dore

This Boy From Mumbai Became the World’s Unlikeliest Crossword King

Narratively

Annalisa Merelli

How a school for poor girls cracked the patriarchy in a rural Indian town

Quartz India

Outstanding story on any subject: All media

WINNER: Anjali Enjeti

Reckoning with Georgia's Increasing Suppression of Asian American Voters

Longreads

FINALISTS:

Aditi Malhotra

Support family or go to school? Rohingya refugee teen juggles competing demands

PBS Newshour

Sonia Paul

When Caste Discrimination Comes to the United States

NPR Codeswitch

Outstanding piece of non-fiction writing about South Asia, or the worldwide South Asians diaspora: All media

WINNER: Shaheen Pasha

Searching for the Woman Who Saved My Immigrant Family from Homelessness

Narratively

FINALISTS:

Archana Chaudhary and Jeanette Rodrigues

How to Lose $3.2 Billion of Bitcoin From India to Texas

Bloomberg

Amar Shah

To many Indian Americans, Apu is offensive. To me, he’s my dad.

The Washington Post

Outstanding multimedia about South Asia, or the worldwide South Asian diaspora: All media

WINNER: Habiba Nosheen, Shanifa Nasser and Virginia Smart

Canada's Muslim Adoption Ban

CBC

FINALISTS:

Anjali Kamat

The Many Red Flags of Trump’s Partners in India

Type Investigations + Trump Inc. (a podcast from WNYC and ProPublica)

Leena Sanzgiri

The Prayer

NPR WAMU 88.5

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Contact email: saja@saja.org