This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been announced. This award has been given to one person and two organizations working for human rights. These include the Russian Human Rights Organization Memorial and the Ukrainian Human Rights Organization Center for Civil Liberties, in addition to Belarusian Human Rights Advocate Alis Belyatske.
Earlier, Time magazine had informed about the names of three people from India in the race for the Nobel Peace Prize. Among them were the fact-checkers Mohammad Zubair and Prateek Sinha, besides Harsh Mander of Caravan-e Mohabbat Sanstha, who worked against communalism.
All three Indians may not have got the Nobel, but in a conversation with Bhaskar, all three said that they are very happy to be shortlisted for the award, as it has recognized their work internationally.
Firstly Prateek Sinha, who is the co-founder of Alt News…
About career…
In 2017 we started Alt News. I took my engineering degree in 2003. Till 2017 I worked as an engineer only. I became an engineer, but I felt that I could use my skills for the society.
Father Mukul Sinha was a lawyer in the Gujarat High Court. He has fought cases related to Gujarat riots in Ahmedabad. My mother was also an activist, so socio-political issues were discussed in the house. This is where my background was formed.
On meeting Zubair…
I met Zubair in 2014. We became good friends. In 2016, I told Zubair that we both have about 80,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter together. Good audience. Together we can do something in the media space. Especially in the field of misinformation.
On the launch of Alt News…
I left my contract in December 2016. Zubair was working at Nokia at that time. They still work full time because they have to run the family. They can't leave the job. Initially, I started Alt News and Zubair used to volunteer.
The event that had an effect…
In August 2016, a rally was held in Una, Gujarat. Just now Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani had formed an organization - Una Dalit Adhikar Samiti. 4 Dalit children were killed in Gujarat. In response to this, a rally was held in August 2016. This rally was to go from Ahmedabad to Una. Many members of my parents' organization Jan Sangharsh Manch were involved in this. Me and my mother were also in the rally. I made videos and documented it on social media.
On July 11, 2016, Dalit youths were brutally thrashed by people who claimed to be members of the Gau Rakshak Samiti in Una, Gujarat. Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani had agitated against this.
On July 11, 2016, Dalit youths were brutally thrashed by people who claimed to be members of the Gau Rakshak Samiti in Una, Gujarat. Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani had agitated against this.
The mainstream media did not give it much attention till the last two days of the rally. Only my videos and pictures were being shared on social media. That journey was very important for me. Then I understood that I can also work in the media sector. Then I had decided that now I have to work in media only.
On the nomination for the Nobel…
We don't know whether we have been nominated or not. Our name was recommended by the Peace Research Institute in February. There was an article in Time magazine that we are one of the favorites for the Nobel Peace Prize. It seals our work. We are working against Fake News and Misinformation. This proves that these are important issues of the country and our work is important.
On planning ahead…
There is a lot of work to be done ahead. We are only 5 years old now. In a way, we haven't even started yet. Most of the people who win get this award for their work of 30-35 years. I won't comment on whether we deserve it or not. I must say that we still have a lot of work to do. Apart from education and journalism, we have to work in the technical field as well.
We have to do long form journalism. Zubair and I are both engineers. Earlier we did not have much understanding of the media. Now we know how media works. Our political understanding has also increased and our understanding of the country's issues has also increased.
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