Raksha Kumar

Raksha Kumar is a multimedia journalist focusing on human rights, politics and social injustices. Since 2011, she has reported for The New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, TIME, South China Morning Post, Scroll and The Hindu, among others.

As a reporter, her focus areas are land and forest rights of the most vulnerable communities. Raksha has reported from 11 countries across the world.

In 2018, she was awarded the National Media Award for her reportage on land rights. In 2017, she was shortlisted for Kurt Schork Memorial Awards in International Journalism. For her work on land conflicts in India, she was awarded the Chameli Devi Award for Outstanding Media Personality in 2016.

In 2015, she wrote, shot, and directed a documentary film on Rationalists in Contemporary India. It was aired by India's public broadcaster, Doordarshan. The film has been screened in 22 locations across the country until now.

The same year, Raksha was selected as a Chevening Fellow by the University of Westminster to research on Hindu rights in the UK.

With a Fulbright Scholarship for Leadership Development, she went to the Columbia University in New York City to pursue a Masters in Science. As a student, she was offered the Scripps Howard Fellowship to report from Israel and the West Bank.

Raksha worked as an editor at NDTV, leading English news channel in India. She was the editorial head of a two-hour prime time news show, where she lead a team of about 20 junior journalists.

A graduate of Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi, Raksha was a dedicated student and a passionate public speaker.