Democratic ‘aatma' is under relentless attack: Magsaysay Awardee Ravish Kumar

New Delhi, Sep 06: Senior Indian journalist Ravish Kumar who is awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award 2019 has delivered a speech on "The Power of Citizen's journalism to Advance Democracy", in the Philippines after winning the prestigious award.

He will receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award at a ceremony in Manila on September 9, 2019.

He is among five individuals who were declared winners of the award, which is Asia's premier prize and highest honour and celebrates the greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in Asia.

Kumar won the award for "harnessing journalism to give voice to the voiceless" and his "unfaltering commitment to professional, ethical journalism of the highest standards".

In his speech, Kumar spoke about the current 'testing times' for journalists and common citizens. He said, "I believe that in today's times when the attack on our citizenship is all-encompassing and the state's surveillance apparatus is more overbearing than ever, the individuals or groups who are able to withstand this onslaught and emerge stronger from it, will be the ones who lay the foundation for a better citizenry and for that matter, maybe even better governments in the future."

"Disagreement is the aatma (spirit, soul, or essence) of democracy and citizenship. The democratic aatma is under relentless attack every day. When citizenship is under threat or when its very meaning has been altered, then what happens to the nature of a citizen's journalism?" he stated.

Twitterati is going gaga over Ravish Kumar's speech. Since morning the social media was flooded with posts and comments praising about him.