Indian Link Media Group has taken out three awards in the NSW Premier’s Multicultural Communications Awards (PMCA) 2024, in the categories of Best Audio-Visual Report, Best Text Report and Young Journalist of the Year.
The awards were presented by the NSW Minister for Multiculturalism Steve Kamper on 17 Oct.
Lakshmi Ganapathy’s two-part video essay on the earliest Indian settlers in Australia titled Linking History claimed the Best Audio-Visual Report award. Exploring South Asian history in Australia since colonisation, the series aims to highlight the way South Asians have interacted and contributed to this history, and the complex relationship they have with this unceded land.
Taking Best Text Report was Indian Link’s series of articles run in the lead up to the Federal Government’s Referendum held in Oct 2023, aimed at drumming up support within the Indian community for the Yes case.
Twenty-two year old Indian Link journalist Khushee Gupta became the latest recipient of the Young Journalist of the Year award.
Ganapathy’s Linking History is a well-researched, crisp and articulate presentation about servants and convicts, the first Indian settlers in Australia, and the debate over Indian indentured labour in Australia, examining the experiences of Indian labourers who were transported to Australia from the mid-1830s to early 1900s.
I’m very heartened to hear people are resonating with this series,” she said after receiving her award. “Creating it has taught me lots, not just about how history can be obscured, but how to make engaging videos. This is a very small-scale production, it’s just me on location when I go shoot this in Naarm (Melbourne) where I’m based, so it’s nice to get some external feedback.”
She said the award will motivate her to create more episodes.
“The series has deepened my understanding of this country; a really important part of why I created it is solidarity with Indigenous truth-telling, and I feel we’re starting to get ourselves into a place where we can have serious conversations about colonisation and the legacy it’s left on this land.”
Indian Link’s work on the Voice to Parliament that won Best Text Report strived to mobilise public opinion towards a ‘Yes’ vote. “Our goal was to put the case forward to our community that Constitutional reform would help bridge gaps in Australia’s Indigenous community,” Rajni Anand Luthra, editor, described.
The series was carefully timed, running over a period of four months, gradually building up to polling in October. Indian Link’s October 2023 edition was almost entirely dedicated to the ‘Yes’ position in the Referendum, with the campaign’s iconic ‘Yes’ graphic emblazoned on the cover.
“The winning series was written by a whole host of Indian Link contributors, particularly Ritam Mitra, Khushaal Vyas, Lakshmi Ganapathy, Torsha Sen, Sagar Mehrotra, Ajmer Singh Gill, Harita Sridhar, Nishadh Rego and Nisha Labade. Submissions from two other volunteer / grassroots efforts Desis For Yes and South Asians for Yes were also part of the series,” Luthra said.
Alongside Indian Link’s radio and social media push (including a specially commissioned video film that turned a popular Bollywood song into a public service announcement for ‘Yes’), this campaign, together with that of similarly-minded efforts such as Desis For Yes, may have gone some way towards a largely ‘Yes’ vote from our community.
“The award is bitter-sweet in some ways,” Rajni reflected later. “While I am glad that our work resonated, perhaps a better outcome in the Referendum would have made it even more gratifying.”
Macquarie University student Khushee Gupta became Indian Link’s newest recipient of the Young Journalist of the Year award at the Premier’s Multicultural Communications Awards night 2024. This continues to be one of the strongest award categories for the media group, picked for mention on the night by Joseph La Posta, CEO of Multicultural NSW.
“Khushee, you are a part of a bright talent factory that Indian Link continues to churn out, and which helps in producing our future journalists,” he said.
Khushee herself said later, “Winning this award feels surreal, especially since I’ve grown up dreaming of becoming a journalist, of telling stories that truly matter. I’m sure 11-year-old me would be proud of everything I have achieved so far!”
She added, “Indian Link has been a blessing, giving me the platform to pursue my passion and amplify the voices of my community. I’m incredibly grateful for the support and encouragement I’ve received, and this award is a reminder that I’m on the right path. Here’s to many more stories ahead!”
Khushee’s award is the media group’s sixth award for emerging journalists, the first of these way back in 2014. These young journalists have been creating content for young members of our community in a manner that resonates with them, for a full decade now – belying perceptions that the publication house is “for the older generation”.
Khushee is part of a core team at the Indian Link office – with an average age of 24 – that coordinates the work of its 70 contributors.
With these three awards , Indian Link’s tally now stands at 30 multicultural media awards – presented by the states of NSW and Victoria since these awards were instituted in 2012.
Coming ahead of the media group’s 30th anniversary, the Premier’s Multicultural Communications 2024 awards night became a special night for the team, who attended the as a contingent.
“Thirty awards in thirty years – it has a nice ring to it,” Pawan Luthra said. “What a great way to mark our 30th year. We’ve built a media organisation that continues to evolve – through print, radio, social, digital and its various subsets like podcasts, Insta, and TikTok. I couldn’t be prouder. Way to go, team!”
Rajni Anand Luthra added, “What a great effort. To be wonderfully represented on the night – with three awards amid six nominations across the nine categories – seemed like a dream. My congratulations to all the Indian Linkers that made this dream come true.”
READ MORE: Indian Link: NSW’s Best Multicultural Publication 2023
