Call For Submissions: Human Rights & Religious Freedom Journalism Awards 2025

June 27, 2025, Washington, DC- The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) is proud to announce the call for submissions for the fourth  annual Human Rights & Religious Freedom (HRRF) Journalism Awards 2025, a  recognition of bold, courageous, and impactful journalism that sheds light on some of the most urgent human rights and religious freedom issues in India today.

As India faces escalating threats to its pluralistic traditions, independent journalism has become one of the last lines of defense in holding the powerful accountable and amplifying the voices of vulnerable communities. IAMC remains committed to recognizing journalists who, often at great personal and professional risk, expose truths that are censored, ignored, or distorted by state-influenced media ecosystems.

The HRRF Journalism Awards were launched in 2022 to honor such reporting, stories that challenge impunity, uncover violations of fundamental rights, and counteract misinformation, especially in defense of India’s most marginalized populations. Now entering its third season, the initiative has become a platform for highlighting exemplary journalism. 

Submissions for the 2025 awards must be received by 11 PM IST on July 25, 2025. An international panel of judges will evaluate the entries, giving priority to stories that expose under-reported or unreported issues, bring fresh perspectives to familiar topics, and challenge dominant misconceptions or harmful stereotypes. All entries must have been published between June 30, 2024, and June 30, 2025.

In recognition of India’s linguistic diversity and the importance of regional media, this year’s awards introduce two new language categories: Best Reporting in Hindi and Urdu. These additions reflect IAMC’s commitment to uplifting the voices of regional journalists working on the front lines of human rights reporting in their own communities.

This year’s categories are as follows:

Best Text Reporting on Human Rights & Religious Freedom (English)

This category honors the best text reportage (1000 words or longer) in English that sheds light on unreported or under-reported human rights and religious freedom issues in India. This award includes a cash prize of INR 50,000 and a plaque.

Best Text Reporting on Human Rights & Religious Freedom (Hindi)

This category honors the best text reportage (1000 words or longer) in Hindi that sheds light on unreported or under-reported human rights and religious freedom issues in India. This award includes a cash prize of INR 50,000 and a plaque.

Best Text Reporting on Human Rights & Religious Freedom (Urdu)

 This category honors the best text reportage (1000 words or longer) in Urdu that sheds light on unreported or under-reported human rights and religious freedom issues in India. This award includes a cash prize of INR 50,000 and a plaque.

Best Video Story on Human Rights and Religious Freedom

This category is for the best video report on human rights and religious freedom issues in India. The video story must be of 4 minutes to 25 minutes in duration. This award carries a cash prize of INR 50,000 and a plaque.

Best Story on Human Solidarity 

This award honors a powerful piece of journalism that captures acts of unity, solidarity and compassion across religious, ethnic, or cultural divides. It recognizes storytelling that uplifts shared humanity and promotes hope in the face of injustice or adversity. This award carries a cash prize of INR 50,000 and a plaque.

HRRF Young Journalist of the Year Award 2025

The Human Rights & Religious Freedom Young Journalist of the Year Award recognizes a young journalist (30 years of age or under as of July 1, 2025) in any medium (text, photo, video, or multimedia) who has made a substantial contribution to Indian journalism during 2024 in defense of human rights and religious freedom. Journalists can submit three to five best stories. All media formats are acceptable. This award carries a cash prize of INR 50,000 and a plaque.

The 2025 award winners will be honored at a ceremony in Chicago, United States, in August 2025. Final dates will be announced in the last week of July. 

For more information, visit: www.hrrfjawards.com

To enter the awards, visit: https://hrrfjawards.com/submission/

For any queries or questions, write to us at contact@hrrfjawards.com