Awards
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Awards & Honours
The much-coveted JDGD Saraf Awards for Journalism, presented since 1985 to veterans and youngsters alike.
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Jamna Devi Gyan Devi Saraf Trust · Jammu & Kashmir · Est. 1985
The conscience keepers of a nation
“The power of the press is neither a gift bestowed on us by any capitalist nor an estate conferred on us by any government. It is a trust placed in our hands by the people and to use it honestly is our conscientious duty.” Lala Mulk Raj Saraf — Father of Journalism in J&K
0Trust established
0Years of awards
0Years in journalism, L.M.R. Saraf
0Padma Shri conferred
1985Founded in J&K
Who we are
An independent non-profit for the conscience of the press
JDGD Saraf Trust is a Jammu and Kashmir based independent non-profit dedicated to promoting and strengthening conscientious journalism.
Conscientious journalists are the conscience keepers of a nation. A true journalist must make a dispassionate study of day-to-day events in the right perspective, and offer fearless comment couched in decent and appropriate language on the political, economic, cultural and social aspects of life. It is not as easy as it sounds — it involves hard labour, well-balanced judgment, and the skills for donning the various hats.
Journalism is an exacting and arduous mission. To survive and thrive in it, one needs to build an armour of skills, attitudes and guiding values. The Trust exists to help build that armour. Through its multifaceted activities, it seeks to enable, encourage and empower journalists to perform their all-round duties with courage and honesty.
01 A healthy press
Awards, scholarships and other incentives for journalists in and outside Jammu & Kashmir — the work the Trust has carried on without a break since 1985.
02 Young talent
Educational initiatives, skill development workshops and mentorship, so that judgment is handed on alongside technique.
03 An incubator
Support for early-stage journalism and media start-ups, students and fledgling journalists working towards an informed and empowered society.
04 Access to resources
Opening up the Trust’s own record — the press history of the region — as a resource that inspires and effects the growth of conscientious journalism.
A Vision of Journalism
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A journalist has to keep his readers abreast of the changing events of the ever-changing world, expose the crooked designs of the authorities, and give vent to the public opinion in such a way that its grievances may be redressed, wrongs rectified, rights preserved and democratic principles upheld.
The all-round duties of a journalist, he told that conference, consist in condemning high-handedness, uprooting cruelty, defending the oppressed and the downtrodden, putting a stop to injustice, helping to provide food for the hungry and employment for the unemployed, removing social evils, and imparting education to the public for their spiritual and mental development.
Eight decades on, the charge has not changed — only the tools have. The twenty-first century has revolutionised how information is created, interpreted and propagated. Technology has democratised content creation and empowered ordinary citizens to become “citizen journalists”. It has also blurred the line between real and fake news, and the temptation to “go viral” can overpower the commitment to facts.
A reporter must always uphold the golden rule of journalism — facts are sacred, comments free.
What we do
Our Initiatives
Four decades of venerating veterans and decorating youngsters — and, increasingly, of equipping the newsroom that comes next.
Awards
01
Scholarships
02
Scholarships & Incentives
Scholarships and other incentives that encourage the growth of a healthy press in and outside Jammu & Kashmir.
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Training
03
Workshops & Mentorship
Educational initiatives and skill development that help young journalists build an armour of skills, attitudes and values.
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Ventures
04
Media Incubator
Support for early-stage journalism and media start-ups working towards an informed and empowered society.
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From the Archives
Enter the archives
A century of the J&K press, kept on the shelf
The early press in Jammu & Kashmir
Group portraits, press rooms and the people who set the region’s first type.
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The Commemorative Volume
Tributes, speeches and reportage gathered in memory of the Father of Journalism in J&K.
Read about it
Ranbir, and a red letter day
The first printing press in the region, and the newspaper that started it all.
Open the record
The founders
Named for two women, built by two journalists
The Jamna Devi Gyan Devi Saraf Trust was established on 9 August 1985 by the visionary journalist and social reformer Lala Mulk Raj Saraf and his eldest son, Shri Om Prakash Saraf — and named after the two distinguished ladies who were the mothers of the founder trustees.
Lala Mulk Raj Saraf (1894–1989) upheld the noblest traditions of the profession for more than seventy years. He overcame every odd to lay the foundation of journalism in J&K, setting up the region’s first printing press and publishing its first newspaper, Ranbir. A freedom fighter and much-loved public figure, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1976.
The reins of a trust named after two distinguished ladies have, in time, been entrusted to two women by the senior trustees.
In their words
Eighty years of the same argument
Three passages from the founders and from the Trust’s own statement of purpose. They were written decades apart and say very nearly the same thing.
Press
All coverage
In the News
The Conscientious Dispatch
Notes on ethics, craft and opportunity
Occasional dispatches from the Trust — award announcements, workshop dates and reading from the archive.