Two Indian journalists honoured with the prestigious Pulitzer Prize

Two Indian journalists have won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for an art reporting project exposing cyber crime in India.

Anand R.K. and Suparna Sharma, along with Natalie Obiko Pearson, were declared winners in the Illustrated Reporting and Commentary category for a report produced for Bloomberg.

Anand is a Mumbai-based illustrator and visual artist who has won several awards, and Suparna Sharma is a freelance investigative journalist in India.

The award was given for the project titled "trAPPed", which, according to the Pulitzer Prize website, presents the "gripping story" of an Indian neurologist. This neurologist was placed under "digital arrest" through her phone.

In one of her investigations conducted for Al Jazeera in 2023, Suparna Sharma exposed greed and negligence inside India’s multi-billion-dollar elder care industry in connection with the deaths of two elderly people at a centre in Delhi. It also showed how authorities attempted to suppress the truth.

Other Indian Pulitzer Prize winners

Hanoi-based reporter Aniruddha Ghosal won in the International Reporting category for investigating the US border. He investigated the secret use of mass surveillance equipment by the US Border Patrol.

Another Indian journalist, Devjyot Ghoshal, was a finalist in the same category. He exposed cyber crime and human trafficking in Southeast Asia. Devjyot Ghoshal lives in Bangkok.

Winners of Pulitzer Prize 2026

Illustrated Reporting and Commentary - Anand R.K. and Suparna Sharma (contributors) and Natalie Obiko Pearson (Bloomberg News)

Public Service - 'The Washington Post'

Breaking News - 'The Minnesota Star Tribune'

Investigative Reporting - 'The New York Times'

Explanatory Reporting - Susie Neilson, Megan Fan Munce and Sarah Dinatale of The San Francisco Chronicle were honoured for their series "Burned".

Beat Reporting - Reuters’ Jeff Horwitz and Aengen Tham

Local Reporting - Dave Altimari and Ginny Monk of The Connecticut Mirror and Sophie Chou and Haru Korein of ProPublica; and the staff of The Chicago Tribune

National Reporting - Reuters’ Ned Parker, Linda So, Peter Eisler and Mike Spector

International Reporting - The Associated Press’ Dake Kang, Garance Burke, Byron Tau, Aniruddha Ghosal and Yele Grauer (contributors)

Feature Writing - Aaron Parsley of Texas Monthly

Criticism - Mark Lamster (The Dallas Morning News)

Biography - “Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution,” by Amanda Vail

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is America’s highest honour in journalism, literature and music, awarded by Columbia University since 1917.

Established through the will of Joseph Pulitzer in 1917, it carries a cash prize of $15,000 and a certificate in 23 categories (15 in journalism). It also awards a gold medal in the 'Public Service' category.

Major Indian Pulitzer Prize winners:

Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, Amit Dave and late Danish Siddiqui (2018, 2020, 2022): Reuters photojournalists honoured for coverage of the Rohingya crisis, Hong Kong protests and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Megha Rajagopalan (2021): Won for investigative reports using satellite technology to expose detention camps in China.

Siddhartha Mukherjee (2011): Won in the 'General Nonfiction' category for "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer".

Geeta Anand (2003): Won for 'Feature Writing' in The Wall Street Journal.

Jhumpa Lahiri (2000): Won in the 'Fiction' category for "Interpreter of Maladies".

Govind Behari Lal (1937): The first Indian to win this award, recognised for science reporting at Harvard.