Reasonable Glory of Freedom of Expression

By Vikas Parasram Meshram

The selection of the winners of the 2021 Nobel Prize is considered to be highly unexpected. The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded jointly to two journalists, including a woman, Maria Ressa, 56, of the Philippines, and Dmitry A. Muratov of Russia, when the Nobel Peace Prize Committee announced the winners in Oslo, Norway.

India’s Dock Media is Stunned

Abdul Razak Gurnah of Tanzania, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature this year on the African continent, also lamented the problem of corruption and refugees for his 1994 novel ‘Paradise’.

Courageous Journalism

Maria Ressa has faced the wrath of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for her courageous journalism.  She is the 18th woman winner in the 126-year history of the Nobel Prize.  After graduating in 1986, he worked as a journalist for the American Media Cable News Network (CNN).  Dmitry Muratov has faced repression from Russia’s new dictator Vladimir Putin.  Six journalists of his newspaper have been killed so far in this repression.

Protect Freedom

The Nobel Committee has said that both journalists have shown unwavering courage in supporting the widespread fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia.  Maria left no stone unturned to expose the abuse of power, growing violence and dictatorship in the Philippines.  She founded Rappler in January 2012, a digital media company she heads. 

The average monthly viewership of the rapper is said to be 40 million.  Muratov has worked to protect freedom of expression in Russia, being the founder of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, founded in 1993, and its editor-in-chief since 1995.  Among those who have invested in the newspaper is Mikhail Gorbachev, the last ruler of the then-Soviet Union and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Six Journalists Killed

Anna Politkovskaya was among six journalists killed under Putin’s dictatorship for reporting on a military war against rebels in Russia’s Chechnya province.  On October 7, 2006, she was shot dead in the elevator of her home in Moscow, just as Gauri Lankesh, a woman journalist who was criticizing the Modi government, was shot dead in her home in Karnataka. 

In the history of the Nobel Peace Prize, the highest number of 329 nominations received this year, including Svetlana Tikhonskaya, a self-exiled female opposition leader from a European country in Belarus.

Abdurzak Gurna 

Abdurzak Gurna  Born in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Abdul Razak Gurnah went to London at the age of 18 to study.  After retiring as Professor of English Literature at the University of Kent, he settled in Britain.  His mother tongue is Swahili.  But most of the writing is done in English.

Author: Vikas Parasram Meshram

Views are personal.