Ravish Kumar wins ‘Asia's Nobel’ Ramon Magsaysay Award 2019, joins list of elite Indian winners

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NDTV journalist Ravish Kumar has won the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award 2019. Popularly known as 'Asia's Nobel Prize', it is among the highest honours in the region.

The award committee tweeted a list of recipients for 2019, saying that Kumar has been honoured for his “courage undaunted” while “harnessing journalism to give voice to the voiceless”.

These are the five recipients of Asia’s premier prize and highest honor, the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees. #RamonMagsaysayAward pic.twitter.com/HrLG1qVt6L

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— Ramon Magsaysay Award (@MagsaysayAward) August 2, 2019

Ravish Kumar has won the honour for his news show, Prime Time, which "deals with real-life, under-reported problems of ordinary people".

Kumar, 44, who is NDTV India's senior executive editor is one of India's most influential TV journalists, the award citation said.

The four other winners of the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award are Ko Swe Win from Myanmar, Angkhana Neelapaijit from Thailand, Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab from Philippines and Kim Jong-Ki from South Korea.

Established in 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award is named after former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay who represented courage, integrity and idealism.

The award is given every year to individuals or organisations in Asia who manifest the same selfless service and transformative influence that ruled the life of the late and beloved Filipino leader.

Other Indian winners from the journalistic background who received the award in the past include Amitabha Chowdhury (1961), Boobli George Verghese (1975), Gour Kishore Ghosh (1981), Arun Shourie (1982) and Palagummi Sainath (2007).

Icons like Satyajit Ray (1967), MS Subbulakshmi (1974) and RK Laxman (1984) were also honoured with the award.

(With inputs from PTI)