54 Indian women journalists

Umarji Anuradha is an Indian writer known for her works in Telugu cinema and journalism. She wrote continuously on The Legends of Indian Cinema for Sitara Film Weekly Magazine, the largest circulated Telugu film weekly in India. She also wrote number of dramas for All India Radio and television channels, for daily serials like Pelli Chesukundamra, for E TV., Vaisaali Serial for Zee Telugu and Gharshna serial for E TV. She was also the winner of Akkineni Abhinandana Award for Best Dialogue Writer of the year 2010 and Super Hit Film Weekly Award Super Hit Film Weekly Magazine, for the blockbuster movie, Ye Maaya Chesave.

Rana Ayyub is an Indian journalist and opinion columnist with The Washington Post. She is the author of the investigative book Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up.

Rajni Bakshi is a Mumbai-based freelance journalist and author. She writes about social and political movements in contemporary India. She was formerly the Gandhi Peace Fellow at Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. Her journalism has appeared in many English and Hindi newspapers and magazines. Bakshi attended school in Kingston, Jamaica, Indraprastha College (Delhi), George Washington University and Rajasthan University (Jaipur).

Vibha Bakshi is an Indian filmmaker, journalist, and founder of Responsible Films. She is known for her films that highlight issues of gender inequality. She is the recipient of four National Film Awards from the President of India. In 2018, Vibha was awarded the Honorary doctorate degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from her alma mater Boston University for her work as a journalist and filmmaker. She was the commencement speaker at Boston University's School of Communications.

Vidya Bal was a Marathi feminist writer/editor from Maharashtra, India. She was a social activist particularly in the area of equalization of the social status of women vis-à-vis men in India.

Dayamani Barla is a tribal journalist and activist from the Indian state of Jharkhand. She became notable for her activism in opposing Arcelor Mittal's steel plant in Eastern Jharkhand that tribal activists say would displace forty villages.

K. A. Beena (കെ.എ.ബീന) is an Indian author, journalist and columnist who writes in Malayalam. She started her career as a journalist for Kerala Kaumudi publications and later worked for Mathrubhumi Publications. In 1991, she joined the Indian Information Service, for the government of India. She has published 28 books including travelogues, short story collections, novels for children, collection of essays, memoirs and media-related books. In 2014 and 2016, Beena received the regional and national Laadli Media Award.She received V.K. Madhavan kutty journalism award in 2016. Along with her written works, Beena regularly contributes columns in leading publications.

Rachel Beer was an Indian-born British newspaper editor. She was editor-in-chief of The Observer and The Sunday Times.

Margaret Ruth Bhatty was an Indian schoolteacher, freelance journalist and writer of children's books and short stories for adults.

Urvashi Butalia is an Indian feminist writer, publisher and activist. She is known for her work in the women's movement of India, as well as for authoring books like the path-breaking The Other Side of Silence: Voices from and the Partition of India and Speaking Peace: Women's Voices from Kashmir.

Amrita Chaudhry was an Indian print media journalist working as Principal Correspondent with the newspaper The Indian Express. In her decade long career with the newspaper, Amrita earned wide recognition for her reporting on diverse issues in Punjab. Amrita died on 22 October 2012 after she met with an accident.

Shoma Chaudhury is an Indian journalist, editor, and political commentator. She was managing editor and one of the founders of Tehelka, an investigative public interest newsmagazine. She is currently director and co-founder of Algebra, an organisation that conducts public interviews with prominent Indians. Chaudhury recently started her news show on YouTube called ‘Enquiry With Shoma Chaudhury’.

Dinesh Nandini Dalmia, also written as Dineshnandini Dalmia, was an Indian poet, short story writer and novelist of Hindi literature. She was the fifth wife of Ramkrishna Dalmia, founder of the Dalmia Group, and three of his four previous wives were still alive and married to him when she became his fifth wife. Nevertheless, she positioned herself in opposition to gender discrimination and purdah system, and published poems, prose poems, short stories and novels on the theme of women's emancipation. Shabnam , Niraash Aasha, Mujhe Maaf Kama and Yeh Bhi Jhooth Hai are some of her notable works. The Government of India awarded her the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 2006, for her contributions to literature. In 2009, India Posts released a commemorative stamp on her.

Bishakha Datta is an Indian film maker, activist and a former journalist. She is the co-founder and executive director of Point of View, based in Mumbai, a non-profit working in the area of gender, sexuality and women's rights. She also serves on the board of nonprofit organizations including Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action and the Wikimedia Foundation (2010-2014), where she was the first Indian to serve on the board of trustees.

Kishwar Desai, Baroness Desai is an Indian author and columnist.

Antara Dev Sen is a British–Indian journalist.

Pragyasundari Devi, also seen as Pragyasundari Debi, Pragya Sundari Devi, Pragasundari Debi, or Prajnasundari Bezbaroa, was an Indian cookbook author and magazine editor. Her Amish O Niramish Ahar was a "significant" early cookbook in the Bengali language.

Dhanya Rajendran is an Indian journalist and the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The News Minute. She previously worked with Times Now and The New Indian Express.

Neha Dixit is an Indian journalist and author. She is best known for her long, in-depth investigative work on politics, social justice and gender in South Asia. She has received over a dozen national and international awards in journalism for her groundbreaking, hard hitting reports.

Yashica Dutt is an Indian writer and journalist, who currently lives in New York City. Yashica has written on a broad range of topics including fashion, gender, identity, culture and caste. She was previously working as a Principal Correspondent with Brunch, Hindustan Times in New Delhi. She also worked with The Asian Age.

Veena George is an Indian politician of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and represents Aranmula in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. Prior to joining politics, she has worked with major Malayalam news channels for over 16 years. She is also the first female executive editor among Malayalam news channels.

Vidyut Gore, previously known as Vidyut Kale and sometimes simply as Vidyut is an outspoken Indian part-time blogger, new media journalist, campaigner and activist. She became noted for work exposing domestic abuse in Indian families, and her work in exposing political and public corruption in India has also been covered in both the Indian media and international media. Her challenges to Indian digital censorship, has been covered in academic study, and United Nations CSTD studies. She is sought for comment by mainsteam Indian media on social and political issues. In August 2019, she launched the Alt Sarkar spoof alternative government role-play project that has received diverse media attention.

Manisha Joshi is a Gujarati language poet and journalist. She is an author of four poetry collections including Kandara (1996), Kansara Bazar (2001), Kandmool (2013), and Thaak (2020). She currently lives in California.

Sonal Kalra is an award-winning Indian journalist-author, presently with the Hindustan Times, India's second largest national English daily.

Madhur Kapila is a novelist, journalist, art critic and a reviewer of Hindi literature.

Arfa Khanum Sherwani is an Indian journalist. She was the only Indian journalist to cover the 2014 Afghan presidential elections. She has received a Red Ink Award, the Sahitya Samman Award from the Hindi Academy, and the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Mediapersons. She is currently senior editor at The Wire.

Kavita Krishnan is Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA). Krishnan is also a member of the politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML), and the editor of its monthly publication, Liberation. She is a women's rights activist who has publicised the problem of violence against women following the 2012 Delhi gang rape of Nirbhaya.

Gauri Lankesh was an Indian journalist-turned-activist from Bangalore, Karnataka. She worked as an editor in Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly started by her father P. Lankesh, and ran her own weekly called Gauri Lankesh Patrike. She was assassinated outside her home in Rajarajeshwari Nagar on 5 September 2017. At the time of her death, Gauri was known for being a critic of right-wing Hindu extremism. She was honoured with Anna Politkovskaya Award for speaking against right-wing Hindu extremism, campaigning for women's rights and opposing caste based discrimination.

Annapurna Maharana was an India pro-independence activist active in the Indian independence movement. She was also a prominent social and women's rights activist. Maharana was a close ally of Mohandas Gandhi.

Olive Christian Malvery was an Anglo-Indian journalist, best known for her investigations into the working conditions of women and children in London.

Kamala Markandaya was a pseudonym used by Kamala Purnaiya Taylor, an Indian novelist and journalist. A native of Mysore, India, Markandaya was a graduate of Madras University, and afterwards published several short stories in Indian newspapers. After India declared its independence, Markandaya moved to Britain, though she still labelled herself an Indian expatriate long afterwards.

Annamma Mathew, also known as Mrs. K. M. Mathew, was the founder chief editor of Vanitha, the largest selling women's magazine in India, and wife of K. M. Mathew, Chief Editor of Malayala Manorama. She died after a brief illness at a private nursing home in Kottayam, Kerala in India.

K. R. Meera is an Indian author and journalist, who writes in Malayalam. She was born in Sasthamkotta, Kollam district in Kerala. She worked as a journalist in Malayala Manorama but later resigned to concentrate more on writing. She started writing fiction in 2001 and her first short story collection Ormayude Njarambu was published in 2002. Since then she has published five collections of short stories, two novellas, five novels and two children's books. She won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009 for her short-story, Ave Maria. Her novel Aarachaar (2012) is widely regarded as one of the best literary works produced in Malayalam language. It received several awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award (2013), Odakkuzhal Award (2013), Vayalar Award (2014) and Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award (2015). It was also shortlisted for the 2016 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.

Mini Menon is an award-winning journalist and author. She is currently the Co-Founder and Editor at Live History India. Live History India is a result of her fascination for India and its History. Live History India is an ode to the billion fascinating stories that make India.

Shweta Bachchan Nanda is an Indian author, journalist, host and a former model. She is the daughter of Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan, actress Jaya Bachchan, and sister of actor Abhishek Bachchan. She made her acting debut as a model for television advertisement. She has been a columnist for Daily News and Analysis and Vogue India, and is the author of the bestselling novel Paradise Towers.

Nanjanagudu Tirumalamba (1887-1982) was the earliest new age Kannada author, newspaper editor, publisher, and printer who strived for the upliftment of women. She was born on March 25, 1887 in Nanjanagudu of the erstwhile state of Mysore under British India. Her father, Venkatakrishna Iyengar, was a lawyer and her mother was Alamelamma. Like the Srivaishnavas of their time, her mother tongue was Tamil. She had a special predilection towards Kannada language which was the language of the city in which she lived. She knew Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu languages.

Chaiti Narula is an Indian journalist and news anchor. She is currently a deputy editor at India Today focusing on business, politics and finance.

Rameshwari Nehru was a social worker of India. She worked for the upliftment of the poorer classes and of women. In 1902, she married Brijlal Nehru, a nephew of Motilal Nehru and cousin of the first prime minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru. Her son Braj Kumar Nehru was an Indian civil servant who served as governor of several states.

Rohini Nilekani is an Indian writer, author and philanthropist. She is the founder-chairperson of Arghyam Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on water and sanitation issues, founded in 2001. She also chaired the Akshara Foundation, which focuses on elementary education. Nilekani serves as the co-founder and director of non-profit education platform, EkStep.

Kaajal Oza Vaidya is an author, screenwriter, radio personality and journalist from Ahmedabad, India. She initially worked as a journalist and actress. She has written more than 56 books including novels, short stories and essays. She has written stories, dialogues and scripts of soap operas and films. She writes columns in several publications and hosts a radio show.

Mrinal Pande is an Indian television personality, journalist and author, and until 2009 chief editor of Hindi daily Hindustan. She left Hindustan on 31 August 2009. She was appointed chairperson of Prasar Bharati, the official apex body of Indian broadcast media. This appointment commenced on 23 January 2010. She was replaced by Dr. A. Surya Prakash as chairperson of Prasar Bharati. She also hosts a weekly interview show Baaton Baaton Mein on Lok Sabha TV. She is the daughter of the Hindi novelist Shivani. Earlier she worked for Doordarshan and STAR News. She has also written a few short stories. She was the editor of the popular women's magazine Vama from 1984-87. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2006.

Meghna Pant is an Indian author, journalist and speaker. She has won awards for her contribution to literature, gender issues and journalism, including the Frank O’Connor International Award and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

K. Rekha is a Malayalam short story writer and jo‌urnalist.

Tongam Rina is an Indian journalist and human rights activist. She is currently (2020) the Editor of The Arunachal Times and president of the Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists. She has been repeatedly threatened, and in 2012, was near-fatally shot outside her office after she wrote critical articles about corruption, militants and dam projects in Arunachal Pradesh.

Gita Sahgal, born 1956/1957 (age 63–64) in Bombay, India, is a writer and journalist on issues of feminism, fundamentalism, and racism, a documentary films director, and a women's rights and human rights activist.

Sabina Sehgal Saikia,, an Indian food journalist, restaurant reviewer, and editor for the Delhi Times in Delhi, India, was known for her column "Main Course." She was a victim of a 2008 Mumbai attacks on The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai.

Teesta Setalvad is an Indian civil rights activist and journalist. She is the secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), an organisation formed to fight for justice for the victims of 2002 Gujarat riots. CJP is a co-petitioner seeking a criminal trial against Narendra Modi and sixty-two other politicians and government officials for alleged complicity in the Gujarat riots of 2002.

Irom Chanu Sharmila, also known as the "Iron Lady of Manipur" or "Mengoubi" is a civil rights activist, political activist, and poet from the Indian state of Manipur, which is located on the north-eastern side of India. On 5 November 2000, she began a hunger strike in favour of abolishing the Armed Forces Act, 1958 that applies to the seven states and grants security forces the power to search properties without a warrant, and to arrest people, and to use deadly force if there is "reasonable suspicion" that a person is acting against the state. She ended the fast on 9 August 2016, after 16 long years of fasting. Having refused food and water for more than 500 weeks, she has been called "the world's longest hunger striker". On International Women's Day, 2014 she was voted the top woman icon of India by MSN Poll.

Dayanita Singh is a photographer whose primary format is the book. She has published twelve books.

Bhawana Somaaya is an Indian film journalist, critic, author and historian. She has been honoured with the Padma Shri in the year 2017 by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee. Starting her career as film reporter in 1978, she went to work with several film magazines, through the 1980s and 1990s. Eventually, she remained editor of Screen, a leading film magazine, from 2000 to 2007. She has written over 13 books on history of Hindi cinema and biographies of Bollywood stars, including Salaam Bollywood (2000), The Story So Far (2003) and her trilogy, Amitabh Bachchan – The Legend (1999), Bachchanalia – The Films And Memorabilia of Amitabh Bachchan (2009) and Amitabh Lexicon (2011).

Anna M. M. Vetticad is an Indian film critic and journalist. She has been in the field of journalism since 1994. Vetticad has also hosted her own interview show, Star Trek, on Headlines Today. Anna has expressed her views on the film industries and racism in North-South India.

Vidhu Vincent is an Indian film director, writer, journalist and theatre activist from Kerala. She made her feature film debut with the Malayalam film Manhole, which won her that year's Kerala State Film Award for Best Director. At the 21st International Film Festival of Kerala, the film won two awards including the Best Debutant Director Award for Vincent.

Shabnam Virmani is a documentary film maker and artist in residence at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore since 2002. Co-founder of the Drishti Media Arts and Human Rights collective, she has directed several documentaries, some of which have won awards. In 2002, she co-directed an award-winning community radio program with the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan in Gujarat.

Homai Vyarawalla, commonly known by her pseudonym Dalda 13, was India's first woman photojournalist. She began work in the late 1930s and retired in the early 1970s. In 2011, she was awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award of the Republic of India. She was amongst the first women in India to join a mainstream publication when she joined The Illustrated Weekly of India.