Thanking her colleagues after the win, Barooah said she would work towards greater inclusivity and professional solidarity within the media
NEW DELHI — Senior journalist Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty was on Sunday elected President of the Press Club of India (PCI), becoming the first woman to head the organisation in its 68-year history and the first journalist from Northeast India to hold the post.
The National Affairs Editor of The Wire registered a landslide victory in the annual elections, securing 1,019 of the 1,237 votes polled on Saturday. Her nearest rival, Atul Mishra, received 129 votes. The results were announced at the Press Club lawns by election commissioner MMC Sharma and his team.
Barooah’s panel swept all five office-bearer positions as well as all 16 seats on the managing committee, reflecting overwhelming support from the journalistic fraternity. Jatin Gandhi was elected vice-president, Afzal Imam general secretary, while Aditi Rajput and P R Sunil Kumar were elected treasurer and joint secretary respectively, both unopposed. Rajput also became the first woman treasurer of the club.
Thanking her colleagues after the win, Barooah said she would work towards greater inclusivity and professional solidarity within the media. She emphasised that the Press Club of India must continue to function as a strong and independent platform that represents diverse voices from across the country.
The outcome has been widely hailed as a landmark moment for gender representation in Indian journalism, breaking a long-standing glass ceiling in one of the country’s most influential media institutions.
A native of Assam and based in New Delhi, Barooah is widely respected for her reportage on the Northeast. Her debut book, Assam: The Accord, The Discord, documents the Assam Movement, the Assam Accord and insurgencies in the state. She began her journalism career in 1996 with United News of India (UNI), becoming the first woman from Northeast India to work at the agency’s New Delhi headquarters, and later served as a special correspondent with The Hindu.
She has been a Centre for Development Studies fellow since 2011 for her reporting on livelihood loss caused by soil erosion on Majuli island in Assam. In 2017, she received the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award for her reportage on housing segregation between Hindus and Muslims in Delhi.
Founded in 1957 by journalist Durga Das, the Press Club of India is the country’s largest body of journalists, with over 4,800 active members. Barooah’s election marks a historic chapter in the institution’s long history.
