I am an independent journalist based in New Delhi-NCR, India. I write on public health, science, the environment, and human rights from across the country.
I have covered caste and gender, politics and state elections, and arts and culture. My independent work has been supported by national and international reporting grants, and been nominated for leading Indian press awards. Since 2011, I have published extensively in news platforms across mediums — magazines, newspapers and digital. Reach out for tips and commissions at wal.aradhna@gmail.com.
Previously
Fellow — Public Health Reporting Corps
2022 – 2023
I was a member of the inaugural PHRC cohort, comprising 20 journalists from India and Nigeria, led by the US-based think tank, Population Reference Bureau. The fellowship facilitates long-form, cross-border reporting on public health in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consultant — Council on Energy, Environment and Water, New Delhi
2022 – 2023
I consulted with the think tank CEEW to develop a report and a scalability framework on how to scale sustainable agriculture programmes across India. I helped research, co-write, structure and edit the report, for the organisation’s Sustainable Food Systems team. I also authored three of the report’s six case studies on sustainable agricultural practices.
Principal Correspondent — CNN News18, Digital Bureau, New Delhi
2016 – 2018
I reported on health and environment, covering the union ministries and the sectors, through print and video stories. I filed daily stories, investigative projects, and also long-form news features on state elections.
Senior Correspondent —
DNA, New Delhi
2015 – 2016
I reported on the Aam Aadmi Party and New Delhi politics, public health, climate change, the student movements, for the newspaper’s New Delhi bureau.
Subeditor —
Tehelka, New Delhi
2011 – 2014
I reported and worked on the desk for the features team. I wrote weekly stories on arts and culture in New Delhi, and long-form news features on caste and gender from across India.
Public Health Projects
Earth Journalism Network, Asia-Pacific Zoonotic Diseases and One Health Story Grant
2021
I reported from the east Indian state of Odisha, on scrub typhus, a prevalent yet neglected disease. I wrote about how the state and central governments are finally waking up to its danger, yet the indigenous communities who routinely fall ill have no clue it exists. The story was published in Scroll.in, a national news website, and was nominated for two press awards.
Thakur Foundation Investigative Reporting in Public Health Grant
2019 – 2020
I reported on mental illnesses and community-led healthcare in the farmer suicide-struck regions of Maharashtra, India, for IndiaSpend and for The Caravan, a national monthly magazine.
Awards
Nomination, RedInk Awards (Health and Wellness), 2022
Special Mention, Social Impact Category, Asian College of Journalism’s Reporting Awards, 2021