Imphal: The R.K. Sanatomba Memorial Trust on Tuesday presented the 23rd R.K. Sanatomba Memorial Journalist Award to Elangbam Ojitkumar (Mushuk), journalist with IMPACT TV, for his outstanding rural reporting during 2025.

The award was conferred at a function held at the JNMDA Auditorium, Imphal. The event also marked the release of Kangla Lanpung (Volume XVII, Issue I) and the annual R.K. Sanatomba Memorial Lecture.

Ojitkumar was honoured for his incisive field reports highlighting the condition of school education and infrastructure in rural Manipur. The award carries a citation and a cash prize of Rs. 25,000.

The memorial lecture was delivered by Thangjam Brojen, former United Nations Security Advisor, on the theme “Conflict and Insecurity: Militarisation and the Crisis of Security in Manipur.” Renowned scholar A. Brajakumar Sharma attended as chief guest.

The newly released edition of Kangla Lanpung features articles by 13 scholars, including contributors from outside Manipur.

Born on June 11, 1963, to M.K. Khedasana Singh and Mangi Shija, R.K. Sanatomba studied at Diamond Club KG School and RDS High School before graduating from M.B. College. He later earned an M.A. in Economics from Manipur University. A Taekwondo black belt under A. Indrakumar Singh, he co-founded the Eastern Taekwondo School, which has produced several national and international champions.

Deeply engaged in social service, he was a founder member and former Vice-President of the Konung Leikai Youth Development Club. He later served as General Secretary of the Manipur National Federation, an organisation working to safeguard the state’s integrity, and edited its publication Kangla Lanpung. Known as “Konung Sanatomba,” he led the organisation’s Barak Expedition to study issues faced by hill communities.

R.K. Sanatomba’s life was tragically cut short on June 30, 1993. In his memory, family, friends, and well-wishers established the R.K. Sanatomba Memorial Trust, which instituted the Journalist Award in 2004. Since then, the annual award has recognised 23 journalists from Manipur for excellence in field reporting, continuing Sanatomba’s legacy of responsible journalism and public service.