Bhumika Saraswati is an award-winning Indian journalist, photographer, filmmaker and an educator whose work documents lives and narratives often overlooked or erased. Specialising in long-term work, with visual-first approach, she makes nuanced stories more accessible and impactful. Her work centres around gender, caste, climate and health.
Bhumika’s work has garnered both local and international recognition, including the UN-Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitive Reporting, the Human Rights Press Award and the RedInk Award for Excellence in Indian Journalism. Her writings, photography, and films have been published with the Associated Press, New York Times, The Caravan Magazine, Outlook Magazine, The Hindu newspaper, SCMP Films, and more.
Born into an “untouchables” Dalit household — a community stigmatized as “untouchable” under South Asia’s rigid caste-system. Bhumika’s storytelling is deeply informed by her lived experiences and the resilience of her strong single mother, Gita Rani who raised her single-handedly.
Bhumika is also neurodivergent, living with a mix of anxiety, adult autism (AuDHD) and ADHD, which gives her a unique way of seeing and processing the world. While constant anxiety presents its own challenges, she has learned to harness the creative and analytical strengths of her neurodiversity in her storytelling.
Bhumika is the founder of Kranti Collective, a physical space and collective in Palam Village, Delhi that houses a free public library, Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Library, and hosts film screenings and co-learning workshops, particularly for children and women from marginalised backgrounds, like her own.
Through her storytelling, Bhumika brings dignity and depth to the lives of those whose histories are often systemically erased.