Veteran Indian photographer Raghu Rai passed away at the age of 83 at a private hospital in Delhi on Sunday, marking the end of a remarkable career that shaped visual storytelling in India for decades.
His son, photographer Nitin Rai, confirmed the news and shared details about his health. “Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago, but he was cured. Then it spread to the stomach, which was also cured. Recently, the cancer spread to his brain, and then there were age-related issues too,” he told news agency PTI.
Who was Raghu Rai?
Born in 1942 in Jhang, Punjab, which was then British India but is now Pakistan, Raghu Rai acquired his first love of photography through the tutelage of his brother, who is a photographer by the name of S Paul. It was in 1962 that he started gaining the necessary experience in photography.
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His career began in the mid-1960s, and he joined The Statesman at New Delhi in 1965. While working for The Statesman, he captured important national moments. In 1968, he travelled to an ashram founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and stayed there while The Beatles, a British band, visited.
In 1976, he shifted to Sunday, which is a weekly publication, as a picture editor. One year later, he got nominated for joining Magnum Photos by Henri Cartier-Bresson, who was a famous French photographer.
In 1980, he started his work with India Today, and he used to work there as a photographer and picture editor.
Documenting history through the lens
Among his noteworthy works is one that delved into the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy. In this case, Rai thoroughly documented the event, eventually writing an entire book entitled "Exposure: A Corporate Crime" about the effects of the tragic event.
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Throughout his career, he produced more than 18 books, which include "Raghu Rai’s India: Reflections in Colour" and "Reflections in Black and White." The photos taken by him appeared in top-tier international magazines like Time, Life, The New York Times, Newsweek, and The New Yorker.
Honours and legacy
In 1972, he received the Padma Shri award for documenting the Bangladesh War. His collection is a major photographic record of India’s history, society, and culture, thereby placing him firmly within the ranks of Indian photography legends.
