Internationally acclaimed Indian master photographer Raghu Rai died on Sunday at the age of 83, his family has announced.
Raghu, who was born in a village in Pakistani Punjab before the partition of the Indian subcontinent, was a construction engineer by training. However, he went on to become an iconic photographer, dedicating his life to documenting the complex social and political life of India.
He was widely respected for his historical documentation, with some of his best-known works including the 1971 independence war of Bangladesh and India’s worst industrial disaster, the 1984 Bhopal gas leak, which killed an estimated 25,000 people.
Throughout his career, Raghu was known for his portraits of India’s political and social elite, as well as his ability to photograph the nation’s culture and masses with equal alacrity.
He published dozens of photo-books, including works on the Taj Mahal, and his intimate portraits of Mother Teresa hold a particularly special place in his portfolio.
Raghu was a member of the prestigious New York-based cooperative Magnum Photos, having been nominated by Henri Cartier-Bresson, who is globally renowned for his defining candid photography. His career in photojournalism saw him work with some of India’s most prominent media houses during the 1960s and 1970s, before he began working independently to further explore the complexities of his country.
His technical expertise spanned both film and digital formats, in black and white as well as colour. Rai, who worked in India his entire life, once stated: “I can never be true to my experiences without a camera”.
For his exceptional contributions to the field, Rai was the recipient of the inaugural Académie des Beaux-Arts Photography Award. In 1972, he was conferred with the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honours.
Paying tribute to the late photographer, lawmaker Shashi Tharoor described him as an “incomparable master of photography” and a visionary who captured the “pulsating heart and soul of India”. Tharoor added, “Your vision will forever be the lens through which India is seen”.
The photographer’s family released a statement announcing his death, which paid tribute to “our beloved”.
