Tributes pour in for Raghu Rai, India's most celebrated photojournalist, who passed away at 83. For over 50 years, Rai documented the nation with rare intimacy, capturing everything from political power to everyday life.
His lens chronicled the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy and the militancy in Punjab during the 1980s, shaping how India saw its defining moments. Rai's work not only recorded history but defined modern Indian photojournalism, earning global acclaim and inspiring generations.
Beginning his career at The Statesman in 1966, Rai later became photo editor at India Today and Sunday. In 1977, he joined Magnum Photos—a pinnacle achievement—backed by Henri Cartier-Bresson, whose influence stayed with him.
His portraits of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi remain iconic, capturing her in election campaigns and closed-door meetings. Rai also photographed legends like Lata Mangeshkar, Satyajit Ray, MF Hussain, and Amitabh Bachchan, often reflecting the bond between art and audience.
During Punjab's militancy, his portrait of separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale captured a tense moment. Rai saw photography as spiritual: "I meet my god through my camera," he once said. He believed in sustained practice over quick experiments, calling the Dalai Lama his favorite subject for his "intensity and spiritual energy."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Rai a "creative stalwart" whose work showed "extraordinary sensitivity, depth, and diversity." Tributes in The Indian Express and The Times of India hailed him as tenacious and a "colossus of his craft."
Rai's archive remains a profound act of witnessing—a country, its people, and its contradictions—through a deeply human lens.