Indian Photographer Who Captured Images of the Liberation War, Dies
Raghu Rai. File Photo.
One of India's most renowned photographers, Raghu Rai, passed away today, Sunday, at a private hospital in New Delhi. He was 83 years old.
For over six decades, his camera did more than just take pictures; it documented time, history, and human suffering.
In 1971, during the Bangladesh Liberation War, Raghu Rai captured the refugee camps, border areas, and the humanitarian realities of the war through his lens.
photographed India’s soul
The legendary photographer’s images of the refugees' plight, starvation, exhaustion, and people fleeing across the border for shelter stirred the world. These photographs later became a vital visual record of Bangladesh’s struggle for independence.
Often described as the man who “photographed India’s soul”, Rai’s work spanned more than six decades, documenting the country’s political upheavals, cultural life, and everyday humanity with rare intimacy and depth.
Rai’s camera documented some of the most significant events in modern Indian history, including The Bangladesh Liberation War (1971), The Emergency period in India (1975–77), The Bhopal gas tragedy (1984), and political portraits of figures such as Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama.