‘He taught generations how to see’: India mourns the ‘Father of Photojournalism’ Raghu Rai as the Magnum legend dies at 83 | Art-and-culture News

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Apr 26, 2026 09:17 AM India lost one of its most enduring visual voices on Sunday when legendary photographer Raghu Rai passed away in Delhi at the age of 83. Often described as the ‘father of Indian photography’ and ‘father of Indian photojournalism,’ Rai spent more than six decades training his lens on the subcontinent’s joys, tragedies, and contradictions with an intimacy few could match.
A protégé of the great Henri Cartier-Bresson, who nominated the then-young photojournal to join the prestigious Magnum Photos collective in 1977, Rai went on to produce over 18 books and have his work published in Time, Life, The New York Times and The New Yorker, among others. His iconic image capturing the haunting aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy — including the body of a child with half-open eyes — brought global attention to that disaster, and his portraits of Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and the Bangladesh Liberation War remain among the most indelible documents of modern Indian hory.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972 for his body of work on the Bangladesh refugees and the war. His son Nitin Rai told news agency PTI that Rai had battled prostate cancer, which was treated, but the disease later spread, compounded age-related complications that finally claimed him.
The grief that followed his passing was as wide as the world he had photographed.
Mallikarjun Kharge, President of the Indian National Congress and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, wrote on X: “Deeply saddened the passing of Shri Raghu Rai, one of India’s foremost photographers and a towering photojournal for over five decades. A Padma Shri awardee, his powerful coverage of the Bangladesh Liberation War, along with several photographs of eminent personalities like Smt. Indira Gandhi, remains etched in our collective memory. My deepest condolences to his family, friends and students.”
Veteran journal and television anchor Rajdeep Sardesai paid tribute on X: “The man who defined Indian photo-journalism for half a century.. whose pictures often told more than a 1000 words ever could (especially his classic Indira Gandhi pics) is no more. Raghu Rai didn’t just photograph India — he taught generations how to see it. RIP Om Shanti.”

Deeply saddened the passing of Shri Raghu Rai, one of India’s foremost photographers and a towering photojournal for over five decades.
A Padma Shri awardee, his powerful coverage of the Bangladesh Liberation War, along with several photographs of eminent personalities… pic.twitter.com/KPBpOQwPjZ
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) April 26, 2026
Scottish horian William Dalrymple, who counted Rai among his closest friends and mentors, described him as not only “the greatest Indian photographer of his generation” but “the most beloved, generous and wonderful man,” recalling that Rai’s book on Delhi was the very first book he ever bought about the city — and that it was Rai who first showed him how to truly look at it.