Raghu Rai, Padma Shri-winning photography legend, dies at 83

Renowned Indian photographer Raghu Rai died at a private hospital in Delhi on Sunday. He was 83. His son, photographer Nitin Rai, said he had been battling cancer for the past two years.

“Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago and recovered. It later spread to the stomach, which was also treated. Recently, the cancer reached his brain, along with age-related complications,” he told Press Trust of India.

Who was Raghu Rai?

Born in 1942 in Jhang, Punjab, then part of British India (now in Pakistan), Rai began his journey in photography in 1962 under the guidance of his elder brother, photographer S Paul.

He started his professional career in the mid-1960s and joined The Statesman in New Delhi in 1965. During this time, he covered major national events and, in 1968, visited Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram during the famous stay of The Beatles.

In 1976, Rai moved to the weekly magazine Sunday as picture editor. A year later, he was nominated to join Magnum Photos by legendary French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.

He later joined India Today, where he worked as both picture editor and photographer. Rai extensively documented the Bhopal Gas Disaster, later producing a long-term body of work and authoring the book Exposure: A Corporate Crime.

Over his career, Rai published more than 18 books on India’s people, culture and cities, including Raghu Rai’s India: Reflections in Colour and Reflections in Black and White. His work featured in leading global publications such as Time, Life, The New York Times, Newsweek and The New Yorker.

Rai was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972 for his coverage of the Bangladesh War.