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Indian Photographer Raghu Rai Dies at Age 83
Raghu Rai, a photographer known for documenting India's social and political events, has died at 83. His family announced the death in a statement. Rai's work included coverage of the 1971 Bangladesh independence war and the 1984 Bhopal gas leak.
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Indian photographer Raghu Rai died at the age of 83, according to a statement from his family released on April 26, 2026. The family described him as "our beloved" in the announcement.
Career Rai was born in a village in what is now Pakistan’s Punjab province before the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent. Trained as a construction engineer, Rai later pursued photography after being introduced to it by his brother six decades ago. His first published photograph, showing a donkey, appeared in The Times of London.
Rai worked in photojournalism for media houses in India during the 1960s and 1970s before working independently.
documented events including the 1971 independence war of Bangladesh and the 1984 gas leak in Bhopal, India, which killed an estimated 25,000 people. His photographs from Bhopal served as visual records of the incident. Rai published photo-books, including one on the Taj Mahal.
He worked in both black-and-white and color formats, using film and digital methods, and spent his career in India. In 1972, Rai received the Padma Shri, an Indian civilian honor. He also received the inaugural Academie des Beaux-Arts Photography Award.
Rai was a member of Magnum Photos, nominated by Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Tributes >"He didn’t just take photographs, he preserved our nation’s memory." — Rahul Gandhi Indian parliamentarian and author Shashi Tharoor stated, "To the world, he was an incomparable master of photography, the visionary who captured the pulsating heart and soul of India," adding, "Your vision will forever be the lens through which India is seen." Rai once said, "I can never be true to my experiences without a camera."
