Veteran photographer Raghu Rai died today after a two-year-long battle with cancer. He was 83. Born on December 18, 1942, in Jhang (now in Pakistan), Rai became one of the most respected photographers not just in India, but across the world. Rai’s photography is often described as a “visual record” of modern India.

He captured powerful images after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, one of the worst industrial disasters in history. He received the Padma Shri in 1972 for his powerful photography during the Bangladesh Liberation War. In 1992, he was named “Photographer of the Year” in the US. In 2019, he won the Académie des Beaux-Arts Photography Award, one of the top international honours in photography. He was also given a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.