Current affairs

Danish Siddiqui: A phenomenal photojournalist who lived with courage till his last breath!

By alagu, 16 July, 2021
Danish Siddiqui, Reuters, Afghanistan

"I was lucky to be safe and capture the visual of one of the rockets hitting the armour plate overhead" - this was a tweet from the brave heart that covered the war between the Afghan forces and Taliban on the battleground. The tweet was posted on July 13 and two days later, the fingers that were lucky enough to tweet have stopped functioning. Danish Siddiqui, an Indian photojournalist with Reuters, was killed in a Taliban attack in Afghanistan when he was covering the war against the militants. 

When he tweeted on July 13, he was travelling with the Afghan forces to cover the ongoing war in which the Taliban insurgents are advancing towards capturing the entire territory as the sequel of significant drawdown of US troops. Afghanistan has been returning to its past and the country may go under the full control of the Taliban in months and after the US and NATO troops are leaving the country after an unsuccessful war, the Afghanistan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) are levied with the responsibility to countering the resurgence of Taliban. 

Siddiqui was one of the photojournalists covering the war in Afghanistan and he was attached with Reuters. Amid covering the battleground, Siddiqui was killed in an attack by the Taliban in Spin Boldak district in Kandahar. He was killed during the clashes on the night of July 15. Reuters had confirmed the news of Siddiqui's demise. It has said, "Reuters journalist Danish Siddiqui killed while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters near a border crossing with Pakistan".

Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist who headed the Reuters Multimedia team in India, had been covering the situation in Kandahar for the last few days. Afghanistan's Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay took to Twitter and said that Siddiqui was killed in Kandahar on Thursday night. The ambassador wrote, "Deeply disturbed by the sad news of the killing of a friend, Danish Seddiqi in Kandahar last night. The Indian Journalist & winner of the Pulitzer Prize was embedded with Afghan security forces. I met him 2 weeks ago before his departure to Kabul. Condolences to his family & Reuters." 

Siddiqui has been an outstanding photojournalist and played a vital role in the growth of Reuters in India and his cameras had always searched for what needs to be covered and spoken. As an exemplary photojournalist, Siddiqui had touched upon sensitive stories and covered the faces of distress through his cameras and his lively pictures and visuals would stand tall for many generations. Siddiqui's work on covering the COVID-19 pandemic in India had brought grieving stories to light. He extensively and bravely took pictures of mass cremations and graveyards in Delhi. 

It was his photographs of mass cremations in Delhi that revealed the distressing side of India's battle against the pandemic and how the horrendous second wave had triggered a major health crisis and collapsed the livelihoods. His work was widely appreciated across the globe. Siddiqui had covered several important global stories as Photojournalist in Asia, Middle East, and Europe. Some of his works include covering the Rohingya refugee crisis, Hong Kong protests, Nepal Earthquakes, and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

His works were published in prominent magazines, newspapers, and galleries. Some of which include the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, National Geographic Magazine, Time Magazine, Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. Siddiqui was honoured for his works with notable photojournalism awards in the US, England, China, and India. As the drawdown of the US troops from Afghanistan had prompted a resurgence by the Taliban, he had gone to the battleground to cover the war between the Taliban and Afghan forces. 

On July 13, Siddiqui took to Twitter and wrote, "The Humvee in which I was travelling with other special forces was also targeted by at least 3 RPG rounds and other weapons. I was lucky to be safe and capture the visual of one of the rockets hitting the armour plate overhead." He further wrote, "I could feel the tension in the air as ASF were expecting an imminent attack from the Taliban. There was sporadic machine-gun fire but all hell broke loose as the Humvees reached the extraction point." 

Recently, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that Afghanistan's future can't be its past. His statement has clearly implied that the country is going back to its dark past where it was once under the reign of the Taliban. The resurgence of the militants after a gradual drawdown of the US and NATO troops had put the country under the and hands of the Taliban with former US Commander in Afghanistan Scott Miller saying that the militants could capture Kabul in six months if they advance in the same pace. Recently, India has closed some of its consulates in Afghanistan and evacuated its staff. 

Taliban militants had taken the control of major Afghan borders including Iran, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Last week, the Taliban has claimed said that they now control 85% of the country's territory and 421 districts have come under its control. Like many districts, Spin Boldak had also fallen to the militants. 41-year-old Siddiqui had been covering the story in Spin Boldak when the Taliban attacked and invaded. Siddiqui had graduated in Economics from Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia. He had a degree in Mass Communication from the AJK Mass Communication Research Center at Jamia in 2007. He started his career as a television news correspondent and joined Reuters as an intern in 2010. He then rose to a prominent photojournalist. 

After learning about his demise, several leaders and journalists are expressing their condolences. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and wrote, "My condolences to the family and friends of Danish Siddiqui. I appeal to GOI to facilitate bringing his mortal remains back home at the earliest." Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said, "I am deeply saddened by the untimely death of @dansiddiqui who, through his camera lens, had brought to us the devastation of pandemics, pogroms, and humanitarian crises. His death gives a message to the world once again to shun violence and terrorism in any form. #DanishSiddiqui".

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote, "Deeply saddened by the passing of Danish Siddiqui. We have lost a photojournalist par excellence whose work underscored his commitment to humanity. Heartfelt condolences". Siddiqui, a phenomenal photojournalist, had bravely stood and remarkably covered the stories that shaken the world and was always on the front lines of the disasters and destructions. His camera had incessantly inspired a change and his photographs will speak about the present generations to the future. 


 

 

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