Sunil Janah (17 April 1918 — 21 June 2012) was an Indian-American

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

and documentary photographer who worked in India in the 1940s. Janah documented India's independence movement, its peasant and labour movements, famines and riots, rural and tribal life, as well as the years of rapid urbanization and industrialization. He was best known for his coverage of the

Bengal famine of 1943 The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine in the Bengal province of British India (present-day Bangladesh, West Bengal and eastern India) during World War II. An estimated 800,000–3.8 million people died, in the Bengal region (present-day Ban ...

. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

in 2012.

Early life and education

Sunil Janah was born on 17 April 1918 in a Bengali Mahishya family to Sarat Chandra Jana, a prominent advocate at the Calcutta High Court, at

Dibrugarh Dibrugarh () is a city in the Indian state of Assam, located 435 kms east of the state capital Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of the Dibrugarh district in Upper Assam. Dibrugarh also serves as the headquarters of the Sonowal Kach ...

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

but grew up in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. His ancestral house was in Birulia village of Nandigram,

Purba Medinipur East Medinipur (Alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The ...

. He attended St. Xavier's College, Kolkata at the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. There, he joined politically

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

students.

Life and work

Communist politician Puran Chand Joshi urged Janah to abandon his English studies and pursue a career in photography. Janah traveled to Bengal with Chittaprosad Bhattacharya to photograph the damage caused by the 1943 Bengal famine. He moved with Bhattacharya to Bombay and joined the Progressive Writers Association and Indian People's Theatre Association. He was also a co-founder of

Calcutta Film Society Calcutta Film Society was India’s second film society in the city of Kolkata (then Calcutta), West Bengal, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. He was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 1972 and the

in 2012. Noted for the beauty and technical quality of his compositions, Janah's photographs are significant in their historical content as well as their emotional connect. He was best known for his coverage of the

Photographer of the Nehruvian Era

In ''People's War'' and after that ''People's Age'' Janah used to have one page for a photo feature for which he photographed the lives of ordinary people, their struggles, the working class at work, rowing boats, catching fish, in coal mines, from men and women working in homes and fields to bow and arrow carrying tribal people, farmers and workers heading to protest, revolutionaries of Telangana and via these photographs he established the Communist Party's ideology and commitment amongst the people. Janah made portraits of

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a prin ...

, Jinnah,

Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah was the founding leader and President of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Confer ...

, Faiz, and J Krishnamurthi. Photographer and curator Ram Rahman said, "Janah's work is the defining epic document of the last decade of the freedom struggle and the first decade of free India — a chronicler of the 'Nehruvian' years".

Death

He died on 21 June 2012 at his home in Berkeley, California due to natural causes.

Personal life

His son, Arjun, lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Publications

*Shadowing a Philanthropologist, By Ramachandra Guha, University of Chicago Press, 398 pp,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janah, Sunil 1918 births 2012 deaths People from Dibrugarh district Indian photojournalists American photojournalists Indian emigrants to the United States University of Calcutta alumni Documentary photographers Indian male journalists American male journalists Journalists from Assam Photographers from Assam Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts American people of Indian descent American expatriates in India 20th-century Indian journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century Indian photographers 20th-century American photographers People from Midnapore St. Xavier's College, Kolkata alumni