- Monday, February 24, 2025
By: Pooja Shrivastava
PULITZER Prize-winning Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who recently did extensive coverage of the graveyards and mass cremations during the second wave of Covid-19 in India, died on Friday (16) while reporting in Afghanistan’s Kandahar.
A photographer since 2010, Siddiqui was known for some of the iconic pictures resonating the mood of India. Lately, his most recent work, including drone images of funeral pyres during Covid’s brutal second wave in India, were widely circulated which reportedly had spotlighted global attention on the country.
His other iconic captures include photographs of migrant workers during India’s mass exodus last year, photographs showing a Muslim man being lynched and beaten on the streets in Delhi and a Hindu man pointing gun at India’s CAA-NRC protesters.
In 2018, Siddiqui and his colleague Adnan Abidi had won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis as part of the Reuters team.
Afghan special forces had been fighting to retake the main market area of Spin Boldak when Siddiqui and a senior Afghan officer were killed in what they described as Taliban crossfire, the official told Reuters.
Siddiqui had been embedded as a photojournalist in the area since earlier this week with Afghan special forces based in the southern province of Kandahar and had been reporting on fighting between Afghan commandos and Taliban fighters.
Siddiqui told Reuters he had been wounded in the arm by shrapnel earlier on Friday while reporting on the clash. He was treated and had been talking to shopkeepers when the Taliban attacked again, the Afghan commander said.
Just three days ago, Siddiqui had shared a Twitter thread on his reportage in Kandahar, that also included visuals of the Taliban attacking the car that he was travelling in, saying “lucky to be safe”.
THREAD.
Afghan Special Forces, the elite fighters are on various frontlines across the country. I tagged along with these young men for some missions. Here is what happened in Kandahar today while they were on a rescue mission after spending the whole night on a combat mission. pic.twitter.com/HMTbOOtDqN— Danish Siddiqui (@dansiddiqui) July 13, 2021
Tributes have been pouring in on social media over Siddiqui’s demise.
Condoling Danish Siddiqui’s demise, Farid Mamundzay, the Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India, tweeted: “Deeply disturbed by the sad news of the killing of a friend, Danish Seddiqi in Kandahar last night. The Indian Journalist & winner of Pulitzer Prize was embedded with Afghan security forces. I met him 2 weeks ago before his departure to Kabul. Condolences to his family & Reuters.”
Work of Art
Some of d pictures by @dansiddiqui
RIP ? #danishsiddiqui pic.twitter.com/rJalcEZ2UM— Urmila Matondkar (@UrmilaMatondkar) July 16, 2021
Man who clicked these pictures is no more. #DanishSiddiqui pic.twitter.com/fbq2TWD2yX
— Spirit of Congress ✋ (@SpiritOfCongres) July 16, 2021
We lost the man who took the real story of Covid deaths in India . Shocking to hear it . #danishsiddiqui RIP pic.twitter.com/sDcdcWNFJl
— Manickam Tagore .B??✋மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) July 16, 2021
