New Delhi, April 27: The High Commissioner of Bangladesh in India, Riaz Hamidullah, expressed his condolences on the passing of renowned photographer Raghu Rai on Sunday.
In a heartfelt message on the social media platform X, Riaz Hamidullah wrote, “My dear Raghu Bhai, I will never again hear your touching voice on the phone, greeting me in impeccable Urdu and filling my emptiness with your unique affection!” He recalled receiving a call from Rai just two weeks after taking office in Delhi in April 2025, where Rai affectionately asked, “Riaz Bhai, I dare to call you ‘Bhai,’ I hope you will allow me to do so…”
Riaz further shared that Rai had sent him his book, ‘Birth of a Nation,’ through his daughter, which is based on the rare negatives from the 1971 war that he had lost in his collection. “He was one of my childhood heroes. Many young people may not know: in August 1971, Raghu Rai went to cover the liberation war in Bangladesh. He shared with me his experiences of the horrific suffering, pain, and humiliation faced by people in war zones, villages, and refugee camps.”
He recounted a harrowing incident where Raghu continued to take photographs despite being shot at, saying, “What he saw on the ground reminded him of his childhood when his family faced uncertainties while coming to India in 1947. He was barely five years old.” In 1972, the government honored young Raghu Rai with the Padma Shri for his groundbreaking photography of the war.
“Since April 2025, Raghu Bhai embraced me lovingly like a younger brother. A great personality in the world of photography, art, and aesthetics, whenever I called him, he would greet me as if he were hugging me over the phone. It is hard to describe him in words. Raghu Bhai, over eight decades, you touched countless hearts far and wide. You were not just of India, but of the whole world. Farewell, Raghu Bhai. May your soul rest in peace.”
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MS/