World Photography Day: 10 of India's Most Iconic Photos of 2021

Photography is one of the most effective medium for storytelling as it transcends the boundaries language and time.

French photographer Marc Riboud once said, "Photography cannot change the world, but it can show the world, especially when it changes."

That is exactly what photographers were doing while a majority of the country was still locked in their homes trying their best to be safe from COVID-19. Photographers went out on the streets and documented life as they saw it. From families of COVID-19 patients scrambling for beds, farmers' protest, to India's sporting achievements, photographers have captured it all in an attempt to document the year.

Photography is one of the most effective medium for storytelling, as it transcends the boundaries of language and time. Therefore, it is fitting to have a day to celebrate the art of taking pictures. World Photography day is observed on 19 August, when photographers from across the fields come together to showcase their work.

The day was chosen as it was on 19 August 1839 when the then French government bought the patent for Daguerreotype, a photographic process and announced the invention as a "gift to the world”.

On this World Photography Day, we decided to look at 10 of the most iconic photos that defined India in 2021 so far.

For most of us, 2021 started as a terrible hangover. While the calendar might have turned to a new page, our lives were pretty much still the same in 2021. But we got some good news two days into the new year - the COVID-19 vaccines made by Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India (SII) were formally approved by the Central Drugs and Standards Committee (CDSCO) on Sunday, 3 January.

On 16 January, a sanitation worker at AIIMS became the first person in India to get the jab, which kickstarted one of the biggest vaccination drive in the world.

As of 18 August, India has administered over 56 crore vaccine doses.

While India was setting records in vaccinations, the Indian cricket team was making history in Australia. Despite facing a series of injuries and not having the regular skipper Virat Kohli, India recorded an unprecedented back-to-back Test series win in Australia.

India also became the first team to beat Australia at Brisbane since 1988 and recorded the highest successful 4th innings Test run chase by any team at the Gabba.

Youngsters like Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur rose to the challenges under Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy.

Another thing that spilled over from 2020 was the farmers' protests against the three contentious farm laws passed in September 2020. The agitation that started in Punjab and Haryana in November had reached the borders of Delhi by the end of the year.

After several rounds of failed discussions with the government, the farmers decided to have a tractor rally in New Delhi on 26 January. The Delhi police allowed the protest and laid down a curated route. However, some groups diverted from the routes, which lead to clashes between the farmers and the cops.

One of the protesting farmers died in an accident and over 80 police officers were injured.

A group of protesters broke through police barricades and stormed into Delhi's historic Red Fort complex. Internet services were suspended in parts of Delhi and metro stations remained shut.

Disaster struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on 7 February 2021 when three rivers – Dhauli Ganga, Rishi Ganga, and Alaknanda – flooded in the middle of the day due to a glacier burst. At least 74 were confirmed dead while several others remained missing.

Rishi Ganga Hydel Project and NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project suffered extensive damage and many of the labourers from these plants were among those who were missing.

While the COVID-19 cases in the country were gradually increasing, four states and a Union Territory were preparing to go to the polls.

Some campaigns were cut short due to the high surge in COVID-19 cases, special arrangements were made for voters who were infected and for those counting the votes. Photos and videos of people wearing masks at polling stations were shared by many. Despite all the COVID-19 measures in place, voting turnout in 90 percent of the seats was less than that in 2016.

While the elections were still on, COVID-19 cases started rising rapidly in the entire country. On 6 May, India breached the 4 lakh mark in daily COVID-19 cases and reports about patients and family members scrambling for hospital and ICU beds and oxygen tanks dominated the news cycle.

Twitter became the space where common people asked and found help. Despite the dangers of contracting the virus, photojournalists went on the ground to document the situation in hospitals, cremation grounds and streets. These photographs would stay in the files as a reminder of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the things that went wrong.

While people in India were barely recovering from the deadly second wave of the pandemic, cyclone Tauktae hit the western coast of the country. With highest wind speed of 220 kmph, Tauktae became one of the strongest tropical cyclones to ever affect the west coast of India.

Parts of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat along with two Union Territories – Lakshadweep and Daman & Diu – were impacted by the cyclone that took the lives of over 100 people.

Barge P305, an ONGC vessel sank off Mumbai during Cyclone Tauktae. A total of 261 personnel were on the barge, out of which 188 were rescued by the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard.

This year also saw the death of veteran actor Dilip Kumar. The actor died at 7:30 am on Wednesday, 7 July.

A family friend of Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu, Faisal Farooqui, shared the news on the veteran actor's official Twitter handle.

"With a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip Saab, few minutes ago. We are from God and to Him we return. – Faisal Farooqui," the tweet read.

Senior actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Shabana Azmi, Dharmendra and other celebrities visited Kumar and Saira Banu's home to offer condolences.

Another untimely and tragic death this year was that of Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who died while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

In 2018, Siddiqui was a part of the Reuters team that bagged the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for covering the Rohingya refugee crisis. He had covered stories in Asia, Middle East, and Europe, such as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Rohingya refugees crisis, Hong Kong protests, Nepal earthquakes, Mass Games in North Korea, and the living conditions of asylum seekers in Switzerland.

His photographs of crematoriums during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic were widely shared.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which got postponed to 2021 because of COVID-19, saw Indian sportpersons making the country proud. With 7 medals in the bag, India had the highest ranking in Olympics in over 40 years. This included a gold medal in men's javelin throw event by Neeraj Chopra.

Other medals were won in weightlifting, boxing, hockey, and wrestling.