Sunil Janah Biography 
Sunil Janah was an Indian photojournalist and documentary photographer. He was most active in his field in the 1940s. He has documented Indian freedom struggle movement, Bengal famine of 1943, famine and riots etc during this period, for which he received international acclaim. Through his photographs he has also told the story of tribal people, social conditions then, rapid urbanization and industrialization. Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 1972 and Padma Bhushan in 2012. He passed away the same year. As a photojournalist, he is best known for covering 1943 Bengal famine.
A well-known photographer of the Nehruvian era, Sunil Janah was born on 17 April 1918 in Dibrugarh, Assam. He grew up in Kolkata, where he completed his schooling and college studies. He got attracted to leftist ideologies, as a student. As suggested by Puran Chand Joshi, he abandoned his English studies and pursued photography. Along with Chittaprosad Bhattacharya, he travelled to Bengal and photographed 1943 Bengal famine. He shot to prominence for his pictures on Bengal famine. Then he moved to Mumbai along with him, where he continued his career as a photojournalist, and worked for different kinds of publications. He has documented people`s struggles against colonialism in the pre-independence days and the emergence of India after independence.
During his hey days, he was an active member of Progressive Writers Association and Indian People’s Theatre Association. He also co-founded Calcutta Film Society. He was given Padma Shri in 1972. When 2012 Padma awards were announced, it was initially announced that he has been given Padma Shri. Rectifying its mistake of giving the same award to a person twice after a gap of four decades, the government later decided to confer him with Padma Bhushan. He was 94 and settled with family in US then. His surname was written as `Janath` and his domicile was shown as Delhi in 1972. That’s why an error happened. The celebrated photographer has ironically lost his vision during his last days, and was confined to a wheelchair.
Published: November 07, 2018
Updated: November 07, 2018
