Lights, camera, storytelling—ThePrint’s photojournalists don’t need words to weave in a story, Readers’ Editor Shailaja Bajpai wrote in her column. This is the age of multimedia, with the “reader-viewer” on a diet of reels, recordings, and representations. And photographs, which freeze the moment forever, still stand as relevant as ever.
ThePrint’s Praveen Jain, Manisha Mondal, and Suraj Singh Bisht are always on the alert—being at the heart of the wrestlers’ protest in Delhi, standing knee-deep in Delhi floods, snaking through the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse, capturing the exact moment the Prime Minister cracks into a grin, and being the first in Manipur when the recent ethnic clashes erupted.
Here are some of their best photographs from 2023.
The wrestlers’ protest in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar ran for four months and was forcefully ended by the Delhi Police on 15 June. Wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat marched to the new Parliament when Delhi Police detained them: Manisha Mondal.
A group of CRPF women demonstrates a drill. These black commandos are a part of Valley QAT (Quick Action Team). CRPF Valley Quick Action Team (Valley QAT) inducted 18 women in 2021: Manisha Mondal.
The Green Army in Uttar Pradesh has stepped outside their homes to empower women from backward sections of society. With approximately 1,800 women as members, the group encourages other women to take a stand against oppression and sexual and domestic violence. It also works toward educating girls. The women in green don’t just want to reform the men in their lives but also improve the condition of their villages. And violence isn’t their tool of intervention: Manisha Mondal.
In the wake of the ethnic clashes that erupted in Manipur in May 2023, hundreds of Kukis and Meiteis were displaced, rendered homeless, and subjected to violence. Many found shelter at relief camps. Here’s Tingngaipak Vaiphei, feeding her 17-year-old son at a relief camp at St. Peter’s school, Tengnoupal: Praveen Jain.
The wrestlers’ protest was the big moment of 2023 in India. While many wrestles raged on against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh, here’s a picture of Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat training at Jantar Mantar: Praveen Jain.
At an age when most indulge in a life of comfort and develop aspirations of luxury, a child becoming a Jain monk or nun is an intriguing story. And if one is a Jain in Surat, it often involves turning away from the sparkling diamond business. Here’s sadhvi Pragya Shree studying a text about Jain religious beliefs: Praveen Jain
