Photojournalist Danish Siddiqui's Kids Sarah and Younish Receive Pulitzer Prize

Danish Siddiqui was a photojournalist based in Delhi, and was part of the multimedia team of the international news agency Reuters. Siddiqui, a photojournalist, lost his life while reporting in Afghanistan on July 16, 2021, as he covered the Taliban's takeover of the nation. The late photojournalist's 6-year-old son Younish Siddiqui and four-year-old daughter Sarah Siddiqui received the award on his behalf.

Siddiqui, is one of four Indians to get the esteemed Pulitzer Prize for feature photography in 2022. According to The Pulitzer Prizes website, Siddiqui and his colleagues from the Reuters news agency Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, and Amit Dave earned the award for "pictures of Covid's toll in India that combined intimacy with catastrophe, while affording viewers a heightened feeling of place."

Who was Danish Siddiqui? Recollecting his Journey as Photojournalist

Siddiqui completed an Economics degree from Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi. In 2007, he earned a degree in mass communication from Jamia's AJK Mass Communication Research Center. Siddiqui was a member of the Reuters multimedia team, a worldwide news organisation.

He began his career as a television news reporter, made the transition to photojournalism. In 2010, he joined Reuters as an intern. Since then, Siddiqui has relocated to various nations and regions to cover various assignments, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the Battle of Mosul (2016–2017), the Nepal earthquake in April 2015, the Rohingya refugee crisis, the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, the 2020 Delhi riots, and the Afghanistan War (2012).

Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger presents the 2022 Feature Photography Award to (l to r) Yunus and Sarah Siddiqui, children of the late Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, along with Reuters photojournalists Adnan Abidi and Amit Dave. Photo credit: Eileen Barroso

What Happened In 2021 July?

Siddiqui embedded with a group of several hundred special commandos on July 11 after arriving at an Afghan Special Forces facility in the southern city of Kandahar and helping to drive out the Taliban from the area. Siddiqui had indicated doing a risk analysis before opting to embed with the Forces in a private conversation with the agency.

On July 16, Siddiqui along with two Afghan commandos was killed while he was covering another mission to retake the key border of Spin Boldak. The Taliban force killed him and the failed mission to reconquer Spin Boldak came as the last straw for Afghan troops, following which the Taliban conquered city after city.

According to Reuters, the first report indicated that Siddiqui was killed in a crossfire while trying to take photographs in the bazaar at Spin Bodalak. However, it was later alleged that he was injured by shrapnel from a rocket and then later killed in a mosque, where he was treated.

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His son Younish along with daughter Sarah received the award.