The Editors Guild of India on July 17 said it was deeply disturbed by the racist campaign on social media against photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed in Afghanistan. Siddiqui, who worked for Reuters news agency, was killed while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and the Taliban. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and the chief of Reuters Pictures multimedia team in India. He has covered many important events in Asia, West Asia and Europe, including the Rohingya refugee crisis – for which he received the Pulitzer.
The Editors Guild said it was “deeply disturbed by the vicious and highly regrettable racist campaign” against Siddiqui on social media.
After the news of Siddiqui’s death hit social media, some users on Twitter shared an unverified image of his dead body. Some users also celebrated the death, alleging that his coverage of the funeral pyres during the second wave of the pandemic in India in April and May was an attempt to malign the country’s image.
However, several journalists and other Twitter users urged people not to share the image to maintain the dignity of the dead. They also explained the perspective behind Siddiqui’s photos and the humane approach he took while covering a tragedy.
The Editors Guild added that Siddiqui’s death was a “stern reminder” of the kind of risks that journalists take to report from the frontlines of any conflict.
The journalists’ body noted that over the past decade, Siddiqui had covered crucial stories of conflict and humanitarian crisis from South Asia and the surrounding regions, including the 2019 Easter blasts in Sri Lanka, and the riots in North East Delhi in 2020, and “the devastating human tragedy caused by the pandemic”.
“His work was therefore a living testament to the axiom of photojournalism, ‘if your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough’,” the Editors Guild said.
Several other media associations also expressed their condolences and called for attention to the risks taken by journalists covering conflict zones.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said authorities in Afghanistan should conduct a swift and thorough inquiry into the killing of Siddiqui. The committee described the death as tragic, adding that as the United States and its allies withdraw forces, journalists will continue to work in Afghanistan, “documenting whatever comes next at great risk to their lives”.
The Press Club of India held a candle light meeting in collaboration with the Working News Cameraman’s Association in the memory of Siddiqui on July 17. It also expressed shock about the journalist’s death and said it was at a “loss of words”. “True journalism needs courage and Danish’s body of work is a testament to that,” the Press Club of India said.
The Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia said that Siddiqui was a “fiercely talented photojournalist”. “More often than not, the singular image that defined the biggest news of the day, resonant for its humanity and artistry, was taken by Danish,” the association of foreign correspondents said. “He will be remembered for his intelligence, compassion and bravery, and his body of work will live on forever.”