What it Takes to Make a Difference…

Shot in Srinagar after a grenade blast, this image reflects the pain and plight of the people in the Kashmir valley. Photograph/Yasin Dar

“If people can just see, feel, imagine the plight or even the joy of others in my pictures, then my job is done.”—Yasin Dar

This article was originally published in June 2009.

Yasin Dar hails from Kashmir, a state that has been through several conflicts over decades. This photograph, shot at the SMHS hospital in Srinagar after a grenade blast, won him a bronze medal in the General News category at the recent China International Press Photo awards. “Almost 35 people were injured,” Yasin relates. “I was waiting for about half an hour, till the wounded were brought to the hospital. I photographed these people from an ambulance’s window, instead of going towards the door where 30 journalists were already standing.”
Currently with the Associated Press, Yasin has been shooting in the valley since 2002. He says that being a photojournalist in the valley can be tough. Security guards accuse photographers like him of siding separatists, while the locals think that they are an extension of the state machinery. “But ultimately, if people can just see, feel, imagine the plight or even the joy of others in my pictures, then my job is done.”

-Written By Neha Mutreja