Most Indian Prime Ministers that we see through their iconic photographs show a distinct personality. With Nehru, the photos show an aristocrat. With Indira Gandhi, the photos radiate a distinct sense of power. With Vajpayee however, the images always show a statesman. This one is no exception, showing a veteran politician taking an extremely bitter loss in stride, with a seemingly undamaged sense of resilience.
Why is this photo in Black and White despite being shot in 1996? Either this photo has been given an incorrect caption by the source, or photojournalists for newspapers in India continued to shoot in black and white till the late 1990s (which kind of makes sense if the photo was going to be printed in black and white anyway).
Here is an image of the same moment from another photographer. While this one is in a higher resolution and in color, it lacks the panache of the variant featured in this article. If anyone is able to get us access to the original photo in a higher resolution, we would be grateful.
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Source Caption:
Atal Bihari Vajpayee after submitting his resignation as the Prime Minister to the President. (HT Archive)
Additional Image Variations:
