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About Habib Naqash
By Yusuf Jameel
 There are few lessons for a news photographer to learn from.
Apart from being trained in the techniques of his craft and
incidentally the digital photography, computers and the
wonders of Internet have revolutionized the job he should do
his homework as thoroughly as the reporter. He must have
some idea what his picture is going to be; but as the
reporter is for all time on the lookout for new angles and
developments of a story, so the photographer will have one
eye on the unusual and curious picture.
But it is a universally acknowledged fact that the news
photographer has one of the most difficult jobs in
journalism. And who else knows it better than a Kashmiri
news photographer does? Otherwise also, the reporter may
observe an incident or a situation over a period of time,
even if it is only seconds; he then mulls over what he has
seen, and writes his report. The photographer must
anticipate the key moment, have his camera poised to catch
it, and then press the button at precisely the right second.
You cannot turn back time to recapture a missed moment; and
the occasions on which the press photographer can pose his
subject are rare. Coming back to Kashmir; the place often
referred to as being the ‘Paradise on the Earth’ for the
natural beauty and the grandeur it presents-occupies a
central and one of the most strategic positions in Asia,
being surrounded by big and small powers like Russia, China,
India and Pakistan. Situated in the lap of the Himalayas,
Kashmir’s dissimilarity also lies in its heritage and
environment and its summer capital Srinagar in itself is a
city of great antiquity.
Hence, Kashmir has always been a photographer’s delight. But
as we all know, the job for a journalist in Kashmir,
particularly the news photographer who is in the lookout of
news pictures, turned more difficult rather risky ever since
the dispute over the disputed Himalayan region burst into a
major bloody conflict in late 1990s. For him everyday has
been a struggle. The members of the fourth-estate here have
endured undeclared censorship, imprisonment, attempts on
their lives, or the assassination of a close colleague as a
result of their efforts to report on the news. Some
reporters landed in prison or their graves for writing the
truth. Several journalists both from print and electronic
media have fallen victim to this bigotry. In short, the
strife has made Kashmir a difficult place to live in and
quite a dangerous spot to report from. There is a thin
silver lining between life and death when it comes to the
performance for a journalist, especially new photographers
who have no other option but to be as close to subject as
possible.
Habib Naqash is among few brave news photographers who have
accepted the challenge, notwithstanding their career has
been marked by violent reprisals-beatings, imprisonment,
grenade attacks and abductions. They have to withstand
pressure from all parties to the Kashmiri conflict, which
pits Indian security forces and government-backed militias
against an array of guerrilla groups fighting for the
state’s independence or its merger with Pakistan. The
combatants view the local press as biased in favor of their
adversaries and retaliate through violence and intimidation.
To date, ten Kashmiri journalists have been murdered in the
course of their work; in four of those cases the
perpetrators’ identities remain unknown. Srinagar-based
newspapers have frequently been forced to suspend
publication under pressure from the various warring parties.
And numerous local journalists have survived abductions.
Apparently unmindful of this situation, “Where there is a
scene, there is Habib Naqash.” “This omnipresent
photographer,” wrote a Valley Post a English weekly
recently, “is born to shoot.” The story of how he treaded on
the path of photojournalism is evenly fascinating.
Born in a respectable family in downtown Srinagar, Habib
after being to a community school refused to pursue his
studies and told his parents that he wanted to become a
professional photographer. After remaining under the
apprenticeship of a commercial photographer for two years in
early 1980s, he relocated to Srinagar’s Urdu daily Aftab for
a salary of Rs. 300 ($7) a month. “For the first fortnight
or so at Aftab, I had no idea about what I was actually
meant for. I just thought that someone else would get a
photograph for me that I was supposed to develop,” he
recalls. But two decades of experience in news photography
has produced in him a matured photojournalist. As he has had
several close encounters with death, Habib has today turned
into a seasoned campaigner who knows very well to put aside
all the nightmares when he is in the field. This Website
would be apart from illustrating the footage from Kashmir
mainly from Habib and making thousands of sophisticated
eye-catching images available for online ordering promote
the highest standards of photojournalism.
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Kashmirphoto.com
Postal address : 2, Pratap Park Flats, Press Enclave Residency Road
Srinagar Kashmir J & K INDIA
Telephone : 91-194-2481618 Mobile : 91-9419000479
e mail General Information: habibnaqash@gmail.com
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