
Srinagar – Friends, colleagues and other admirers are paying rich tributes to Nissar Ahmad, a senior photographer for The Hindu, who passed away on June 19th at SMHS Hospital in Srinagar after a brief illness. His death has prompted an outpouring of grief and tributes from colleagues, journalists, and leaders who admired his work and character. Mr. Nissar had worked with late Shujaat Bukhari closely for several years when he was the Bureau Chief of The Hindu in J&K.
The Hindu released a heartfelt statement acknowledging Ahmad’s immense contributions to photojournalism, especially his poignant coverage of Kashmir. “Nissar was a thorough photojournalist, capturing the turmoil and beauty of Kashmir through his lens until his last breath. His work has left an indelible mark on our hearts and in the annals of photojournalism. His legacy lives on through the countless images that tell the stories of heartbreaks, joy, and beauty of the Valley. Rest in peace, Nissar Ahmad. You will be deeply missed.”
“One of the senior photo journalists Nisar Sb was pious soul and social human being. Will be remembered for his humbling attitudes Allah Marhoom ko Jannat ul Firdaus mai jagah dai. 25 years back in 1999 spent a few days with Nisar sb during #kargilwar and came to know him closely. It was neither digital nor Internet then everything was offline and it was very hard to deliver pictures for newspapers”, senior journalist Ashraf Wani from Aaj Tak wrote on this Facebook wall.
Taking to Facebook, Ahmed Ali Fayaz, a professional colleague and former Bureau Chief of The Hindu expressed his sorrow: “Sadly, we have lost today an iconic photojournalist and a longtime professional colleague Nissar Ahmad who breathed his last at a hospital in Srinagar. Nissar Ahmad was an embodiment of all virtues who stood by his friends and colleagues through thick and thin in his 40-year-long career as a photojournalist. May Allah grant him the highest place in jannatul firdaus. Nissar’s death is a personal loss to me.”
CPI (M) leader and spokesperson of PAGD, M.Y. Tarigami, said he was shocked and a press statement issued from his office said: “M Y Tarigami has expressed grief and shock over the sudden demise of senior photojournalist Nisar Ahmad associated with The Hindu newspaper. He expressed condolences to the bereaved family and journalist fraternity.”
Prominent photographer Javed Dar while mourning the loss of a fellow colleague wrote: “End of an era: Senior photojournalist and dear colleague Nisar Sahab has passed away. May Allah grant him the highest place in Jannat ul Firdous, Ameen.”
Shuja ul Haq, another prominent journalist, highlighted Ahmad’s lasting impact: “Kashmir’s media fraternity has lost a dear colleague today. Always smiling and always full of life. Ready to extend a helping hand to young and old. A thorough gentleman whose lens has seen and captured the ups and downs of Kashmir for decades.”
Sajjad Shaheen, NC leader from Banihal, honored Ahmad’s dedication to journalism through a social media post: “Saddened to know about the passing of Senior Journalist photographer Mr Nissar Ahmed. His fearless reporting and dedication to truth in Kashmir was inspiring. May Allah grant him the highest place in Jannah.”
Prominent journalist Mufti Islah and editor of a local magazine Farzana Mumtaz also reflected on Ahmad’s kindness and professionalism: “What a good man. Kind, affectionate, and always smiling. Rest in Peace, my friend. Allah bestow Jannat ul Firdous to you,” said Islah. Ms Mumtaz added, “A very sad and tragic news for the media fraternity. Senior photojournalist of The Hindu newspaper Nissar Ahmad passed away. May almighty bless the departed soul.”
Social and development activist Feroze Ahmed reminisced about Ahmad’s character and contributions: “We will miss you Nissar sb, May almighty Allah bless your soul and place you in the highest places of Jannah! An incredible human being with great photo skills, Nissar sb was a great person who would meet and greet with a big smile and was always ready to support and help anybody and everybody.”
Junaid Nabi Bazaz, another journalist, also shared their grief, emphasizing the loss to the media fraternity and remembering Ahmad’s gentlemanly nature.
“Heart-wrenching to hear about the demise of veteran photographer, Nissar Sahab. A good man. Yes, in short, Nissar sahab was a good man. His usual good morning and happy birthday wishes will be dearly missed! To me, he was always kind, respectful despite being a senior, and would greet me with a perennial smile on his face!”, said Gowhar Geelani.
Another senior journalist, Iftikhar Geelani, shared an experience on his social media and summarised Mr Nissar’s persona: “In the absence of means of communication, the photographers used to visit the Srinagar airport in the early 90s and till later years also to hand over their parcels to the passengers traveling to Delhi. The agency in charge or the newspaper man would wait at Delhi airport to receive the parcel. Once a friend (possibly Masood Hussain) came from Srinagar may be around 1992 or 93 (don’t remember year now). He was carrying a parcel from Nissar Ahmad to be delivered at The Hindu office. It was a day when Kashmir had observed a strike to commemorate the death of Maqbool Bhat. While accompanying him, I remember the chief photographer of The Hindu told us to convey Nissar to write the caption on the back of the photograph. He used to just write his name only. We took the advice and returned to our apartment, in Sunlight colony near Ashram in Delhi. The next morning, we opened The Hindu newspaper. It showed a picture of the strike in Srinagar, but the caption read: Strike in Kashmir on the death anniversary of Nissar Ahmed. The photo was credited to Maqbool Bhat. I think that was a lesson to dear friend Nissar not to send photos without captions.
Dear Nissar,
Will miss your kindness and warmth, that always touched me. You will be greatly missed. May Allah bless your soul.”
Nissar Ahmad’s passing marks the end of an era in Kashmiri photojournalism. His work will continue to inspire and remind us of the beauty and complexity of the region he so passionately documented, said Farooq Ahmed, a long time reader of The Hindu.
Ziraat Times management has also condoled Mr Nissar’s demise and extended condolences to his family and friends.