The Silence of “Others”: Bharat Choudhary’s Exploration of Young Muslim Lives

During Bharat Choudhary’s formative years, India witnessed the demolition of the Babri Masjid (1992), the Mumbai blasts and riots (1993), the Chamba massacre (1998), the killing of Graham Staines (1999), and the Gujarat riots (2002). Later, while in the United States of America for his MA in photojournalism from the University of Missouri, Choudhary observed the growing Islamophobia after 9/11 and the subsequent “war on terror.” These events laid the foundation of his project The Silence of “Others.”

The project documents the emotional struggles of Muslim youth in the West as they confront negative perceptions and discrimination. Choudhary’s sharp and often dark photographs use colour intuitively to express the intersection of the subjects’ internal and external worlds.

Choudhary received the Alexia Foundation Professional Grant in 2011 and the Getty Images Grant for Editorial Photography in 2012 for The Silence of “Others.”

All images by Bharat Choudhary.

Click on the image to view the album