From Endangered Species – Photograph © Sudharak Olwe
A Mumbai-based photojournalist since 1988, Sudharak Olwe has held principal positions of prominence in the photo departments of some of India’s leading newspapers, including Times of India and Lokmat, the country’s most widely-circulated Marathi newspaper. He also has traveled the nation, documenting incredible courage and resilience in the face of injustice and indignity. This social documentary photographer has worked with NGOs, sharing the work they do in rural and urban areas. His work has been published in international publications like Indes France, the London Times, and Harper’s Bazaar.
A subject of Olwe’s photography often is the unfairness and indignity thrust upon our fellow human beings. His photographs shock, disturb, and draw empathy from us. These are journeys into the otherwise unseen perspectives of the human condition. His photography cuts across all barriers and presents viewers with a moving story of individuals and communities. But, perhaps more than this, Olwe holds a mirror to our own faces. By showing us those we would not notice on our own – those whose work is vital but who, themselves, are not treated with fairness or gratitude – he forces the question: Are we as kind and good as we believe ourselves to be?
Olwe has shown his photographs in group and solo exhibitions in galleries and art festivals across India, as well as in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the USA. It is in books, however, that Sudharak Olwe prefers to share his photographs.
The Padma Shri, India’s 4th highest civilian award, was presented by the President of India to Sudharak Olwe, in 2016, in recognition of his valuable and tireless work. In 2005, he was one of four awardees honored by National Geographic’s All Roads Photography Program for his work on the life of workers in Mumbai.
Olwe was an attendee of the SPE / MNF Photo Education Symposium, 5-7.Jan.2020, in New Delhi.
At the time that Olwe’s profile was posted on PhotoSouthAsia, he had produced five photo books. Among them:
In Search of Dignity and Justice, ISBN: 10-9383999039, 2015
Raj Bhavans of Maharashtra – Witness To Glory, 2014
Spirited Souls: Winning Women of Mumbai, 2004
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On PhotoSouthAsia, find these essays on Olwe's work:
Faiz Ullah: Citizenship of Photography
Bhavya Sah: Photographing Sex Workers: Understanding ‘Access’ and ‘Excess’ on the Margins
Vaskar Mech: Of Conditions and Concerns Made Palpable
Everyone Must Take Responsibility: Sudharak Olwe by Jaywant Naidu, Deccan Chronicle, 05.Apr.2016
EXCLUSIVE: Sudharak Olwe on Changing the World, One Photo at a Time, by Soma Das, Hindustan Times, 11.Feb.2016
In images: The difficult road to justice for victims of caste atrocities in Maharashtra A Padma Shri recipient and two researchers are documenting cases of extreme violence against the lower castes by Sukanya Shantha, Scroll.in, 17.Apr.2017
In Search of Dignity and Justice, Galli Magazine online, 01.Oct.2013
Malnutrition Stalks India's Children by Sudharak Olwe & Priya Pathiyan, FountainInk, 10.Jan.2020
NGO Work Gets UN Recognition - National Geographic Photographer to Capture Work by Sanjay Ojha, The Telegraph online edition, 19.Aug.2007
Photo Essay led to Tata’s Mission Dignity, by Satish Nandgaonkar, The Hindu, 22.Jan.2015
Sudharak Olwe by Nilofer Khan, Better Photography, 07.Aug.2018
World Toilet Day: The Lives of Indian Sanitation Workers, BBC News, 19.Nov.2019
Narrating a Photographic Story, Mumbai DLC Workshop, 29.Oct.2022
Presentation at SPE / MNF Photo Education Event, 5-7.Jan.2020, New Delhi.
TEDx: In Search of Dignity and Justice [English]
Olwe founded Photography Promotion Trust (PPT) in 2005. It is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization with the goal of creating definitive change in the lives of socially marginalized communities through the skills of photography, promoting the importance of social documentary photography.
July 24, 2017
