Koodankulam : In My Backyard – Amirtharaj Stephen

Amirtharaj Stephen is a Tamil photographer based in Bangalore, India. He is currently documenting the anti-nuclear protests around his native village

India –

‘Colorful Guizhou’, the 6th Photo China Original International Photographic Exhibition opened in the Guizhou Province of China on August 16, 2013. Manik Katyal, Editor-in-Chief of Emaho Magazine had nominated 5 photographers from South-Asia for the competition. One of the nominee, Amirtharaj Stephen won the 2nd Prize as well as the cash prize of 10000 Yuan for his series ‘Koodankulam: A Nuclear Plant in My Backyard’.

Organised by China curator Wang Xi, the recommendation panel for this exhibition was headed by Robert Pledge the CEO of Contact Press Images, USA. The other esteemed members of the panel included Pablo Bartholomew – World Press Photo winning photographer , Wang Jingchun – Director of Picture Department of Nanfang Metropolis Daily, Jia Guorong – Sr photojournalist of China News Agency, Lin Tianfu – Chairman, Chinese Photography and Art Exchange Association, Huang Wen – Director, Center of Xihua News Agency and Zhuang Wubin – Curator, Scholar.

“Koodankulam: In my Backyard“ is a set of photographs from the uprising of the local community against the Indian and Russian Government on commissioning of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP). The people have been protesting over 650 days post Fukushima Nuclear Disaster in a non-violent and peaceful manner which have been repeatedly subject to violence by the government forces to clamp down on the protesters. Today, the Koodankulam protests not only create a debate on nuclear energy in India, but also questions the philosophy of “Democracy” on which the world’s biggest democracy India was built.

 

Written and Photography by Amirtharaj Stephen.

Related Posts

Depth Charger – Antoine D’Agata Part II

THIS STORY CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT France – Emaho in conversation with Antoine D’Agata, continued –  Manik: Any moment of regret? ...

Brian Driscoll : Political Prisoners of Egypt

Egypt –  As a result of the mass demonstrations that took place in the great cities of Egypt, many people ...

Federico Clavarino: Italia o Italia

Spain –   Italia o Italia is built over the ruins of an unresolved empire, a place in which monuments ...

Mikhael Subotzky Patrick Waterhouse Ponte City

Mikhael Subotzky & Patrick Waterhouse: “Ponte City” – Africa’s Tallest Residential Building

South Africa – Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse worked at Ponte City, the iconic Johannesburg apartment building which is Africa’s ...

Manik Katyal on Thomas Mailaender “The Night Climbers of Cambridge”

United Kingdom – With an elegant black velvet cover, ‘The Night Climbers of Cambridge’ is an enthralling collaboration between London ...

Bad dreams ? – Carlos Ayesta & Guillaume Bression

Japan –  Facing an imperceptible threat, Japan had no choice but to sort out contaminated territories and objects from those ...

Cuong Do Manh : TWINS

Vietnam – “Twins” is an intimate portrait of Huy and Hung – a pair of albino twin brothers who live ...

Ines Dumig Apart Together

Ines Dumig: “Apart Together” – Regaining the lost Identity

Germany –  According to the International Organisation of Migration, there are over 200 million migrants worldwide and the geographic region ...

Spotlight on the Sexually Violent– Tim Matsui

U.S.A. – Multimedia journalist Tim Matsui calls himself a storyteller. And once you’ve taken a look at his work, you ...