Born in 1981 in the Indian state fo Kashmir, Sumit grew up in a small traditional neighborhood of Katmandu, Nepal, where his family continues to reside. Sent to a boarding school in New Delhi, he later graduated from the University of Delhi. His exposure to a confluence of cultures from an early age gave him the ability to speak five different languages and provided Sumit with a unique perspective on the struggles and opportunities in South Asia.
In 2006 Sumit graduated in Documentary & Photo Journalism at the ICP (International Center of Photography) in New York.
Since then he has worked as a freelance photographer, covering Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. His work documents the plight of societies, disappearing cultural traditions and changing landscapes of South Asia.
In 2006 he received the Alexia Foundation, in 2010 he was chosen by Photo District News magazine as one of the 30 Emerging Photographers to Watch, in September 2010 he won the National Geographic All Roads Photography Program, Emerging photographer category, with his long term project in Kashmir “On Going Home”. In 2010 he is among the photographers selected by Giorgia Fiorio for the Reflexions Masterclass.
He has published on Time, Glamour, Vrij Nederland, Shell UK, Soros Foundation Nepali Times, Dan Church Aid, Vanity Fair and Himal. He is based out of New Delhi.
NEXT GENERATION TIBETANS
by Sumit Dayal. Tibet. August 2011. Sumit Dayal/Prospekt for TIME. The world is filled with millions of exiled peoples, whose plights are as obscure as they are tragic. But the exiled Tibetan community in the Indian hill station of Dharamsala, … Continue reading
GRAND PUNJAB
by Sumit Dayal. Punjab. 2009. Punjab is a region straddling the border between Punjab (Pakistan) and Punjab (India). The area now known as the Greater Punjab comprises what were once vast territories of eastern Pakistan and northern western India. The … Continue reading
KASHMIR, ON GOING HOME
by Sumit Dayal. Kashmir. January 2009. The vale of Kashmir is a low-lying fertile Himalayan valley fed by many rivers. It is renowned for its natural beauty and quaint lifestyle; horses graze soothing green meadows, and gondolas float to the … Continue reading
VANISHING ISLANDS
by Sumit Dayal. Sundarbans. December 2008. Environmental portraits of inhabitants from Sundarbans: a UNESCO heritage site and the world’s largest mangrove ecosystem. Rising sea levels and accelerated coastline erosion have engulfed many islands and continue to force people to relocate … Continue reading
AFGHANISTAN, NO STRINGS ATTACHED
by Sumit Dayal. Afghanistan. 2007. Before leaving for Afghanistan in the Spring of 2007, I began to notice a sameness in the look of most things I was shooting. It was this idea that sparked me to carry along with … Continue reading