Hindustan Times Concludes Its Centenary Celebrations
Top 100 frames showcased as part of Hindustan Times’ centenary exhibit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday felicitated the Top 12 winners of HT@100 My Country, My Lens, a nationwide photography contest launched as part of the Hindustan Times’ centenary. The ceremony took place at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025, where the Prime Minister presented citations to the winning photographers in the presence of Hindustan Times Chairperson and Editorial Director Shobhana Bhartia.
The HT@100 My Country My Lens contest invited citizens to share how they see their country. The response was overwhelming, with over 10,000 entries from more than 30 cities across four themes — Borders, Rivers, Monuments, and Communities of My Country.
A jury comprising noted photographers Rohit Chawla, Dhritiman Mukherjee and Ajay Aggarwal evaluated each submission and selected the Top 100 photographs. From this collection, the jury then identified the Top 3 winners in each category, who were felicitated today by the Prime Minister.
“I watched the exhibition and will request everyone to see it. The photographer friends have captured moments in a way to make them immortal…I believe it can become a source of great strength for photography in the country,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director of Hindustan Times, said, “As Hindustan Times marks 100 years, we wanted to celebrate not just our own milestone, but the collective stories of India and its people. Through HT@100 My Country My Lens, we invited citizens to capture India through their own lens. The photographs we received reflect the depth, diversity and dynamism of India and capture the spirit that has always inspired our journalism.”
As part of the centenary, the Top 100 photographs were unveiled at a special exhibition at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025. Delegates, policymakers, stars, experts and global icons experienced this contemporary visual archive — a reflection of how citizens interpret India’s landscape, communities and evolving identity.
Showcasing HT@100 My Country My Lens at the 23rd Hindustan Times Leadership Summit — themed Transforming Tomorrow — reinforced the centenary’s focus on trust, truth and national storytelling, while drawing on HTLS’s legacy as a forum for global leaders and policymakers.
Founded by Mahatma Gandhi on September 15, 1924, Hindustan Times was conceived as a voice for India’s freedom movement. Initially supported financially by the Akalis, and later by stalwarts like Lala Lajpat Rai and Madan Mohan Malviya, it was eventually handed over to GD Birla at Gandhi’s request. During its formative years, HT chronicled the independence struggle and the birth of the Republic, serving as a crucible for ideas and debates that shaped modern India. Over the decades, its pages have featured writings from icons such as Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Martin Luther King Jr., and MS Swaminathan, reflecting its unparalleled stature.
Hindustan Times also led the way for Indian newsrooms in its use and treatment of photographs. Chief photographer Kishor Parekh’s heartbreaking photos of the famine in Bihar in 1966 drummed up public awareness and led to the setting up of a famine relief fund. In November that year, HT published a full-page photo essay of Parekh’s work and brought in a culture of visual storytelling in news.
In its centennial year, Hindustan Times handed the lens to the reader with the My Country, My Lens contest. The idea was simple, but powerful – to carve out a space in the venerable columns of the newspaper for the millions who read it. With the felicitation of the Top 12 photographers and the unveiling of the Top 100 exhibit, Hindustan Times concludes its centenary celebrations.