Nahyan bin Mubarak offers his condolences on the death of international photographer Ramesh Shukla, who documented the establishment of the Union

Dubai, February 22 / WAM / His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, offered his condolences on the death of international photographer Ramesh Shukla, whose name was linked to the history of the United Arab Emirates as a documenter of the establishment of the union and the owner of the lens that preserved the moment of the declaration of the state on December 2, 1971.

His Excellency visited the home of the deceased, where His Excellency was received by his son Neil Shukla and a number of family members, offering his sincere condolences and sincere sympathy for this loss, and recalling the cultural and historical value that the deceased represented in the path of the state.

Ramesh Shukla died at the age of 87 after a struggle with heart complications at Rashid Hospital in Dubai, leaving behind a visual legacy that is considered one of the most important photographic testimonies of the founding phase and the beginnings of the union.

Shukla is considered one of the first photographers to work in the UAE, as he came to Dubai in 1965 on a professional trip that he did not know would lead him to document the greatest event in the country’s history. Since his early years, his name has been associated with documenting public life and official events, before he became one of the most prominent photographers who accompanied the pre-Union period and the major transformations that followed.

In 1968, his first meeting with the sheikhs was at the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, to attend the camel race in Sharjah, starting from that time a close professional relationship with the national events whose features were being shaped on the ground.

The most prominent moment in his career came in 1971, when he took the famous photo that brought together Their Highnesses the Rulers of the Emirates at the moment of announcing the establishment of the Union, a photo that turned into an immortal national icon, embodying the spirit of unity and common will on which the state was founded.

He also documented the signing of the State Establishment Document, and his photos became an essential visual reference in the narrative and history of the Union.

During decades of work, Shukla immortalized through his lens the most beautiful moments of the Union and the happiest and most inspiring moments of Their Highnesses the Rulers of the Emirates, so that his works became an integral part of the national memory, and are displayed in exhibitions and museums documenting the country’s journey and modern history.

With the passing of Ramesh Shukla, the cultural scene loses one of the most prominent photographers whose works were linked to the memory and history of the Emirates, but his lens will remain a witness to the birth of a nation, and his pictures will remain a living document that tells generations the story of a union that created the future and established a unique development and humanitarian model in the region and the world.

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