1 nation, a billion views

On a November morning in 1924, readers of Hindustan Times opened their newspaper and discovered a milestone in the story of Indian journalism.

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Tucked between the usual reams of linotyped text was a smudgy, monochromatic anomaly: a photograph.

Mahatma Gandhi during a fast was the first picture ever published in this newspaper, then less than two months old.

In the 100 years since, photographs have sat alongside Hindustan Times's expansive reporting, strengthening its mission to hold power to account, keep its readers informed, and spotlight the marginalised.

In the early decades, the photographs chronicled a colonised nation's battle to free itself of centuries of foreign rule. Then, they traced an infant country's early steps, and a maturing India's confident strides as it left its mark on the world.

People and communities, events and turning points, rivers, fields, forests and mountains... Hindustan Times also captured India's vibrancy and magnificence.