Rajan Devadas

Rajan Devadas (1921-2014) was an Indian American photojournalist and Gandhian, known for his visual coverage of India–United States relations for over 50 years. He was the first accredited White House photographer of Indian origin.

Biography Rajan Devadas was born in 1921 in Thiruvananthapuram,

After completing the Pendle Hill Quaker course, Devadas joined the University of Pennsylvania for two semesters and later at the Temple University for further studies. which included all the visits by Indian Prime Ministers to US from Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh. He was reported to have photographed all the US Presidents from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. He also photographed many world leaders such as Margaret Thatcher, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Pope John Paul, Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and J. R. Jayewardene. Many leading media houses such as India Abroad, Economic Times, India Today, Press Trust of India, Times of India, Illustrated Weekly of India, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, New York Times, Washington Post, UPI, Reuters and Al Ahram have published photos taken by Devadas. An exhibition of his photos was organized at the Capital Children's Museum in Washington in 1989.

Devadas died at age 93, on 26 December 2014, succumbing to a cardiac arrest at his home at Hebrew Home of Greater Washington in Rockville, Maryland. He left behind his wife, Kimiko, two daughters, Kamal Cohen and Mina Devadas and six sons, Thambi, Anand, Asoka, Shyam, Arjun and Prem.

He was awarded the civilian honour of Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2002. The civil investiture ceremony was held in Chicago as he was unable to travel to India due to failing health.