{UAH} The photographer giving Africans in India a voice

The photographer giving Africans in India a voice

By Yemisi Adegoke, CNN

Updated 1:44 PM ET, Fri March 31, 2017

Photos: This photographer giving Africans in India a voice

In total he spent five months traveling across India taking photos of Africans, living in the country. He amassed dozens of portraits and turned them into a photo series 'Racism: Africans in India."

Pictured: Samuel from Nigeria in Delhi

Photo courtesy of: Mahesh Shantaram

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Photos: This photographer giving Africans in India a voice

"Journalists spend five minutes with them," Shantaram said. I want to spend five hours with them, I think I can get more nuance."

Pictured: Nana & Cynthia in Bangalore

Photo courtesy of: Mahesh Shantaram

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Photos: This photographer giving Africans in India a voice

"By hearing them out I've heard so much about my own country," Shantaram explained. "It's not about Africans anymore, it's about India and something that's deeply wrong with our society."

Pictured: Lawrence from Nigeria in Bangolore

Photo courtesy of: Mahesh Shantaram

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Photos: This photographer giving Africans in India a voice

Through these images Shantaram is keen to "start and continue" a conversation about racism in India, in light of an increasing number of attacks against Africans in the country.

Pictured: Isabelle waiting for a bus in Delhi

Photo courtesy of: Mahesh Shantaram

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Photos: This photographer giving Africans in India a voice

The photo series is currently being exhibited in five cities across India and Shantaram hopes to expand the project into a documentary and to visit Africa and meet the families of the people he photographed. 

Pictured: Helen in Jalandhar, 2016.

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Photos: This photographer giving Africans in India a voice

So far he has been "overwhelmed" by the response. "My African friends see this work as giving them a voice," he said. 

Pictured: Yvanne and his friend at Jimmy's Chicken in Jalandhar,2016

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(CNN)In February 2016, a Tanzanian student was 'beaten and stripped' by a violent mob in Bangalore.

The incident quickly became national and international news, sparking a fierce debate about the number of racist attacks against Africans in India.

Photographer Mahesh Shantaram who lives in Bangalore, says the event sparked a moral compulsion to do something.

African students hospitalized in roving mob attacks in India

"I had been disturbed by news of racism and discrimination, but when it's so close to home then it hits harder," Shantaram told CNN.

"It was so shocking and horrific. The first reaction was 'how could this happen in my city?' and then after thinking about it for a while you realize it's not about the city but it's something more deep-seated."

Abdul Karim from Nigeria pursues a B.Sc in Information Technology from NIMS, Jaipur.

Shantaram decided he wanted to meet Africans living in Bangalore to try to understand their experiences living in India.

"Being a photographer, the only response I know how to have is to make photos," he said. "I met them and spoke to them at length to try and understand the gravity of the situation, the everyday racism that they face."

Pictured: Yvanne and his friend at Jimmy's Chicken in Jalandhar, 2016

His photo series 'Racism: Africans in India' provides an insight into the lives of Africans, mainly students, living in the country. After capturing Africans in Bangalore he traveled across the country to meet more people, after five months he had dozens of portraits and even more stories.

"By hearing them out I've heard so much about my own country, he explained, "It's not about Africans anymore, it's about India and something that's deeply wrong with our society."

Through the images Shantaram says he is keen to start a conversation about racism in India, in light of an increasing number of attacks against Africans in the country.

Pictured: Wandoh from Chad with two young children in Bangalore, 2016

The photo series is currently being exhibited in five cities across India and Shantaram hopes to expand the project into a documentary. Shantaram says he has been overwhelmed by response to the project.

"My African friends see this work as giving them a voice," he said.

"What these portraits do is put a human in front of you, we can all read a dry newspaper report and read about how do and so did such and such. You look at a human being in front of you and they become real."

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

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