Monday Musings: Futility vs Utility

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By Amitabh Srivastava, Edited By Adam Rizvi, The India Observer, TIO: Not surprised to find the World Press Photo declaring the following image as the Photograph of the Year 2025. The global Chair of the Jury, Lucy Conticello, mentioned the reasons for selecting this one among the hundreds that were received. “Three topics emerged from that pool that define the 2025 World Press Photo edition: Conflict, Migration, and Climate Change.”

But like true professionals, the jury chose not to get bogged down by emotional outbursts and instead gave the image a positive turn. “Another way of seeing them is as stories of resilience, family, and community,” the statement added.

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The picture that bagged the first prize is that of Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024. While his family was trying to escape the assault, Mahmoud turned back to urge others onward to fight. Reports say that an explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other. Now in Qatar, Mahmoud is reportedly learning to use his feet to play games on his phone, write, and open doors. His dream is simple: to get prosthetics and live life like any other child.

The photographer, who lives in Gaza and was herself evacuated in December 2023, resides in the same Doha apartment complex as Mahmoud. This proximity made it easier for her to highlight their plight—an advantage many journalists may not be privileged enough to have.

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Children are disproportionately affected by all tragedies—be it war, floods, earthquakes, or fires. One such fire in June 1988 in Delhi’s largest slum, Jahangirpuri, left hundreds of children orphaned. This tragedy moved Mr. Amod K. Kanth, then a senior IPS officer with the Delhi Police, to start a shelter home for these children, called Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre.

Today, this organization—still led by its founder and mentor Mr. Kanth—has, over the last 36 years, spread across 13 Indian states. It engages in a range of developmental activities such as skilling, education, and rescuing children from child labour and human trafficking. Through 13 projects nationwide, it aims to empower children to become stronger human beings. His unblemished track record deserves at least a Nobel. Hopefully, he will receive international recognition this month as he is already in the USA, working to expand Prayas globally through the ‘Friends of Prayas’ initiative based in New Jersey.

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Fast forward to the photograph. The World Press Photo jury further commented: “The photograph of a young Gazan boy, Mahmoud, speaks to the long-term costs of war, the silences that perpetuate violence, and the role of journalism in exposing these realities. Without shying away from the corporeal impacts of war, the photo approaches conflict and statelessness from a human angle, shedding light on the physical and psychological traumas civilians have been forced to—and will continue to—endure through industrial-scale killing and warfare.”

The picture is of Mahmoud Ajjour, aged nine. The photographer is Samar Abu Elouf from The New York Times.

This image took me on a nostalgic trip, back to when I witnessed the India-Pakistan war in 1971. I was then a first-year MA English student at Delhi University. Though India won the war under the leadership of the then Prime Minister and there was euphoria all around as Pakistan was split into two countries—one being Bangladesh—I found myself in a different frame of mind.

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Through my reading, I began to question: Were the soldiers fighting truly so emotionally charged that they would willingly destroy and kill other human beings? Did they really consider themselves the heroes they were portrayed to be?

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Curated and Compiled by Humra Kidwai

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