Chinky Shukla

Chinky Shukla is a documentary photographer and National Geographic Explorer based in New Delhi, India. Her work focuses on long-term visual storytelling that explores themes of cultural assimilation, environmental change, memory, and the human condition.

Since 2011, she has been documenting the far-reaching consequences of nuclear radiation in India. Her projects examine the impact of uranium mining in Jadugoda and the lives of communities living near the nuclear test site in Pokhran, Rajasthan. Through these stories, she sheds light on how historical events and industrial activities continue to shape the lives of people and landscapes decades later.

Her project "Jadugoda: The Nuclear Graveyard" documented the impact of uranium mining on local communities and contributed to wider public awareness about the issue. Her long-term project "When Buddha Stopped Smiling", supported by a National Geographic Explorer Grant, focuses on the communities living near India’s nuclear testing grounds in Pokhran, exploring themes of memory, resilience, and environmental change.

Chinky’s work has received international recognition, including nominations for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award and the Joop Swart Masterclass, and her photographs have been exhibited at photography festivals and published internationally, including in National Geographic Magazine.

In addition to her photographic practice, she actively engages with the communities she documents. In Pokhran, she has conducted photography workshops for local children, encouraging them to tell their own stories and document their surroundings through the camera. Her work continues to explore how photography can serve both as a tool for storytelling and as a means of creating dialogue around environmental and social issues.