Arko Datta (New Delhi, India, 1969) was attracted to photography from an early age. After an initial degree in economics, he undertook a post-graduate study in journalism and mass communication, before working with The Indian Express in Madras. He then worked at Agence France-Press (AFP), and joined Reuters in 2001. In the course of his career, he has covered events ranging from Mother Teresa's funeral and the Athens Olympics, to the separatist movement in Kashmir and the post-war scenarios in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has won numerous prizes, including two awards in the Indian Express photo competition, four first prizes and the 2004 Picture of the Year Award in Bombay's annual photojournalism awards, two Publish Asia awards, and the 2003 Best Photojournalist of the Year from Asian Photography magazine. Reuters named him 'Photographer of the Year' for his work in 2004. His publications include ‘Lost Childhood’, a book on child labor sponsored by the International Labor Organization. His pictures are also featured in a coffee table book of the most memorable pictures of India in the last 100 years, and in the Reuters picture book ‘On the Road’.
