Palanikumar - India 

M. Palani Kumar is an Indian documentary photographer from Jawaharlalpuram, Madurai, whose practice centers on socially engaged visual storytelling. He has documented the lives of marginalised communities, working-class women, and sanitation workers, and his work extends to education through photography workshops and exhibitions that empower underrepresented voices. A People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI) fellow, Palani’s photographs and projects have earned multiple national grants and recognitions for their advocacy and cultural impact