We will be leaving on our trip to India next Thursday. I plan on taking tons of pictures, but was wondering if I should request permission from people before taking their picture. Please advise.

If they are aware that you are taking their picture it doesn't hurt to ask. A telephoto lens helps - we took tons of photos without asking for permission this way. Be aware that by taking photos, you will be a target for those seeking handouts - on occasion we had people running toward us from a distance to ask for money. If you come upon a camel driver or snake charmer whose obvious role in life is to pose for pictures, do give them a small tip for their services.

Thank you!

As with anywhere else, you should ask first. Pointing at the camera, smiling & raising your eyebrows gets around any language barrier. Sneaking photos turns you into a sort of paparazzi. How would you like it? Especially given that many of the people you see may have no choice but to live or work in public. And I didn't find that taking photos in India made me any more liable for handout requests than I already was.

IMO you should always ask permission before taking a picture of anyone - just good manners really!

I should point out that we did not take pictures of individuals without permission. However we did take pictures of scenes with multiple individuals where it would have been impractical to ask each person's permission. Here is an example:

http://tinyurl.com/y5o4s2

Craig
Greatb photos of the Tiger!

I found a lot of people in India were asking for permission to take photos of me! So I would do the same!

Craig - "I should point out that we did not take pictures of individuals without permission" - glad to hear it. But that's certainly not the implication of your first post. It also looked like all the people in the picture you link to knew their photo was being taken. I do agree that for general street scenes you can't ask permission, but you should check out the reaction of the people near you to your camera.

Maybe I'm feeling particularly sensitive about this because at the end of my last trip, after I reached W. Europe, far too many of my fellow-tourists had their videocams on full time, and I don't like having my photo taken.

The best pictures of people are ladies. For men, the ladies are shy and the boys and men stand stiffly upright. I (a man), set my camera with my back to my subjects and then turn and click before the reaction sets in!

I always asked permission to take photos of people while in Goa and was asked for "money" with the hand gesture a couple of times: -). But that was fun!