Colonial
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Muslim League protestors wave black flags at members of the first Cabinet of the Interim Government of India (1946)
Before transitioning into a Dominion, India had an official Interim government formed from the Constituent Assembly. The Muslim League, who shared power at a central level with the Indian National Congress, opted to sit out of the government in protest as three of the five cabinet posts reserved for Muslims were given to non-Muslim League [Continue Reading]
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British soldiers walk through Amritsar surveying the damage caused by rioting (1947)
Two British Raj soldiers walk through and inspect the damage caused by the 1947 riots in Amritsar. The soldiers, a Major and a Private belong to the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, a regiment which has a long history in India dating all the way back to 1854 on their first deployment, where they helped suppress the [Continue Reading]
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An elephant pushes a loaded railroad car onto the tracks in Assam (1945)
A boxcar, likely filed with tea for freight transport is loaded onto the track. The elephant is used to remove the need for a shunting engine. More about this practice can be learnt here: When elephants were on the payroll of Indian Railways – TOI Even more interesting than the use of the elephants is [Continue Reading]
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Maharaja of Jaipur, Man Singh II, arrives in England by Flying Boat to attend the London Victory Day Celebrations (1946)
In this photo we see, from left to right, Raoraja Abhey Singh, ADC to the Maharaja, the maharaja’s two sons, the Maharaja of Jaipur and a Traffic Assistant of the British Overseas Airways Corporation. The Maharaja is in his uniform, as he served in the British Indian Army during WW2. He was the first to [Continue Reading]
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Imperial Police arrests members of the Bombay Provincial Congress Committee after they refuse to disband (1932)
An interesting photo where we see young and charismatic members of the “eight war council of the Bombay Provincial Congress Committee” being arrested after refusing to disband their meeting. The image depicts a diverse group of characters, including an Imperial police officer in a sharp white colonial uniform, forcefully dragging a man into a van. [Continue Reading]
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Colonial era Dhobi irons various Clothes using a Charcoal Iron (1860-1870)
This Carte de Visite taken around 1860-1870 by Bourne and Shepherd Photographers, is part of a series of portraits that were taken to archive the various ethnic types and occupations of the world. Surprisingly, you can still find original copies of this photograph, likely from the original printing run, for sale here. This photograph can [Continue Reading]
