Rare Photos: What Life Was Like in British India

By Raza Mehdi

July 25, 2022

A view of Sikandar Bagh, Lucknow, after the slaughter of 2,000 Indian revolutionaries by the British forces in the First War of Indian Independence.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal king of India, just after his trial and before he departed for his exile in Burma (now known as Myanmar) in 1858.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

The photo shows the carriage of the Maharaja of Rewah at a festival held by Lord Curzon in honour of the coronation of Edward VII.

Image: Library of Congress

A picture of famine struck people during the famine of 1876-78 in Bangalore caused by drought and war.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

King George V and Queen Mary at the Delhi Durbar in 1911. The Nizam of Hyderabad can be seen paying his homage to the king and the queen.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

The Imperial Crown of India was worn by King George V in his capacity as Emperor of India at Delhi Darbar in 1911.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

The Gateway of India on its inauguration day, December 4, 1924. It is an arch monument built in Bombay to commemorate the landing of King George V and Queen Mary at Apollo Bunder on their visit to India.

Image: Myers Brothers/WikiCommons

A street hairdresser giving a haircut (pudding bowl) to a customer on Strand Road South, Kolkata.

Image: RCAHMS/PA

An unknown group of British people pose for a photograph during a tennis game in India.

Image: RCAHMS/PA

A British man sits on a horse near his bungalow entrance while an Indian servant stands beside the horse.

Image: Alamy

A group of washermen busy with work at a dhobi ghat in Calcutta (quay).

Image: RCAHMS/PA

Ships arriving at the Chandpal Ghat, the main landing site for visitors to the city along the Hooghly River, West Bengal.

Image: RCAHMS/PA

Street scene outside the east (Lions) gate, Jagganath Temple, Puri, Orissa

Image: RCAHMS/PA

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi received a big welcome in Karachi in 1916 after returning to India from South Africa. Gandhi is seated in the carriage, on the extreme right, eyes downcast, with a black flat top cap.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

British soldiers climb 250 feet up to repair the scaffold at the top of the Taj Mahal dome, where they place their initials. They covered the monument with bamboo sticks to disguise and protect it from the German and Japanese air forces during WW2.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

Indian soldiers arrive in France during the First World War. More than one million Indian soldiers were deployed to serve in the Indian Army as part of Britain's imperial war effort.

Image: Alamy

A destitute mother and her child on the sidewalk in Calcutta during the Bengal famine of 1943-44. Winston Churchill was held responsible for the famine that killed over 30 lakh people in the Bengal province.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

An image of Mahatma Gandhi leading his followers on the famous Salt March to break the British Salt Act of 1882 that prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt, a staple in their diet.

Image: Wikipedia Commons