The Passage to India
The British dominions in India took shape gradually. In the very early years of the 17th century British merchants of the East India Company set out to trade with the fabulous Mughal empire. As that empire declined, the British took political and military control of Indian territory, defeating the French and various Indian rulers to become the dominant power. Britain ruled India through the East India Company until after the terrible rebellion of 1857-58, when India came to be ruled directly by the British crown.As the British presence in India grew, Britons increasingly went to India to run businesses and as administrators, soldiers, and missionaries. By the 19th century and into the 20th a life in India became a regular existence for many English men and women. Their personal motives were various: to make money, to find excitement, to improve their status, to maintain family tradition, and -- as a grand ideal of imperial service formed in Victorian times -- to serve their own nation and India itself. In many ways their personal motives are a microcosm of the reasons European nations and their societies sought imperial expansion.
Sometimes generations of the same family went to India. Some were born there, others recruited out of university or public school to join the police or the civil or the education or forest service. Whatever their backgrounds, those who went found themselves on a journey to a world very different from what they knew in the British Isles. Their literal passage on a steamship -- from cool England, through Gibraltar and across the increasingly foreign Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal (symbolic divider of West from East), into the sun-scorched Red Sea and steamy Indian Ocean to a land full of new sounds, sights, and smells -- was more than a mere trip but a rite of transition which often made a powerful impression.
I NOTICED ANY PICTURE OF BRITISH WRONGS DONE IN INDIA IS REMOVED BY HACKERS
"Runjeet Singh and His Suwarree, or Cavalcade of Seiks"; steel
engraving after a drawing by G.F. White; 1837._and_his_Suwarree%2C_or_Cavalcade%2C_of_Seiks_(Sikhs)_Encamped_under_a_Banyan_Tree_on_the_River_Sutlej%2C%2522_a_steel_engraving_by_Fisher_and_Son%2C_London%2C_1837%2C_based_on_a_drawing_made_in_1831.jpg&docid=X2wLHwLEMNtnbM&tbnid=sprGvzydDlNH6M&vet=12ahUKEwih4tzzpbmQAxXzzTgGHb3OO-gQM3oECBgQAA..i&w=2000&h=1447&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwih4tzzpbmQAxXzzTgGHb3OO-gQM3oECBgQAA)
Licensable
_and_his_Suwarree,_or_Cavalcade,_of_Seiks_(Sikhs)_Encamped_under_a_Banyan_Tree_on_the_River_Sutlej,%22_a_steel_engraving_by_Fisher_and_Son,_London,_1837,_based_on_a_drawing_made_in_1831.jpg){kind=small}
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who ruled his co-religionist Sikhs in a kingdom that centered on the Punjab, was the last powerful independent ruler on the Indian subcontinent, others having been defeated, their lands annexed by the expanding British dominion. After his death in 1839, the Sikh kingdom also crumbled to British power.
Family tradition: Colonel W.A. Salmon,
who served in India in the 1930s with the Highland Light Infantry
and as aide to the Governor of Sind, poses with a portrait of an ancestor
who was in East India Company Service; photograph by
Rosan Augusta Jordan; 1979.
&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fpictures.abebooks.com%2Finventory%2F31351403158_4.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.abebooks.com%2FP-O-Pocket-Book-Peninsular-Oriental%2F31351403158%2Fbd&docid=pSMA8LZ1QIxSKM&tbnid=TMQmamYHFW8YxM&vet=12ahUKEwiRvZmrp7mQAxWiSmwGHe42Dc8QM3oECBMQAA..i&w=905&h=1200&hcb=2&itg=1&ved=2ahUKEwiRvZmrp7mQAxWiSmwGHe42Dc8QM3oECBMQAA)
The P. and O. Pocket Book, 2nd edition (London: Peninsular and
Oriental Steam Navigation Co., 1899).
The P. and O. was widely considered the premier shipping line for
transportation to India ("a junior branch of the Royal Navy,"
according to some). The little guidebook provided for passengers
(first published in 1888) included information on ports of call,
essays on countries served, advice for travellers, maps, and
meteorological tables.
Souvenir spoon from the P. and O. liner "Himalaya"; 1950s.
%20trace%20the%20voyage%20through%20Suez%20to%20Indian%20destinations.%20Cards%20depicting%20vessels%20were%20produced%20by%20Raphael%20Tuck%20&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsc0.blr1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Farticle%2F203288-wqdqbcqesk-1725888561.jpeg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.in%2Farticle%2F1072969%2Fa-postcard-from-india-how-a-colonial-worldview-travelled-the-empire-and-beyond&docid=ukpeFADPPkrb2M&tbnid=q7RplFLp9CBl6M&vet=12ahUKEwiY8Iitr7mQAxUMzzgGHaeyJWQQM3oECBIQAA..i&w=1200&h=630&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwiY8Iitr7mQAxUMzzgGHaeyJWQQM3oECBIQAA)
%20trace%20the%20voyage%20through%20Suez%20to%20Indian%20destinations.%20Cards%20depicting%20vessels%20were%20produced%20by%20Raphael%20Tuck%20&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theheritagelab.in%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F09%2FCalcutta-Collage_4.0.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theheritagelab.in%2Fcalcutta-postcards-colonial%2F&docid=D8h9xxG8soLQMM&tbnid=0PzxMSbNqPeu9M&vet=12ahUKEwiY8Iitr7mQAxUMzzgGHaeyJWQQM3oECBMQAA..i&w=1200&h=855&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwiY8Iitr7mQAxUMzzgGHaeyJWQQM3oECBMQAA)
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%20trace%20the%20voyage%20through%20Suez%20to%20Indian%20destinations.%20Cards%20depicting%20vessels%20were%20produced%20by%20Raphael%20Tuck%20&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsc0.blr1.digitaloceanspaces.com%2Finline%2F829156-upfpihxoag-1487669049.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.in%2Fmagazine%2F829156%2Fthe-story-of-the-elusive-man-who-made-these-fascinating-pastel-postcards-of-calcutta&docid=_uAAMMZrIbQYDM&tbnid=8cOYZkyYQKRkmM&vet=12ahUKEwiY8Iitr7mQAxUMzzgGHaeyJWQQM3oECB4QAA..i&w=1074&h=686&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwiY8Iitr7mQAxUMzzgGHaeyJWQQM3oECB4QAA)
Postcards (late 19th century-1920s) trace the voyage through Suez to Indian destinations. Cards depicting vessels were produced by Raphael Tuck and Sons and provided to travelers by steamship companies, in this case the P. and O. and the Orient Lines. "Bombay, from Harbour" is from a Tuck "Bombay" series.
&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F474x%2Fd7%2F24%2Fcb%2Fd724cbd80fc579750b0d2b367093a1c9.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fin.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2Ffinally-i-land-in-india-in-ravenhills-indian-sketch-book-by-l-ravenhill-london-punch-office-1903-english--353110427010316036%2F&docid=U5OAfLCf54GF8M&tbnid=d2_K06siH5kIBM&vet=12ahUKEwisouS9r7mQAxWezjgGHRUHAa4QM3oECBMQAA..i&w=458&h=600&hcb=2&itg=1&ved=2ahUKEwisouS9r7mQAxWezjgGHRUHAa4QM3oECBMQAA)
Finally, "I land in India," in Raven-Hill's Indian Sketch Book by L. Raven-Hill (London: "Punch" Office, 1903). Englishmen arriving in India were a popular subject for illustrations, often humorous ones. Such illustrations commonly depict his confusion or discomfort upon first encountering the "natives" and are indicative of the feeling of entering a very different world that many British encountered upon going to India.
Running Your Little Empire
Those who went to India remembered it as a place of hard work and recalled sometimes resenting British popular stereotypes of them as having lives of leisure--waited on by servants, spending time in posh clubs, attending balls, riding to hounds. They saw the work of empire as demanding, difficult, and at times dangerous. Numerically "thin on the ground," they often assumed great responsibilities and administered vast territories or supervised numerous underlings.The Indian Civil Service (or ICS) provided the men who governed India. Graduates of British universities who had passed an examination and interviews and then undertaken a year of training in England, most eventually worked as district officers, virtual rulers of the several hundred districts which were basic administrative units. Assisted by perhaps a few other Europeans as well as Indian officials and clerks, they might render legal decisions, determine land tenure, oversee local police, recommend public works projects, provide famine relief when necessary, even hunt leopards or tigers which menaced villagers. Their power and prestige were such that they were jokingly called "the heaven born" and likened to the Brahmans who stood at the top of the Indian caste system.
Other men assumed administrative positions in such organizations as the Forest Service, which cared for great jungle preserves; the Education Service, which ran schools; the Survey of India, which mapped the subcontinent; the state-owned railways; the Police; and the Political Service (made up of already-experienced officers from the ICS or the Army), which dealt with the Indian princes who ruled large portions of India under British oversight (they also staffed British consulates in parts of China and Persia and helped administer the sheikdoms of the Persian Gulf). Others joined commercial enterprises, such as the great trading houses of Calcutta and tea, coffee or jute plantations.
The military life also took many to India. India, in fact, had two large armies. The British Army posted a big part of its strength to India. But there was also the largely separate Indian Army, with British officers and Indian soldiers. Stationed in far-flung cantonments, Army officers worked in support of the civil administrators in maintaining control and engaged in the intermittent warfare which broke out in such areas as the Northwest Frontier, where potentially rebellious tribesmen kept the region unsettled.
Official India was virtually all male, but wives would often play major roles in their husbands' work, touring with them, ministering to local needs, and discovering local problems. Women might also lead more independent lives in mission work or in healing professions.
Christmas card produced for members of the Junior Naval and Military
Club; 1930s. "96" refers to club's London address; the card refers to
distant imperial postings of many members, such as this "gunner"
(Royal Artillery officer) depicted with his Indian mountain battery
on the Northwest Frontier.
Wife of an ICS officer on tour in Surat; photograph courtesy of the Centre of South Asian Studies
, University of Cambridge; 1929.
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Advertisement for tents in the Hoghunter's Annual (Calcutta) for
1930. Tents were an essential ingredient of English life in India. Officials, particularly district officers, commonly spent a significant part of the year "on tour," traveling around the areas of which they were in charge, listening to residents, dispensing decisions, and inspecting conditions. The tents were often commodious and a touring official might have virtually a multi-room canvas house; they were taken down by servants in the morning and sent ahead to the next camp site and set up, ready for the officer's arrival; such conveniences as portable metal bath tubs would be carried along.
"Our
Moonshee," lithograph in Curry and Rice on Forty Plates by
George Francklin Atkinson; 3rd edition (London: Day and Son, 1859?).
Because they needed to conduct business in Indian languages, British soldiers and administrators labored to acquire local vernaculars, through the aid of a munshi or language instructor. Atkinson's lithographs depict with dry humor life in a "typical" English "station" in the second half of the 19th century.
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![Bombay Photo Images[ Mumbai]: British ...](https://www.google.com/imgres?q=%0D%0A%22A%20Doctor%27s%20Travelling%20Tent%22%3B%20color%20postcard%20(%20London%3A%20All-British%20Picture%20Co.%2C%20Ltd.%3B%20no.%209%20in%20the%20%22Indian%20Medical%22%20series)%3B%2020th%20century.&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lib.lsu.edu%2Fsites%2Fall%2Ffiles%2Fsc%2Fexhibits%2Fe-exhibits%2Findia%2Fpc4d15b.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Foldphotosbombay.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F11%2Fimages-of-british-india.html&docid=EIy6rFDXq5NQZM&tbnid=CFYuPQAQKz4MRM&vet=12ahUKEwjSqfrEqLmQAxXCUGcHHRE3K5YQM3oECBUQAA..i&w=600&h=389&hcb=2&itg=1&ved=2ahUKEwjSqfrEqLmQAxXCUGcHHRE3K5YQM3oECBUQAA)
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"A
Doctor's Travelling Tent"; color postcard ( London: All-British
Picture Co., Ltd.; no. 9 in the "Indian Medical" series); 20th century.
%20and%20his%20wife%3B%20Company%20School%20painting%2C%20South%20India%2C%20Tanjore%20artist%3B%20late%2018th%20century.&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FFuJHhleaMAAVoTz.png&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FAnuraag_Shukla%2Fstatus%2F1648959330618871809%3Flang%3Dbg&docid=W3aI71UWP1q41M&tbnid=iQOWLNsR6AotNM&vet=12ahUKEwj279vYqLmQAxXiSWwGHXPbCU4QM3oECBIQAA..i&w=430&h=602&hcb=2&itg=1&ved=2ahUKEwj279vYqLmQAxXiSWwGHXPbCU4QM3oECBIQAA)
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%20and%20his%20wife%3B%20Company%20School%20painting%2C%20South%20India%2C%20Tanjore%20artist%3B%20late%2018th%20century.&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fd%2Fd7%2FTanjore-style_painting_of_a_Sikh_couple_from_South_India%252C_circa_1805.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcommons.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3ATanjore-style_painting_of_a_Sikh_couple_from_South_India%2C_circa_1805.jpg&docid=sPwJfMOlIBVbMM&tbnid=p3nN4WVkgZePaM&vet=12ahUKEwj279vYqLmQAxXiSWwGHXPbCU4QM3oECBYQAA..i&w=708&h=1000&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwj279vYqLmQAxXiSWwGHXPbCU4QM3oECBYQAA)
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Indian sepoy (infantryman) and his wife; Company School painting,
South India, Tanjore artist; late 18th century.
From an early period the East India Company raised its own army, which evolved into the Indian Army.
The youthful Superintendent of the Hill States inspecting
with local Indian officials; photograph courtesy of the
Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge; 20th century.
The Governor of Sind inspecting a canal project; photograph courtesy of
the
Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge; 20th century.
Wife of Indian Political Service member visiting women of the royal
family of a princely state under her husband's direction; photograph
courtesy of the
Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge; 1920s.
![Bombay Photo Images[ Mumbai]: British ...](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0c_dO8qwGpnHWhsYnBzkZVckdUgoO5jztkFG5-dE1DRfbm5_SpnAtXDIF492FQNFmWvZwLzWoVhbRCLdgEGkqtq1KWDogeVLfbEQ6apqGZnUVdQsfgTCgCrzt_xdHpip9UdqWBLlAW0FYkHghuHUGtRJTqR3yqLon_54uSHwPLrbN7hUVeXmTYyZv_U-Z=rw)
"An Artillery Elephant on Duty"; hand-colored lithograph by Captain C. Gold; 1799.
Practice firing from
the walls of a fort on the Northwest Frontier; photograph courtesy of the
Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge;
20th century.
The Frontier was the loosely controlled area between British India and Afghanistan inhabited by various tribal groups. The British and Indian armies frequently operated in the region to maintain order and their small campaigns provided what was considered valuable military experience for the troops.
Licensable
Operations and fortifiations on the Frontier: "Convoy of A.T.
Carts from Paiaza. 100 Yds. Above the Barrari Tangi"; postcard (Simla:
Army Canteen Board), 20th century; "Shagi Fort.
With the Khyber Hills in the Background. N.W.F.P."; postcard
(Peshawar: K.C. Mehra & Sons), 20th century.
English officer with his men, members of the Frontier Constabulary;
photograph courtesy of the
Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge; 1912.
The Frontier Constabulary was a paramilitary force which patrolled part of the Northwest Frontier.
An officer of the Survey of India mapping in the Himalayas; photograph
courtesy of Major General R.C.A. Edge; 1930s.
The young Maharajah of Bastar with his British guardians; photograph
courtesy of the
Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge; 1937.
A significant portion of India continued to be ruled by Indian princes under indirect British control. When a minor ascended to a princely throne or if there was gross mismanagement or scandal in a princely state, a British official would be given more direct control. But normally a rajah or nawab had considerable independence to administer his own dominions under the influence of a British Resident or Political Agent.
An Introduction
Acknowledgements
1. The Passage to India | interviews
2. Running Your Empire | interviews
3. Life in the Bungalows | interviews
4. Imperial Diversions | interviews
5. Never the Twain? | interviews
6. No more India to go to | interviews
[14]An officer of the Survey of India mapping in the Himalayas; photograph courtesy of Major General R.C.A. Edge; 1930s.
[15]The young Maharajah of Bastar with his British guardians; photograph courtesy of the Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge; 1937.A significant portion of India continued to be ruled by Indian princes under indirect British control. When a minor ascended to a princely throne or if there was gross mismanagement or scandal in a princely state, a British official would be given more direct control. But normally a rajah or nawab had considerable independence to administer his own dominions under the influence of a British Resident or Political Agent.
Two Ensigns of he Royal East INdia Volunteers (EIC's private army) kneel as the Chaplain consecrates regimental colours. Painting in India House Lib, c. 1799
Robert Clive 1757 Battle at Plassy
Siraj -ud-daula
political map of India in 1800
| political map of India in 1857 |
British photograph of Maharaja
British drawing of Indian labourers
.jpg){kind=small}
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Memsahib in a rickshaw
"Mummy and her Tiger", 1920
20th century: Leader and Sowars
INDIAN PRINCE WITH ENGLISH RULERS[ Bhairam Deo died in 1891 , leaving a minor son Rudrapratap Deo .During his minority the state was managed by government until January 1908 when the young Raja was installed as Feudatory Chief of Bastar.In 1910 a tribal revolt was occured against the Diwan and British government who ruled over the state.Raja Rudrapratap Deo died in 1921 and his daughter Praphul Kumari Devi ascended the throne in 1922.Later in 1927, she was married to Praphul KumarBhanj Deo,who belonged to the royal family Mayurbhanj of Orissa.Praphul Kumari Devi died in 1936 in London and her elder son Maharaja Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo 'Kakatiya'ascended the throne in 1936 at a minor age.The famous Maharani hospital at Jagdalur was built in memory of Maharani Praphul Kumari Devi in 1937.Later in 1941, the Air strip had been made at Jagdalpur.One bridge was also constructed during this time over river indravati.In 1948, Bastar state has been merged in Indian Union.
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Munshi (language teacher) instructing new arrival
Life in the Bungalows
Recollections of English domestic life in India present a picture of an existence both contented and full of difficulties, both luxurious and spartan. Britons generally occupied commodious bungalows (the word itself comes from Indian terminology meaning something from Bengal and referred to a particular housetype originally from that province) and commonly employed numerous servants to run the household. Yet even into the 1940s the house would not have electricity, running water, refrigeration; it would have been open enough for insects, rats, snakes and--in remote areas--even wild animals to invade. Moves to new postings were frequent and thus life was unsettled. It was thought important to send children home to England for schooling, so that family members were separated. There were likely few other Europeans nearby, so that people--especially wives with no official work, possibly no children at home, and only a menage of servants to interact with all day--might feel very isolated. Indeed, women who found outside interests--whether their husbands' work, local charitable pursuits, or the outdoor life--were thought to be happiest."Dooreahs or Dog Keepers Leading Out Dogs"; aquatint by Samuel Hewitt from a drawing by Captain Thomas Williamson; 1806.
An establishment which was an Indian version of an English country estate was an ideal striven for by earlier British sojourners in India, few of whom could have ever achieved anything so ambitious in England.
"Christmas in India"; chromoxylograph from a drawing by E.K. Johnson;
1881. An idealized picture of British home life: attentive servants and
happy children (who would be packed off to England for schooling before
long).
Bungalow occupied by a British family in Ranchi; 20th Century; photograph
courtesy of Major General R.C.A. Edge.
Tea plantation bungalow; 1930s.
Interior of tea plantation bungalow; 1930s. Though large and sometimes well furnished, British bungalows in India might have very simple furnishings. Sometimes furniture was simply hired from Indian contractors.
English child on pony held by servant; 20th century; photograph courtesy
of the Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge.
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![Bombay Photo Images[ Mumbai]: British ...](https://www.google.com/imgres?q=Advertisement%20for%20cooling%20equipment%20in%20the%20Hoghunter%27s%20Annual%20(Calcutta)%20for%201929.&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lib.lsu.edu%2Fsites%2Fall%2Ffiles%2Fsc%2Fexhibits%2Fe-exhibits%2Findia%2Fpc4d15b.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Foldphotosbombay.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F11%2Fimages-of-british-india.html&docid=EIy6rFDXq5NQZM&tbnid=CFYuPQAQKz4MRM&vet=12ahUKEwip3vvZrLmQAxUNd2wGHe88EXAQM3oECFcQAA..i&w=600&h=389&hcb=2&itg=1&ved=2ahUKEwip3vvZrLmQAxUNd2wGHe88EXAQM3oECFcQAA)
Advertisement for cooling equipment in the Hoghunter's Annual (Calcutta)
for 1929.
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Behind the Bungalow by "EHA," illustrated by F.C. MacRae, 14th
edition (London: W. Thacker & Co; Calcutta and Simla: Thacker, Spink & Co.,
1929). Originally published in 1889 (reprinting earlier newspaper sketches),
this little volume went through numerous printings. Each chapter details
the activities of some type of servant and the book's popularity testifies
to the fascination their household servants held for the British (most
of whom could never have hoped to maintain such an establishment in England).
Servant figurines; painted clay and lacquered fabric; late 19th
century; and servant figurine; painted clay; 20th century.
Such figurines were popular souvenirs available in great variety.
These represent a bearer or butler, a bhisti or water carrier, and a
sweeper.
