British Raj Movies

Amateur film of a road trip through northeastern India, showing traditional dances and a gigantic flower float.

Extraordinary footage of prayers in the Punjabi capital.

Dignitaries including the Nizam of Hyderabad gather to celebrate the Durbar in honour of George V, who arrives by boat in Bombay.

A state welcome for a Handley Page aircraft arriving in Kolkata.

Gorgeously dreamlike colour images of (then) French India – present-day Puducherry.

Evocative observational scenes of Simla and Lahore, including the gorgeous Shalimar Gardens and Anarkali Bazar.

Jaw-dropping acrobatics for royal visitors.

Early film of a crowded street scene in an unidentified Indian city.

Rare stencil-coloured images of early 20th century Delhi during a Muslim festival.

Film showing the Viceregal party entering Delhi on lavishly decorated elephants, as part of the Coronation durbar of 1903.

Salvation Army General Commissioner Edward Higgins features in the this film of a brass band parade through a village.

Fashionably attired folk attend the races in Kolkata.

Scenes at a garden party given by Earl Lytton, Governor of Bengal, at Government House, Calcutta.

What’s the hidden message inside this intriguing film, shot at a Salvation Army establishment in western India?

From the arrival of a new viceroy to street markets, this amateur film captures the diversity of life in colonial India.

The inauguration of a unit of the Indian Defence Force in Calcutta.

Motorcars take shape - outdoors in a Kolkata yard.

The Maharajah of Jind inspects the guard of honour.