British Raj Movies

Jaw-dropping acrobatics for royal visitors.

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

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

Lord Lytton takes up the post of Governor of Bengal.

Aristocracy, army, elephants and more mark the start of the 1903 Durbar.

The race is on - for the Viceroy's Cup.

This amateur film gives us a fair idea of the opulent life enjoyed by members of the British government in India.

Extraordinary footage of prayers in the Punjabi capital.

Amateur shots of pilgrims and temples at Haridwar, followed by rural scenes and the Gorrie family at home.

Amateur travelogue of the Kagan Valley and Darband, Pakistan.

Amateur footage of Delhi and Jaipur, from a military review to an atmospheric torchlit procession - and some armour-plated elephants.

Film of local events in Ajmer province including the fair at Pushkar.

Armoured elephants, sacred monkeys and a camel carriage from Rajasthan.

Rural life in the mountainous valley near Gilgit - now in the Northern areas of Pakistan.

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

Boats and steamers on the mud flats and lakes of the Assam district, India.

Fashionably attired folk attend the races in Kolkata.

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

Kathakali performance featuring the great Indian dancer Guru Gopinath.

The Maharajah of Kapurthala and guests travel on elephants and men catch fish on the River Bias.