Group portrait of pupils at Girls' School, Surat

Photograph of pupils and masters posed in courtyard in front of the Girls' School at Surat in Gujarat from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (Volume 46), taken by an unknown photographer in c. 1873. Female education in India grew dramatically in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Imperial Gazetteer of India states regarding female education, "The Government did not take up the subject until 1849, when Lord Dalhousie informed the Bengal Council of Education that henceforth its functions were to embrace female education, and the first girls' school recognized by Government was founded shortly afterwards by a committee of native gentlemen. The despatch of of 1854 directed that female education should receive the frank and cordial support of Government...The Education Commission of 1882 advised that female education should receive special encouragement and special liberality...The adoption of this attitude has resulted in a considerable development of the public instruction of girls, although it still lags far behind that of their brothers. In 1871 there were 134 secondary and 1,760 primary girls' schools; in 1901-2 the numbers were 461 and 5,628 respectively."

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Vad or banian tree at Bhaunath, Junagadh

Photograph of a Banyan tree growing beside a tank at Junagadh, taken by D.H. Sykes around 1869, for the Archaeological Survey of India. The Banian (banyan) or Ficus Indica is an East Indian tree with aerial shoots that grow down into the soil forming additional trunks. In India the tree is usually regarded as a symbol of fertility as well as being an important source of livelihood for its wood. The philosophical text of the Katha Upanishad mentions the Aswattha or Inverted Tree.

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Entrance to the Nagina Masjid, Champaner

Photograph of the central portion of the façade and the minarets of the Nagina Masjid at Champaner, taken for the Archaeological Survey of India in c.1869. The ruined city of Champaner is situated north-east of Ahmadabad. It was a stronghold of Rajput kings until the Sultanate ruler Mahmud Begarha (r.1458-1511) took the city in 1484. The Nagina Masjid, or Jewel Mosque, dates to the mid-16th century and is situated just north of the citadel. It has a similar plan but on a smaller scale to the Jami Masjid, which was in turn modelled on the Jami Masjid at Ahmadabad.

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Studio portrait of a group of Parsee ladies, Bombay

Seven Parsee women, grouped around a table, taken by an unknown photographer in the 1860s, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections. The Parsees were descendants of Persians who fled to India in the seventh and eighth centuries to escape Muslim persecution. They are Zoroastrian, the religious system commonly known as fire-worship. Their communities are concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat states, especially in Bombay.

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Close view of carved marble surround from the asana or throne of a Jain temple image, Dabhoi

Photograph of a marble carving from the asana or throne of a Jain temple image at Dabhoi in Gujarat, taken for the Archaeological Survey of India in the 1870s. Dabhoi is an ancient town that was fortified by the Solanki Rajputs in the 12th century. It contains an old fort built by the Vaghela king of Patan, or Anhilvada. This view shows a part of a marble carving with elephants and lions and a Jain seated figure.

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The Jumma Musjia, or Grand Mosque at Ahmedabad

Plate seventy-six from the third volume of James Forbes'"Oriental Memoirs". The city of Ahmadabad was founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah who also built the Jami Masjid, or the main congregational mosque. It 'stands in the middle of the city adorned by two lofty minarets, elegantly proportioned and richly decorated: each minaret contains a circular flight of steps leading to a gallery near the summit'. To Forbes it was a wonderful example of an architecture where 'grandeur and simplicity unite, and fills the mind with reverential awe.'

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Studio portrait of an Parsee woman and child, Bombay

Studio portrait of a woman standing and a child seated on European style chair taken at Mumbai, India. This photograph is from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections and was exhibited in the 1867 Paris Exhibition. This image was probably by William Johnson despite the crediting of the image to Hurrichund Chintamon. The Parsees, or Parsis, are descendants of Persians who fled to India in the seventh and eighth centuries to escape Muslim persecution. Their communities are concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat states, especially in Bombay. The Parsis are Zorastrian, often described as fire-worshippers. However, they do not worship fire, instead they revere many aspects of nature as manifestations of the divinity of Ahura Mazdah.

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Studio portrait of chiefs from Kathiawar, Gujarat

Large group portrait of chiefs from Kathiawar, by an unknown photographer, c. 1870, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections. Kaithawar is the peninsular of Gujarat (India) which juts out into the Arabian Sea, between the Gulf of Kachchh and the Gulf of Khambat. In the 19th century ethnographical prints were produced by large photographic firms operating in India as well as by smaller or temporary studios to meet European demands for souvenirs from the East. Figures were often posed to display their characteristic attributes and artefacts.

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Entrance to the Old Palace, Palitana

Photograph of the old palace at Palitana in Gujarat, taken by D.H. Sykes in 1869, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (volume 7: Western India). This view shows the carved wooden gate arch, with a camel in foreground.The Vijay Vilas Palace was built in 1906 AD by Yuvraj Vijay Sinhji of Palitana, a member of the same Gohil Rajput clan as the Maharajahs of Bhavnagar. The palace was once the country retreat of the Gohil Rajputs. It offers a splendid view of the Shatrunjaya hill, a Jain place of pilgrimage crowned with innumerable multi-spired temples, which rises 600 metres above the plain around Palitana.

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General view of a Torana arch or Kirttistambha, Kapadvanj

Photograph of a richly-carved archway at Kapadvanj in Gujarat, taken by a photographer of the Archaeological Survey of India in the 1870s.Toranas are gateways, usually of stone, marking the entrance to a Buddhist shrine or a Hindu temple. The one in this view consists of two pillars and a transverse architrave. The whole torana is covered of extremely elaborate sculpture.

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Women gathering cowdung, Ahmadabad

Photograph of women gathering cowdung at Ahmadabad in Gujarat, taken by Shivashanker Narayen in c. 1870, from the Archaeological Survey of India. Narayen contributed to the book 'The People of India', published by the India Museum in 1868-75. After photography was introduced into India in the 1840s it rapidly grew in popularity, particularly as a means to record the vast diversity of people and their dress, manners, trades, customs and religions. Cow dung is collected and made into flat round 'patties' which are dried on walls and roofs and then sold as fuel and used extensively on cooking fires and for heating. It has many other uses, including fertiliser and as a flooring material when mixed with mud and water.

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Women preparing cowdung cakes for fuel

Photograph of two women fashioning cow dung into flat cakes at Ahmadabad in Gujarat, taken by Shivashanker Narayen in c. 1870, from the Archaeological Survey of India. Narayen contributed to the book 'The People of India', published by the India Museum in 1868-75. After photography was introduced into India in the 1840s it rapidly grew in popularity, particularly as a means to record the vast diversity of people and their dress, manners, trades, customs and religions. Cow dung is collected and made into flat round 'patties' which are dried on walls and roofs and then sold as fuel and used extensively on cooking fires and for heating. It has many other uses, including fertiliser and as a flooring material when mixed with mud and water.

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