Independence day special: 100-year-old photos of India from the British Raj era

A shoe box full of 178 photographs capturing how life was in British ruled India has been discovered in the archives of Scotland’s national collections in 2012. The glass-plate photos were found inside a size-nine shoe box by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The negatives were believed to be dated back to 1912 were found in a fragile condition.

These black and white images capture the how life was in India during the Raj era about 100 years back. The collection has photos ranging from religious ceremonies to images King George V’s visit to India to a series of photographs depicting the lifestyle of the common.

On the eve of India’s 71st Independence Day, we bring you some rare pictures that portray life during the British Raj.