The “ideological infrastructure of British rule in India” is the perfect India that the British dreamed of creating. With all the modalities and supposed improvements the British implemented, including law alterations and clothing rules, the India they imagined was, and always was, just an ideal. In practice, such a perfect form of colonialism is rare and virtually impossible. However, there is one way to create an ideological land – through photojournalism.
The photos in this journal were extracted from a publication by Frederic A. Sharf, titled “Northwest Frontier Church Missionary Society 1910-1912.” The album was originally created to document and report the progress of the Church Missionary Society’s work in India; specific locations include Peshawar, Amritsar, Mussoorie, Simla, and Lahore. To further narrow the subjects of the photographs, I’ve extracted 6 photos that represent the distinct British colonial rule of India, and what significance each holds in understanding this time period. Cohen discusses several modalities in Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge, but three in particular can be exemplified through photography – The Observational/Travel Modality, The Museological Modality, and The Surveillance Modality.
The Observational Modality is arguably the most well represented modality through photojournalism, since the subjects are chosen by the photographer to fit their agenda. Cohen states, “What is observed and reported is mediated by particular socio-political contexts as well as historically specific aesthetic principles, such as the ‘sublime,’ the ‘picturesque,’ the ‘romantic,’ and the ‘realistic.'” (Cohen, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge, p. 7) Since the photos below were developed as a form of documentation to show progress, each and every subject will show an ideal or romanticism to appease the motherland. The Museological Modality is the collecting and understanding of native arts, architectures, scripts, and other historically significant artifacts. In addition, the invention of the camera created a new category of depiction, showing a more raw and natural side of colonialism. Finally the Surveillance Modality, a form of control where the power figure keeps distance from the locals to either show dominance, or because they are afraid of showing fear. Cohen writes, “They were uncomfortable in the narrow confines of a city street, a bazaar, a mela – anywhere they were surrounded by their Indian subjects.” (Cohen, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge, p. 10) This can be seen in several of the photos below, and is an underlying issue in the power struggle the British face later on.
Photo 1:
Two photos of a British man and woman posing under the same tree. I chose these photos as the first of the series because of the subject’s facial expressions; the man has a stern, borderline menacing look, while the woman is smiling with her hands behind her back. This photo, and photo 2 are displayed side-by-side to show the juxtaposition of colonizers and natives.
Photo 2:
The demeanor in this photo is strikingly different from the first photo. The men are outpatients in a hospital in Peshawar listening to gospel music. Cohen describes faraway non-European lands as wild, and even explains the role of facial hair and clothing and their barbaric tones. This photo, practically the exact opposite of the first photo, shows locals seemingly distraught and exhausted. For documentation purposes, the photo could show what the British leaders want to see – inferior men all under control. Whether it’s accurate or not isn’t important to a colonizer.
Photo 3:
The Chief Bishop of Tarn Taran is instructing locals, and the Chief Bishop receives fish as a gift from the natives. Here we see a visual representation of Cohen’s clothing discussion. The British power figure, who more likely than not can’t effectively communicate with locals, is instructing natives, and return receives a gift. After gifting a man who just invades their land, the three Indian men stand behind the man with a sheepish look.
Photo 4:
(Top photograph) A language lesson between an educated Indian man and two British authorities. This photograph is the only one of the entire album where both parties are smiling. What’s interesting however is the clear difference in appearance between the Indian man in the picture, and all the other Indians photographed. This man seems to be better groomed, healthier, and better dressed than the others. Since language was an important key to understanding Indian history and culture, the British may have invested money and resourced on the Indian native.
Photo 5 & 6:
The British exploitation of native Indians. The bottom two photographs depict an Indian man in a camel drawn carriage, and an Indian man on an elephant. The British colonizers obviously have access to these animals, yet the top two photographs show British women in pristinely clean dress being carried by Indians.
What do these photographs from “Northwest Frontier Church Missionary Society 1910-1912” say about British rule? Until the fall of India as a colony, these were the only visual documents people in the motherland can see. If all they had access to were photos created by British missionaries and arts brought back, why shouldn’t the British approve of their country’s colonization?
With an inaccurate depiction of India, did these photo-journals contribute to ineffective orders by leaders back in Britain? Furthermore, how different would history be if the Indians were able to develop photos of the East India Company?
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