Troops at the Red Fort

This is a picture from the early 1930s of British troops stationed at the Red Fort. The soldiers in their ‘sola topees’ (pith helmets meant for India) marching for a changeover in duties, presumably. The photograph doesn’t have much more detail than this and is an isolated image taken from what would have been an album. 

 

It is well documented that Delhi’s ‘Red Fort’ got its name to commemorate a political transformation. It changed from the Mughal ‘palace’ to a British fortification after the Rebellion of 1857. British troops were garrisoned in the area, one the one hand, to keep themselves distinct and safe from Delhi’s residents. On the other, they were there to stem any insurrection that might occur in the city. There was also a 400 yard ‘firing line’ kept clear of habitation between the Fort and the lived city. Of course, we know from historical work that any sort of distance between the ‘natives’ and ‘Europeans’ dissolved quickly. There are plenty of records on the spread of venereal disease in British troops in Delhi, for example. 

 

Anyhow, I’ve come across a few images on garrison activities in the Fort (all isolated though). The others are quite similar– troops parading either inside the Fort or assembled in Firing line area for drills. Yet there are some exceptions such as pictures of heavy armoured cars and tanks from the 1930s. The latter would have likely been mobilised as a show of force after the Civil Disobedience movements in India and kept in Delhi, especially as a new capital city was inaugurated in 1931. 

 

Indeed, troops would continue to be present in Delhi during the Second World War. Interestingly, the were joined by American GIs, loads of them. More on this another day. 

 

I’ll leave you with another picture of British troops posing for a picture at Delhi’s railway station (?) from the 1930s.