Kashmiri women attending the Delhi Durbar, 1911.

 

A fascinating photograph found online, titled "Women from Kashmir for the Durbar," offers an intriguing glimpse into the imperial event. The Delhi Durbar of 1911 has typically been represented as a highly orchestrated, masculine space—a grand performance of imperial authority and control. The presence of “women from Kashmir” at the Durbar—if indeed they were attendees—raises compelling questions. It isn’t clear from the photograph whether the women were accompanied by male family members; it would have been unusual to see respectable caste Hindu women, as these women appear to be, without male chaperones. We can also see a coolie carrying their belongings, further suggesting a level of social status and purpose to their travel.

The photograph at the railway station was perhaps premeditated: with throngs of visitors arriving for the Durbar, the photographer wished to document the different regional attendees appearing for the event (therefore the reference to Kashmir). In this sense, the image fits squarely within the colonial ethnographic project.