Premium

‘Typecasting: Photographing the Peoples of India 1855–1920’ | Photographs of inhabitants of India, spanning geographies and cultures, on display at DAG

The showcase features numerous colonial ethnographic photographs and photographic material related to the inhabitants of India, spanning geographies and cultures, from the northeastern Lepcha and Bhutia tribes to the Afridis of Sind in the northwest and the Todas of the Nilgiris in the south.

4 min readNew DelhiFeb 11, 2026 12:06 PM IST

The different sections of the exhibition urge critical scrutiny to the histories and errors of typecasting. (express photo)

The Revolt of 1857 altered the governance of India in more ways than one. While it transferred power from the East India Company to the British crown, it also reshaped colonial modes of knowledge and control, including more systematic efforts to document and classify the subcontinent and its people. One such initiative was the eight-volume ‘The People of India: A Series of Photographic Illustrations with Descriptive Letterpress, The Races and Tribes of India’ (1868–75)’.

Published by the India Museum in London — with descriptive letterpress and photographs by the likes of pioneering field photographers such as Benjamin Simpson, James Waterhouse and John Burke — select folios from the work form one of the highlights of the exhibition ‘Typecasting: Photographing the Peoples of India 1855–1920’ being presented by DAG at Bikaner House until February 15.

The showcase features numerous colonial ethnographic photographs and photographic material related to the inhabitants of India, spanning geographies and cultures, from the northeastern Lepcha and Bhutia tribes to the Afridis of Sind in the northwest and the Todas of the Nilgiris in the south.

Among others are silver-gelatin prints by eminent photographers such as Samuel Bourne, Charles Shepherd, Darogha Abbas Ali, Lala Lala Deen Dayal, Edward Taurines and Hurrychand Chintamon, covering a broad time span from 1855 to 1920.

Curator Sudeshna Guha notes, “Through photographs of the colonial endeavours of typecasting the people of India, the exhibition draws attention to the construct that is a typology, or a class. It shows the uncertainties in type-making and encourages seeking a visual history of the early photography and anthropology of India beyond the colonial gaze, to reckon with the inherent mutability of photographs. For, photographs mean differently to different viewers, in different circumstances of viewing. The exhibition reminds us that photographs encourage critical reflections of the visual records of ethnographic intent.”

The different sections of the exhibition urge critical scrutiny to the histories and errors of typecasting.

Ashish Anand, CEO and Managing Director of DAG, says, “It could be said that the camera swiftly became the primary instrument for investigation in the field of modern anthropology, and the means by which representatives of the subcontinent’s innumerable and diverse communities were ‘captured’ in images for analysis and classification.”

Story continues below this ad

“Looking back, it is obvious that this process was problematic on various levels. And the project to categorise and describe the plethora of tribes, castes and communities along regional and racial lines was a colonial enterprise, driven by British perceptions and purposes.”

So, the exhibition records a broad spectrum, ranging from the rulers to the rich Parsi and Gujarati communities as well as people from lowest-income groups such as dancing girls, coolies, barbers and snake charmers. If a 1864 Samuel Bourne silver albumen photograph has a group of Kashmiri women seated together, a 1862 Charles Shepherd photograph has a group of ‘Afredees’ at Khyber pass in Peshawar. In a 1880 Scowen & Co print Sinhalese devil dancers are seen in their elaborate customs, and a turbaned dhobi in Ambala is seen in a coloured halftone from Moorli Dhur & Sons.

While the exhibition gives a carefully framed visual overview of colonial ethnographic photography, an accompanying publication edited by Guha, with essays by professors Ranu Roychoudhuri (Ahmedabad University), Suryanandini Narain (Jawaharlal Nehru University) and independent researcher Omar Khan, delves deeper into the historical, technical and ideological conditions under which these images were produced.

A note on the exhibition reads, “Critically examining the role of photography in shaping — and questioning — social typologies in colonial India, a range of photographic material — prints, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, postcards, folios and albums; and also published books — displayed in this exhibition reveal how unstable social categories can be despite their role in creating them in the first place. Taken together, this material tells the history of ethnographic photography and its effect on the British administration and the Indian population.”

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
photographs

Loading Recommendations...

Mar 05: Latest News

Live Blog