British raj, period of direct British rule over the Indian subcontinent following the uprising of 1857 and the abolition of the East India Company’s role in managing the region. It was instituted with the Government of India Act of 1858 and lasted until the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947.

Various designs were proposed for the first Star of India flag in 1863, keeping similar flag designs adopted in other British colonies such as Canada and Australia, combining symbols of Imperial authority such as the Union Jack and the royal crown with symbols specific to the colony in question.

As with the Mughals, architecture under European colonial rule became an emblem of power designed to endorse the occupying power. Numerous European countries invaded India and created architectural styles reflective of their ancestral and adopted homes.

In 1858, British Crown rule was established in India, ending a century of control by the East India Company. The life and death struggle that preceded this formalisation of British control lasted...

Contrary to other post-colonial governments in Africa and Asia, the statues and streets named after English viceroys remained in India for decades after independence. It was during the 1960s and 1970s that those street names began to be replaced by those of Indian heroes.