Photography in Colonial and Postcolonial India as an Agent of Cultural Dominance (original) (raw)

This research paper explores the use of photography in colonial India. The thesis of the paper is that British photographers, through their choice of subjects and editing of their works, created a romanticized image of India as the British wished to see it. More recent photography has focused on the reality of the lives of the Indian people. Thus photography has moved from from functioning as an agent of colonial domination and political propaganda to a tool used to bring aid and compassion to those in need. Photography in India 4 Introduction Photography has been propagated as a tool that conveys reality. It represents the signified – the thing that has been photographed. In order for the subject to be represented in a photograph, it must have physically been in front of the lens. That very quality attributed to photography led to its use as a tool by colonial Britain to exert control over its established colonies. This paper discusses the use of photography in India as an agent of...