Chiefs of Central India awaiting Lord Dufferin's Arrival

Here an eclectic group of more than thirty people stand on a narrow platform waiting for Lord Dufferin, the Eighth Viceroy of India. Behind them, three makeshift arches bear laudatory phrases welcoming the viceroy.

Dufferin was a popular representative of the British government, and was welcomed by nationalist Indians for supporting their demands for greater power and representation. His recommendations inaugurated the practice of electoral politics in colonial India.

The tiny numbers painted on the people in this photograph refer to a list of names. Most of those identified are Indians occupying the highest echelons of society. Indeed, many of the personages shown were royalty; the reset were a mix of Indian nobles and British officials. Prominent among the Indian princes are Maharaja Shiwaji Rao Holkar and Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar II, the rulers of Indore, in Central India.