Durbar at Lahore, 1937: Gorrie Personal Film No. 34

This amateur film by Robert Gorrie captures a meeting between the Marquess of Linlithgow, 42nd Viceroy of India, and representatives of the province of Punjab during a formal Durbar at the Lahore Fort on 23rd October 1937. A military parade is followed by the governor’s state entry to the races in a camel carriage. The film also includes a hunt meeting at Hariki Road; the All-India Exhibition at Lahore in December 1937; a glimpse of international tennis pros William Tatem Tilden and Henri Cochet during their six week tour of the subcontinent; and students visiting the archaeological site of Harappa. It culminates in a children's party in 1938 and sports by the Punjab Light Horse.

In his speech at the Durbar the Viceroy mentioned the various people seen in this film: "Pathans, Baluchis, Punjabi Muhammadans of the North and South-West, Sikhs of the Central Districts, Rajputs, Dogras, and Jats of the South-East". The Viceroy also paid tribute to the "400,000 recruits [who] left the Punjab during that critical epoch [WWI] - no fewer than 37,000 of them destined never to return". Given the presence of personalities and events captured by Gorrie there is an importance attached to him and his official link to the colonial bureaucracy. Dr. Amina Yaqin (SOAS University of London)