This film is part of Free
Commissioner Higgins Visits Ahmedabad Girls' School
Salvation Army officials are given a welcoming salute on a visit to a girls' school in Gujurat, western India
Overview
Gujarati schoolgirls perform a carefully coordinated dance display to mark the seemingly brief visit of Salvation Army officials to their school in this early film. The Salvation Army set up its first foreign mission in Bombay in 1882, with members later invited to undertake evangelistic work in the western Indian state of Gujarat, then part of the Bombay Presidency.
Girls' education was the subject of debate and political struggle in India from the mid-19th century onwards. The first girls' schools in India were set up in 1848 by the Indian leader Jyotirao Phule and his wife Savitribai and were funded by private donations not the colonial state. Western missionaries and evangelists also lobbied for girls' education though they too received little support from colonial officials and often aroused suspicion from non-Christian Indians who feared the schools would seek to convert and westernise their daughters. By the interwar years, there were a growing number of Indian, mission and government-run girls' schools operating across India. Dr. Eleanor Newbigin (SOAS University of London)
Related
Temples of India Temples of India
Travelogue 1938 10 mins
Technicolor temple tour shot by the great Jack Cardiff
Sarnath, Benares & Santal Tribes Sarnath, Benares & Santal Tribes
Documentary 1934 27 mins Silent
Film of the Santhal tribe of North East India featuring Sarnath and Benares (Varanasi) in Uttar Pradesh.
Taj Mahal, Local Indian Scenes and a cruise to Port Said: Colonel Alexander Personal Film 5 Taj Mahal, Local Indian Scenes and a cruise to Port Said: Colonel Alexander Personal Film 5
Non-Fiction 1944 8 mins Silent
Luscious colour photography of the Taj Mahal and a Mediterranean cruise to Port Said
Gwalior Gwalior
Interest film 1922 0 mins Silent
The Prince of Wales and the Maharajah of Gwalior ride an elephant in a grand procession
Street Scenes in India: Colonel Alexander Personal Film 1 Street Scenes in India: Colonel Alexander Personal Film 1
Non-Fiction 1935 9 mins Silent
From the arrival of a new viceroy to street markets, this amateur film captures the diversity of life in colonial India
Khalapur Carpets Khalapur Carpets
Promotional 1932 12 mins Silent
Indian carpets make their way to Montreal in this promotional film
Silver Haze - Exclusive Q&A Silver Haze - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 29 mins
Vicky Knight sits down with Rowan Woods for an extended discussion on the making of the film Silver Haze. *Contains Spoilers*
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.