Though photography reaches back as far as the sixteenth-century's camera obscura projects, it wasn't until the British colonial period that amateur photographers introduced their technology to the Indian subcontinent. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, India was at the centre of a representational revolution. Was photography in India simply a void, waiting to be filled by pre-existing cultural and historical practice? Or was it disruptive, throwing up new opportunities, prophesying new social formations, and bringing anxieties about formerly secluded events and practices into a newly visible sphere? "The Coming of Photography in India" transcends traditional cultural and technological narratives in order to present a subtle and compelling account of the limits, possibilities, and consequences of photography.Examining technology in order to explain the dynamic incarnation of photographic practice as cure, poison, and prophecy, Pinney presents a bold account which will reward anyone with an interest in India, photography, or the history of the book. Accompanied by beautiful illustrations and a large number of previously unpublished images, this volume presents a sophisticated account of the 'disturbance' which photography has brought to all our lives.

Christopher Pinney is professor of anthropology and visual culture at University College London. He has held positions at the Australian National University, the University of Chicago, the University of Cape Town, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Northwestern University.