British India

American  

noun

1. a part of India, comprising 17 provinces, that prior to 1947 was subject to British law: now divided among India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

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British India British  

noun

1. the 17 provinces of India formerly governed by the British under the British sovereign: ceased to exist in 1947 when the independent states of India and Pakistan were created

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Example Sentences

West Bengal's history of migration dates back to the partition of British India in 1947.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

Radcliffe had been given six weeks to trace that gash through the map of British India.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

The first census of British India was conducted in 1871-72, 14 years after the shamefully bloody Sepoy Mutiny, and counted some 200 million Indian subjects.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Once the capital of British India, the city's fortunes have waned since independence.

From BBC • Sep. 13, 2025

He joined George Thompson in portraying the wrongs of British India and denouncing the crimes of its oppressors, and was an able supporter of the doctrines and measures of the Anti-Corn-Law League.

From Sketches of Reforms and Reformers, of Great Britain and Ireland by Stanton, Henry B.