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.

---

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

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

British India

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

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

Born in Calcutta in British India in 1935, Sir Mark spent much of his life in the country.

From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026

In the first part of the 1800s, Ram Singh, Ravinder’s great-great-grandfather, farmed wheat and rice outside of Lahore, now in Pakistan but then part of British India.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025

Mr. Mamdani, a professor of government and anthropology at Columbia University, is himself a Ugandan Asian, the term used to describe people from British India who had settled in the British protectorate of Uganda.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025

DEHRA, a town of British India, headquarters of the Dehra Dun district in the United Provinces.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 10 "David, St" to "Demidov" by Various

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---