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

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

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

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

From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026

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

DARRANG, a district of British India, in the province of Eastern Bengal and Assam.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various