Chief Commissioner speaking at the Nawab Alamzeb Khan's Durbar, Dir, 1919

Photograph, India, North West Frontier, 1919.

The Princely State of Dir was located at the foot of the Lowarai Pass, the main route into Chitral. A durbar was a traditional feudal gathering that dated back to Moghul times. It was resurrected by the British Raj as a way of reinforcing the loyalty of princely states to their imperial overlord.

From a collection compiled by Lieutenant-Colonel G J Davis.