Indian Army soldiers in khaki fatigues, 1897

Photograph by F Bremner, India, 1897.

The first Indian unit to adopt khaki uniform was Sir Harry Lumsden's Corps of Guides, raised in 1846 for service on the North West Frontier. The Guides were clothed in loose fitting clothing dyed a drab colour known locally as 'khaki'. 'Khaki' is a Persian term for earth-coloured or dusty. During the Indian Mutiny of 1857 a number of regiments followed this example by dying their white summer uniforms khaki.

The colour then ceased to be used in India, except by the Guides, until the 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880) when both khaki and red clothing was worn. The practical advantages of khaki service drill were soon well established and it was introduced universally in India from 1885.

From an album of 60 photographs taken by F Bremner, Quetta, June 1897.