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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{EngvarB|date=April 2014}}<br />
{{about|the medal commemorating the proclamation of Queen Victoria|the medal for distinguished public service in British India| Kaisar-i-Hind Medal}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}<br />
{{infobox military award<br />
| name = Empress of India Medal<br />
| image = Empress of India Medal gold.png<br />
| image_size = 290px<br />
| caption = Obverse and reverse of the Empress of India Medal<br />
| presenter = [[Queen Victoria]]<br />
| country =<br />
| type = Commemorative medal<br />
| eligibility = <br />
| awarded_for = Commemorate the proclamation of Queen Victoria as Empress of India<br />
| campaign = <br />
| status = <br />
| description = <br />
| motto = <br />
| clasps = <br />
| post-nominals = <br />
| established = 1 January 1877<br />
| firstawarded = <br />
| lastawarded = <br />
| total_awarded = <br />
| total_awarded_posthumously = <br />
| total_recipients = <br />
| precedence_label =<br />
| individual = <br />
| higher = <br />
| same = <br />
| lower = <br />
| related = <br />
| image2 = [[File:Empress of India Medal.png]]<br />
| caption2 = Ribbon bar of the medal<br />
}}<br />
The '''Empress of India Medal''', also referred to as '''KIH Medal''', was a commemorative medal awarded to mark the occasion of the proclamation of [[Queen Victoria]] as [[Empress of India]] in 1877. It was the first wearable medal issued to mark a commemorative occasion within the British Empire. The medal was awarded in gold to [[Princely state|Indian princes]] and senior officials and in silver to selected British and Indian military officers and civilians, as well as one soldier from each British and Indian regiment serving in India at the time of the proclamation celebrations of the 1877 [[Delhi Durbar]].<br />
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==History==<br />
The first official medals to commemorate the coronation of a British sovereign were distributed in 1547, marking the coronation of King [[Edward VI]]. These medals were medallions or commemorative coins, not intended for wear. The first official medal, commemorating a royal occasion, which could be worn, was the Empress of India Medal. This medal marked the occasion of the proclamation at the [[Delhi Durbar]] of Queen Victoria as Empress of India on 1 January 1877.<ref name=McCreery>{{cite book |last=McCreery |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher McCreery |title=Commemorative medals of the Queen's reign in Canada, 1952-2012 |year=2012 |publisher=Dundurn Press |location=Toronto |isbn=9781459707566 |page=19}}</ref><br />
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==Appearance==<br />
The medal was made in both [[gold]] and [[silver]]. It measures {{convert|58|mm|in}} in diameter, nearly 20&nbsp;mm more than a campaign medal.<br>The [[obverse and reverse|obverse]] of the medal depicts the [[diadem]]ed [[effigy]] of Queen Victoria, wearing a veil which falls over the back of the head and neck. Around the beaded edge of the medal is inscribed ''Victoria 1st January 1877''.<br>The reverse bears the inscription ''Empress of India'' in [[English language|English]], ''Hind-ka-Kesar'' in [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]], and ''Qai''s''ar-e-Hind'' in [[Persian language|Persian]]. Around the edge is a repeating decorative design.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tancred|first=George|title=Historical Record of Medals and Honorary Distinctions Conferred on the British Navy, Army & Auxiliary Forces: From the Earliest Period|year=1891|publisher=Spink & Son|pages=295–296}}</ref><br>It was issued unnamed, although some medals were later engraved privately.<ref>{{Cite book|author=John W. Mussell|title=Medal Yearbook 2015.|page=278. Token Publishing Ltd, Honiton, Devon}}{{ISBN|978-1-908-828-16-3}}</ref><br />
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It was worn on a {{convert|42|mm|in}} ribbon around the neck.<ref name=McCreery/> The ribbon is crimson, with thin yellow stripes at the edges.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30007559 |title=Empress of India Medal (1877) |publisher=Imperial War Museums |access-date=30 October 2012}}</ref><br />
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==Award criteria==<br />
The medal was awarded in gold to Indian princes and senior officials, and in silver to selected British and Indian officers and civilians, as well as a selected soldier from each British and Indian regiment serving in India at the time.<ref name=McCreery/><ref name=Dorling>{{cite book|last=Dorling|first=H. Taprell|title=Ribbons and Medals|year=1956|publisher=A. H. Baldwin & Son, London|page=107}}</ref> The medal was not permitted to be worn by officers and soldiers of the British and Indian armies in uniform, although it was frequently worn by Indian princes and civilians.<ref name=Dorling/><br />
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==Award ceremony==<br />
During the Durbar proclaiming Victoria Empress of India, the [[Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton|Viceroy]], arrayed in the robes of the Grand Master of the [[Order of the Star of India]], received each of the 63 ruling princes of India in turn, he: {{quote|... placed round the prince's neck a crimson ribbon, to which was attached a very handsome gold medal with the Queen's head engraved on it, adding: 'I decorate you, by command of Her Majesty. May this medal be long worn by yourself, and long kept as an heirloom in your family in remembrance of the auspicious date it bears'.<ref>{{cite book | last = Roberts | first = Earl | title = Forty-One Years in India. | year = 1999 |page=333. Publisher Richard Bentley and Son, 1896 | url = http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16528 | isbn =978-1402177422 }}</ref>}}<br />
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== Recipients ==<br />
{{Div col|colwidth=15em|rules=|gap=4em}}<br />
* [[Jung Bahadur Rana]]<br />
* [[Vijaya Mohana Muktamba Bai]]<br />
* [[Sultan Jahan, Begum of Bhopal]]<br />
* [[Seth Baldeo Dass Sarda of Punjab]]<br />
* [[Bhagvatsinhji]]<br />
* [[Sayajirao Gaekwad III]]<br />
* [[Raghubir Singh Jind]]<br />
* [[Kasturchand Daga]]<br />
* [[Kalb Ali Khan]]<br />
* [[Mahboob Ali Khan]]<br />
* [[Muhammad Mushtaq Ali Khan]]<br />
* [[Khengarji III]]<br />
* [[Ranodip Singh Kunwar]]<br />
* [[Hira Singh Nabha]]<br />
* [[Nripendra Narayan]]<br />
* [[Ramachandra Tondaiman]]<br />
* [[Chandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana]]<br />
* [[Jayajirao Scindia]]<br />
* [[Shivaji VI]]<br />
* [[Pratap Singh of Jammu and Kashmir]]<br />
* [[Jaswant Singh of Bharatpur]]<br />
* [[Lakshmeshwar Singh]]<br />
* [[Rameshwar Singh]]<br />
* [[Ranbir Singh of Jammu and Kashmir]]<br />
* [[Shah Jahan Begum of Bhopal|Shah Jahan Begum]]<br />
* [[Visakham Thirunal]]<br />
* [[Ayilyam Thirunal]]<br />
{{Div col end}}<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[https://www.omsa.org/view-image/?imageid=15922&catid=1289 Empress of India Medal 1877 Information.] OMSA Medal Database<br />
*[https://www.omsa.org/view-image/?imageid=431&catid=1289 Empress of India Medal, 1877, gold.] OMSA Medal Database<br />
*[https://www.omsa.org/view-image/?imageid=432&catid=1289 Empress of India Medal, 1877, silver.] OMSA Medal Database<br />
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{{Queen Victoria}}<br />
{{Commonwealth Coronation and Jubilee medals}}<br />
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[[Category:Orders, decorations, and medals of British India]]<br />
[[Category:Awards established in 1877]]<br />
[[Category:Awards disestablished in 1877]]<br />
[[Category:1877 establishments in British India]]<br />
[[Category:Queen Victoria]]</div>Davidcza