What was the capital of India before Delhi?

1. The clear colonial answer that most sources converge on

The immediate, commonly accepted answer in the supplied analyses is that Calcutta (Kolkata) was the capital of British India until the capital was moved to New Delhi in 1911. Several pieces explicitly state Calcutta served as the British administrative capital through the 18th and 19th centuries and until the 1911 decision to shift the seat of government ^{[1] [2] [4]}. Those sources agree on the endpoint year 1911 as the moment when Delhi regained primacy as capital. The analyses present Calcutta as the direct predecessor to New Delhi in the colonial administrative timeline, and they cite the city’s longstanding role as the main seat of British bureaucratic, commercial and political power in India before the move ^{[5] [2]}.

2. Diverging start dates and labels for “capital” create ambiguity

While sources consistently identify Calcutta as the capital prior to Delhi, they differ on when Calcutta’s capital status began and on terminology—“capital of British India,” “first capital of the East India Company,” or capital since specific years like 1772 or 1858” appear across the analyses. One source notes Calcutta served as capital from 1772 ^[1], another frames Calcutta as the capital of British India specifically from 1858 to 1911 ^{[6] [2]}. This difference reflects competing historical framings: whether one treats the East India Company’s administrative centers as equivalent to later Crown governance or starts the modern “British India” period from the 1858 Crown transfer. The supplied analyses reflect both framings without resolving which is the preferable convention ^{[1] [2]}.

3. Long view: empires, not just colonial capitals, change the answer

If the question addresses India in a pre-colonial or pan-historical sense, the answer is inherently pluralistic: different empires established different capitals across centuries, and several analyses list ancient and medieval seats such as Pataliputra (Patna), Rajgir, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Lahore as prominent prior capitals for regional dynasties ^{[5] [3]}. The sources supplied emphasize that the concept of a single, continuous “capital of India” is a modern construct; historically the subcontinent’s political center shifted with dynastic power. The documents include lists of historical capitals and note that answering “what was the capital before Delhi?” without specifying an era invites ambiguity and conflates colonial administrative history with pre-modern polities ^{[5] [3]}.

4. Source alignment, publication timing, and possible agendas

The supplied analyses come from mixed-dated items: some explicitly carry recent dates, others are undated, and at least one analysis references a 1911 shift as a factual marker ^{[4] [1]}. Analytical consistency surrounds the 1911 move to Delhi, so the immediate colonial predecessor is uncontroversial, but the varied framing—Company rule versus Crown rule, and the inclusion of long historical lists—shows different editorial choices and research focuses. There is no evident political agenda in the materials beyond standard historical framing choices: colonial-era administrative history versus longue durée lists of regional capitals. The differences mainly reflect scope rather than contradictory facts ^{[5] [2] [7]}.

5. Bottom line and recommended phrasing for clarity

For a succinct, verifiable answer: Calcutta (Kolkata) was the capital of British India immediately before New Delhi, with the official shift occurring in 1911 ^{[1] [2] [4]}. If the question intends a broader historical sweep, one should specify the era: ancient and medieval India had multiple capitals—Pataliputra, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, and others—so there is no single predecessor to Delhi across the whole of Indian history ^{[5] [3]}. The supplied analyses support both claims depending on time frame; stating the era up front resolves the ambiguity and aligns with the sources’ emphases ^{[1] [5]}.