What is the history of Freemasonry in India?

Freemasonry in India began in Calcutta in 1730, when officers of the East India Company held meetings in Fort William, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India, following a 1728 petition that led to the appointment of a Provincial Grand Master for India and the Far East, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India. Early expansion was carried by British merchants, military personnel, and sailors under English, Scottish, and Irish warrants 1. The first lodge in Madras was established in 1752, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India, followed by Bombay in 1758 1, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India, and Punjab in 1786, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India. Military lodges attached to army brigades played a major role in spreading the Craft throughout Bengal during the late eighteenth century 3.

In 1785, the Atholl Lodge at Madras surrendered its powers to form the Lodge of Perfect Unanimity, uniting the Ancients and Moderns factions in India nearly three decades before the 1813 union in England, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India. Beyond the Craft, other Masonic Orders also took root; by the late 1830s, Royal Arch chapters and Knight Templar commanderies were working alongside craft lodges on the Coast of Coromandel 2.

Initial lodge membership was almost exclusively European 1. Omdat-ul-Omrah, the Nawab of Carnatic, was the first Indian admitted into Freemasonry 1, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India, followed by M. Bandeh Ali Khan in 1812, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India. To facilitate native entry into the Craft, dedicated bodies such as Rising Star Lodge in Bombay were constituted in 1844 1. Ranganath Sastry became the first Hindu initiate in 1857, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India, and Maharajah Duleep Singh was the earliest Sikh admitted when he was initiated in 1861 1, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India.

In October 1959, the Grand Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland agreed to establish an independent sovereign body, as the Grand Lodge of India records. With over 52 percent of eligible lodges voting to join, the Grand Lodge of India was officially consecrated on November 24, 1961, installing Major-General H.H. Dr. Sir Syed Raza Ali Khan, Nawab of Rampur, as its first Grand Master, as the Grand Lodge of India records, and as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India. The Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India was inaugurated shortly after, on December 9, 1961, as recorded by the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India.