Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Recommended Free Tools
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minute
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstall
ThatPainter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More
Indian assistants were not incidental figures in Colin Mackenzie’s surveys of South India. They translated, collected manuscripts, recorded oral histories and prepared communities for the survey team’s arrival. Thomas Hickey’s 1816 portrait of Mackenzie with three Indian assistants offers a striking image of that collaboration—but it does not securely identify the men pictured.
Who were Mackenzie’s Indian assistants?
Colin Mackenzie (1754–1821), a Scottish-born East India Company officer and surveyor, gathered information about South India from the 1780s until his death. His work depended on Indian assistants with education and language skills, who connected the survey to local sources and communities. Jennifer Howes’s 2017 account for the British Library, republished by Scroll, describes assistants translating, collecting manuscripts, transcribing oral histories and going ahead of the survey party to explain its expected arrival and purpose to local inhabitants. Howes’s account
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →
The work was both practical and intellectual. An assistant might help the team communicate in the field, while also locating, interpreting or recording material that became part of a larger body of knowledge about the region. The British Library catalogue describes Mackenzie’s collections as including manuscripts, drawings and copies of inscriptions; its General and Miscellaneous collections include translations and material on antiquities, legends, history, literature, religion and caste. British Library catalogue British Library collection description
What does “harkara” mean in the map story?
Howes’s article discusses a map made in 1788 by an anonymous Telugu artist. Mackenzie labelled it “Harcara Sketch of Guntoor obtained or observed by one of my Harcaras”. The article notes that harkara could mean messenger, informant or spy. The wording ties the map to the work of gathering information in the field, though it does not tell us the artist’s name or precisely how the sketch was produced.
#1 Best Overall
The map is a useful example of Indian participation in the survey’s documentary work, rather than evidence that the British team simply drew India unaided. Its label also reflects the colonial survey’s point of view: it describes the work through a role assigned by Mackenzie, not through the artist’s own account.
What does the portrait show—and what remains unknown?
The portrait at the centre of Howes’s article is an 1816 oil painting by Thomas Hickey, showing Mackenzie with three Indian assistants. Howes says the identities of the original sitters are lost to us today. A separate image reproduced in the NCERT textbook is described as an unknown artist’s copy, circa 1825, of Hickey’s painting. Its caption names figures in that copy, but those names should not be treated as confirmed identities for the original portrait’s sitters. NCERT, “An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara”
| Depiction | Date and attribution | What the source says about the figures |
|---|---|---|
| Hickey portrait | 1816; oil painting by Thomas Hickey, as identified by Howes | Three Indian assistants appear with Mackenzie; their identities are not securely known today, according to Howes. |
| Image reproduced in the NCERT textbook | Circa 1825; described by NCERT as a copy by an unknown artist of Hickey’s oil painting | The caption names Kistnaji, Mackenzie’s pen, holding a telescope; a Jain pandit; and Telugu Brahmana Cauvelly Ventak Letchmiah. These caption names apply to the copy and do not establish the identities of the original sitters. |
The available descriptions support a distinction between the original and the later copy, not claims about differences in their composition or style. Howes reports that the portrait was exhibited at Lews Castle Museum until 18 November 2017; that past exhibition does not establish where the painting is now or whether it is currently on view.
How many assistants worked for Mackenzie?
Howes reports that Mackenzie employed at least 12 Indian assistants in 1808. The total number who worked with him across his long career is impossible to determine from the account. Howes also reports that one version of Mackenzie’s will left a tenth of his estate to two assistants, Kavali Laksmiah and Kavali Ramaswami. These details indicate the scale and significance of the assistance without supplying a career-wide headcount.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the portrait can—and cannot—tell us
The painting makes Indian assistants visible alongside the surveyor, but it cannot by itself tell us their names, words or views. The written record described by Howes offers a fuller account of their tasks: translation, collecting texts, recording oral histories and acting as advance messengers to local communities. Their expertise helped shape what the survey could gather and how British officials understood the region.
That contribution should not obscure the unequal setting in which the work took place. Mackenzie’s survey served British understanding and administration, while Indian assistants supplied knowledge and acted as intermediaries within that project. Howes argues that such intermediaries could also use their position to advance the standing of their own communities; this is an interpretation of their potential agency, not proof that every assistant had the same experience or aims.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesQuick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
