--- title: Ramadan Prayers in 1940s India: Photos description: See Margaret Bourke-White’s photographs of Muslims observing Ramadan in India in 1946. canonical: https://time.com/3924185/ramadan-1940s/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-17T15:02:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:00.095Z og:title: See How Ramadan Was Observed in the 1940s og:description: See Margaret Bourke-White’s photographs of Muslims observing Ramadan in India in 1946. og:url: https://time.com/3924185/ramadan-1940s/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4280cbdbd9cb730/698854d70b72e3532f6e480e/150617-ramadan-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2425 og:image:height: 1364 og:image:alt: Ramadan 1946 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See How Ramadan Was Observed in the 1940s twitter:description: See Margaret Bourke-White’s photographs of Muslims observing Ramadan in India in 1946. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte4280cbdbd9cb730/698854d70b72e3532f6e480e/150617-ramadan-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See How Ramadan Was Observed in the 1940s > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jun 17, 2015 3:02 PM UTC  Caption from LIFE. Worshipers stand in the beautiful courtyard of India's largest mosque, Jami' Masjid, which was finished in 1658 by builder of the Taj Mahal. Caption from LIFE. Worshipers stand in the beautiful courtyard of India's largest mosque, Jami' Masjid, which was finished in 1658 by builder of the Taj Mahal. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jun 17, 2015 3:02 PM UTC Wednesday evening marks the beginning of Ramadan, the month-long observance during which many Muslims fast daily to inspire deep reflection and commemorate the revelation of the Quran to Muhammad. That sense of reflection was captured in 1946 by LIFE photographer Margaret Bourke-White. For Bourke-White, who spent considerable time in India recording the violence surrounding the partition of India and Pakistan, it was the rare chance to document peace, as she photographed prayers on the last day of Ramadan. Bourke-White had the unique opportunity to take photographs inside Delhi’s Jama Masjid, India’s largest mosque. In the captions, LIFE explained the basics of Muslim prayer, with which many of its readers would have been unfamiliar. These included facing in the direction of Mecca, prostrating oneself and praying five times each day. That year’s September observance of Eid al-Fitr, the final day of Ramadan, fell one month after the event that came to be known as Direct Action Day, a bloody clash between Muslims and Hindus in Kolkata. (The city was then called Calcutta; many of LIFE’s 1946 spellings differ from today’s, as can be seen in the captions above.) While Delhi’s Muslims prayed in mosques, many of Kolkata’s took to the streets in an unusual demonstration, “probably staged,” LIFE conjectured, “for political reasons to impress Hindus of Moslem strength.” _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Caption from LIFE. Worshipers stand in the beautiful courtyard of India's largest mosque, Jami' Masjid, which was finished in 1658 by builder of the Taj Mahal. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Moslem worshippers in third prayer position of prostration called Sijda, on the steps of the courtyard in front of Jami' Masjid on Id-ul-Fitr, the most sacred day of Ramadan. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Moslem worshippers ritualistically cleansing themselves in pool while gathering in courtyard in front of Jami' Masjid. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Moslem worshippers kneeling while resting on their feet in the fourth prayer position in courtyard in front of Jami' Masjid. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Portrait of a Moslem Imam reading the Koran on the day of Id-ul-Fitr. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Moslem worshippers ritualistically cleansing themselves in pool in front of Jami' Masjid during Ramadan. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Moslem worshippers kneeling while resting on their feet with hands held up in supplication in the fifth prayer position during Ramadan. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Moslem worshippers ritualistically cleansing themselves in pool during Ramadan. Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Facing toward Mecca, Islam's Holy City, worshipers prostrate themselves in silent prayer to Allah. Most of the standing figures are women, who customarily do not pray in mosques since Moslems assign women to strictly inferior status. 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