Lines

The word Lines can have various meaning.

The main areas where found in British India family history will be Residential Lines, Military Lines or Railway Lines.

Residential Lines

In this context Lines is a general term for general term used for the locality/colony/housing. For example, civil lines as reference to where Civil servants were housed, lines on tea estates where workers lived or merely as a reference to a residential quarter.

Military Lines

It is possible that the term lines had its origin in the days when soldiers pitched their tents in lines. It is also stated that in the British Army, the name "lines" is occasionally used to refer to the base or barracks, particularly for the Royal Horse Artillery, currently based at King George VI Lines in Woolwich.