The Order of British India (OBI) medal was first created on April 18th, 1837 to honour those who had served faithfully for a long period of time to better India according to guidelines set by the East India Company.
After the East India Company faced fire from Indians during the revolution period it was adapted into the British system in 1859 until India gained independence in 1947 at which point the Order of British India medal became obsolete.
The OBI was given in two class levels, with the recipients of the first class entitled to the label heroic leader and recipients of the second class entitled to the label of simply hero. Typically, it was awarded to officers in India who had between 20 to 30 years of service with the East India Company or in India in general once the company became defunct.
The ribbon was originally a grey blue colour in 1837 but was changed to deep velvet red in 1838 until the blue shades were added to distinguish the class levels of recipients in 1939 until 1947 when it ceased to exist any longer.
Most of the recipients of the OBI were of Indian descent.
