This comprehensive biography depicts in depth the complex and controversial man who played a significant role in the history of northwestern India during the nineteenth century.
Described by his European contemporaries as “the Talleyrand of the East” and the “Ulysses of the hills,” Maharaja Gulab Singh was perhaps the most dexterous and successful Indian diplomat of the nineteenth century. At a time when other Indian states were falling to the British, Gulab Singh founded the kingdom of Kashmir, which survived under his heirs for over a century.
Based largely on primary sources in English, Persian, and Urdu, this new biography provides fresh insights into Gulab Singh’s motives and policies, and brings into focus his role as fiefholder, Raja, and Maharaja, and as a man, soldier, and politician. However, the book is more than a portrait of a man. It sheds light on the entire diplomatic history of northwestern India during the period.
This big and important biography is exceptionally well written. The author’s narrative skill provides a fascinating picture of the diplomatic intrigue, sadistic tortures, the licentious activities of the Sikh army, and the economic exploitation of the common people.
