Exposing secrets . . . gathering mercy . . . A dark shadow has fallen over the land of Zurkia. Prince Narken, also known as the Dark Prince, has gained his throne in the north, demanding the retrieval of what he believes to be his greatest source of power: a mysterious glowing stone known only as “the orb.” None dare contest his claim to power, nor his obsessive quest to find the stolen object, lest they too be discarded in the castle dungeon. Meanwhile, his niece, Princess Raja and her friends Pavel and Jafar visit Great Aunt Vermisha in Valetta Castle, where they uncover secrets of the past about Raja’s uncle’s cruel and illegal practices. Inevitably, via the words of a wise man and a bribery of gold ingots, both Raja and Narken learn of the orb’s surely unreachable resting place. Thus begins a race against time in the Land of Rousse, as Narken seeks to regain the orb at all costs and Raja aims to intervene, hoping to ultimately keep it away from the Dark Prince. With so much jealousy, evil, and manipulation at work, is it possible to find a resolution based in mercy? Sailing towards an unknown horizon, Raja has no choice but to remain brave in order to unmask the truth.

An intrepid band of sea-faring merchants, sailors and soldiers arrive from a distant land. While they come seeking some space in the court of Jahangir, the tide turns completely a century later. They become the largest power in the subcontinent – eclipsing the other empires, creating one of the biggest empires that the world has known. But how did the English East India Company grow to become such a force? From 1600 to 1858, the life span of the Company, there occurred its dramatic metamorphosis from a small commercial group sponsored by Queen Elizabeth into a cumbersome organization that controlled enormous revenues, vast properties, armed forces, innumerable ships and countless trading posts. Starting from the first ship that touched Indian mainland in 1608, for the next hundred years, the English factory at Surat was at the centre of struggle. The Company’s initial strategic entry into the nation is a fascinating story that this book tries to chronicle. Pitched against two formidable European rivals, two hostile successive rulers at home, some of the most dreaded and the most celebrated pirates of all times, the Mughal rulers in India and the Marathas in ascendency – this is the story of the East India Company.

The decline of the Mughal Empire, the political ascendency of the British East India Company, a number of revivalist powers (the Sikhs, the Marathas, the Rohillas, etc.), and a large number of Indian princely states, resulted in redrawing the political spaces across India. In the process, the minting rights of the titular Mughal king and of the neo-independent Indian princely rulers were severely curbed by the dominant colonial power, both for political as well as economic reasons. The territorial expansion of the British Empire in India was invariably followed by the abolition of the native mints and the introduction of the imperial currency in the annexed territories. Indeed, the ‘sikka’ followed the flag. By presenting the monetary history of this period, this volume seeks to address some of the questions, viz. the effect of money supply on trade, prices of commodities and services, wage structures in different regions as well as on the administrative and military health of a political power. In this unique anthology, published studies along with unpublished archival records have been integrated into an overall theme. Together with a comprehensive bibliography-cum-list for further readings this volume is aimed to serve as a veritable reference tool.

A detailed analysis of how government in India was financed during the period of direct British rule.

In the administration of colonial finances, the monetary policy of the Imperial power relating to their dependencies has tremendous impact on the colonial economy. The British East India Company, therefore, adopted a policy of gradually subsuming the local currencies of India and replacing them with a uniform imperial currency. After passing a series of regulations, in 1835 the Company was able to introduce a universal currency in all its Indian possessions. This proved to be a landmark in the economic consolidation of the British rule in India. In this unique anthology published studies and unpublished archival records have been integrated into an overall theme. Together with a comprehensive bibliography-cum-list for further readings this volume is aimed to serve as a veritable reference tool.