The existence of Madame Blavatsky's occult "Masters" has been fiercely debated for more than a century. Although scores of books have been written about her, none has focused on the historical identities of these elusive teachers. This book profiles 32 of Blavatsky's hidden sponsors, including leaders of secret societies in Europe and America, religio-political reformers in Egypt and India, and even British government agents. The milieu in which she carried out her spiritual quest is vividly revealed as a hotbed of revolutionary plots and secret coalitions. But beyond all the politics was a genuine spiritual awakening of global significance.

In 1846, the British created the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) - popularly called "Kashmir" - and then quickly sold this prized region to the wily and powerful Raja, Gulab Singh. Intriguingly, had they retained it, the India-Pakistan dispute over possession of the state may never have arisen, but Britain's concerns lay elsewhere -- expansionist Russia, beguiling Tibet and unstable China "circling" J&K -- and their agents played the 'Great Game' in Afghanistan and 'Turkistan'. Snedden contextualizes the geo-strategic and historical circumstances surrounding the British decision to relinquish prestigious 'Kashmir', and explains how they and four Dogra maharajas consolidated and controlled J&K subsequently. He details what comprised this diverse princely state with distant borders and disunified peoples and explains the Maharaja of J&K's controversial accession to India on 26 October 1947 - and its unintended consequences. Snedden weaves a compelling narrative that frames the Kashmir dispute, explains why it continues, and assesses what it means politically and administratively for the divided peoples of J&K and their undecided futures.

Disputed between India and Pakistan, Kashmir contains a large majority of Muslims subject to the laws of a predominantly Hindu and increasingly "Hinduized" India. How did religion and politics become so enmeshed in defining the protest of Kashmir's Muslims against Hindu rule? This book reaches beyond standard accounts that look to the 1947 partition of India for an explanation. Examining the 100-year period before that landmark event, during which Kashmir was ruled by Hindu Dogra kings under the aegis of the British, Mridu Rai highlights the collusion that shaped a decisively Hindu sovereignty over a subject Muslim populace. Focusing on authority, sovereignty, legitimacy, and community rights, she explains how Kashmir's modern Muslim identity emerged. Rai shows how the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was formed as the East India Company marched into India beginning in the late eighteenth century. After the 1857 rebellion, outright annexation was abandoned as the British Crown took over and princes were incorporated into the imperial framework as junior partners. But, Rai argues, scholarship on other regions of India has led to misconceptions about colonialism, not least that a "hollowing of the crown" occurred throughout as Brahman came to dominate over King. In Kashmir the Dogra kings maintained firm control. They rode roughshod over the interests of the vast majority of their Kashmiri Muslim subjects, planting the seeds of a political movement that remains in thrall to a religiosity thrust upon it for the past 150 years.

Kwasi Kwarteng is the child of parents whose lives were shaped as subjects of the British Empire, first in their native Ghana, then as British immigrants. He brings a unique perspective and impeccable academic credentials to a narrative history of the British Empire, one that avoids sweeping judgmental condemnation and instead sees the Empire for what it was: a series of local fiefdoms administered in varying degrees of competence or brutality by a cast of characters as outsized and eccentric as anything conjured by Gilbert and Sullivan. The truth, as Kwarteng reveals, is that there was no such thing as a model for imperial administration; instead, appointees were schooled in quirky, independent-minded individuality. As a result the Empire was the product not of a grand idea but of often chaotic individual improvisation. The idiosyncrasies of viceroys and soldier-diplomats who ran the colonial enterprise continues to impact the world, from Kashmir to Sudan, Baghdad to Hong Kong.

How has the valley of Kashmir, famed for its beauty and tranquility, become the focus of a dispute with the potential for nuclear conflict? How does the Kashmir separatist movement challenge the integrity of the Indian state and threaten the stability of a region of tremendous strategic importance? As Pakistan and India square up for what may become a major regional conflict, Victoria Schofield's timely book examines the Kashmir question, from the period when the valley was an independent kingdom to its current status as a battleground for two of the world's newest nuclear powers: India and Pakistan. Schofield now traces the origins of the conflict in the 19th century and explains the serious issues that divide India and Pakistan and assesses the military positions of both states as their troops mass along the border.

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.

Many disenchanted Kashmiris continue to demand independence or freedom from India. Written by a leading authority on Kashmir’s troubled past, this book revisits the topic of independence for the region (also known as Jammu and Kashmir, or J&K), and explores exactly why this aspiration has never been fulfilled. In a rare India-Pakistan agreement, they concur that neither J&K, nor any part of it, can be independent. Charting a complex history and intense geo-political rivalry from Maharaja Hari Singh’s leadership in the mid-1920s to the present, this book offers an essential insight into the disputes that have shaped the region. As tensions continue to rise following government-imposed COVID-19 lockdowns, Snedden asks a vital question: what might independence look like and just how realistic is this aspiration?

In late-eighteenth-century India, the glory of the Mughal emperors was fading, and ambitious newcomers seized power, changing the political map forever. Enter the legendary Maharajah Ranjit Singh, whose Sikh Empire stretched throughout northwestern India into Afghanistan and Tibet. Priya Atwal shines fresh light on this long-lost kingdom, looking beyond its founding father to restore the queens and princes to the story of this empire's spectacular rise and fall. She brings to life a self-made ruling family, inventively fusing Sikh, Mughal and European ideas of power, but eventually succumbing to gendered family politics, as the Sikh Empire fell to its great rival in the new India: the British. Royals and Rebels is a fascinating tale of family, royalty and the fluidity of power, set in a dramatic global era when new stars rose and upstart empires clashed.

A fascinating chronicle that focuses on architectural gems of the Sikh Empire. Remnants of the Sikh Empire is a unique guide to the many important Sikh monuments located both in India and Pakistan. It catalogues numerous structures historically associated with the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh during the early nineteenth century. From Mughal to Sikh edifices, this book shines a spotlight on undiscovered masterpieces including forts, havelis (mansions), memorials and palaces across these countries, pictures of which have never been published before. The author travelled extensively across remote regions along the Afghan?Pakistan border with the assistance of the Pakistan Army in order to compile rare footage that documents these habitations. Some of the structures include strategic forts built in the tribal areas of Pakistan by the legendary Sikh hero Hari Singh Nalwa, the existence of which is completely unknown to the general public. Not only does this volume narrate the aesthetic and strategic history behind these structures but it also sheds light on the rich cultural traditions associated with the powerful nobles and courtiers of the Lahore Durbar who reshaped the architectural landscape of Punjab and Kashmir in the nineteenth century. Remnants of the Sikh Empire catapults the reader into an unforgettable journey, retracing the rich heritage of the Punjab in these countries where numerous iconic monuments still stand testament to the power and influence of the Sikh Empire.