White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in 18th-century India Dalrymple, William Summary "James Achilles Kirkpatrick was the British Resident at the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad when in 1798 he glimpsed Khair un-Nissa - "Most Excellent among Women" - the great-niece of the Nizam's prime minister and a direct descendant of the Prophet. "James Achilles Kirkpatrick was the British Resident at the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad when in 1798 he glimpsed Khair un-Nissa - "Most Excellent among Women" - the great-niece of the Nizam's prime minister and a direct descendant of the Prophet. Kirkpatrick had gone to India as an ambitious soldier in the army of the East India Company, eager to make his name in the conquest and subjection of the subcontinent. Instead, he fell in love with Khair and overcame many obstacles - not the least of which was the fact that she was locked away in purdah and engaged to a local nobleman - to marry her. Eventually, while remaining Resident, Kirkpatrick converted to Islam and, according to Indian sources, even became a double agent working for the Hyderabadis against the East India Company." "It is a remarkable story, involving secret assignations, court intrigue, harem politics, religious disputes, and espionage. But such things were not unknown: From the sixteenth century, when the Inquisition banned the Portuguese in Goa from wearing the dhoti, to the eve of the Indian Mutiny, the "white Mughals" who wore local dress and adopted Indian ways were a source of difficulty and embarrassment to successive colonial administrations. William Dalrymple has unearthed such colorful figures as "Hindoo Stuart," who traveled with his own team of Brahmins to maintain his templeful of idols and who spent many years trying to persuade the memsahibs of Calcutta to adopt the sari; and Sir David Ochterlony, Kirkpatrick's counterpart in Delhi, who took all thirteen of his Indian wives out for evening promenades, each on the back of her own elephant."--BOOK JACKET Perfect for fans of Europe, Biography, Historical, Countries & Regions, Indian Subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent Historical Biographies. Highlights Easy to enjoy: 640 pages · Paperback By Dalrymple, William Details ISBN: 9780006550969 Author: Dalrymple, William Format: Paperback Pages: 640 Language: English Publication date: 19 April 2004 Condition: Used – Very Good About the authors Dalrymple, William and William Dalrymple · Publisher: HarperCollins UK More about this book Reviews This compelling history of Britain's rule over India relates the true story of James Kirkpatrick, who converted to Islam and spied on the East India Company in the midst of an affair with the great-niece of the region's prime minister.
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