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| Notes on Colonel James Tod | |||
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In his monumental work The Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (1820 AD) Col
Tod has preserved and immortalised the history, legends and social customs of
the Rajputs. With painstaking detail he has recorded every facet of the life
of the varied peoples of the region.
Col. Tod came to India in 1800, as a Marine. In 1801, he was selected as a survey officer. His great service was the scrupulous care with which he documented and mapped the entire regions now comprising Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. |
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But by far his most outstanding achievement was his work on Rajasthan which, even today, is rich source-material for all later detailed studies. Col. Tod led the punitive expeditions against the Pindari bandits in 1814-15 and was later appointed political agent and resident of Rajasthan. He was responsible for several of the agreements signed between the major ruling princes and the British. He approached this task with sympathy and understanding for the Rajput princes, many of whom remained his admirers and friends. In 1822, broken in health, he was compelled to retire to England. His two works The Annals and Travels In Western India published after his death in 1835, remain as a lasting tribute to his memory. No writer has captured the spirit of Rajasthan as this remarkable Englishman has done. [Bikaner] [Harachauhans of Bundi-Kotah] [Rana Pratap] [Rajasthan early history] [Raja Jai Singh] [Post-Mogul history] [Imperial Guptas] [Rana Kumbha] [Rao Jodha] [Rajasthan] [Rana Udai Singh] [Muslim Invasions] [Rana Lakha] [Rana Sanga] [Kuchchwahas of Amber-Jaipur] [Chauhans of Delhi-Ajmer] [Sisodias of Mewar] [Rajasthan history] [The Rajputs] [The Mauryans] |