The tales in this book arose from a fortuitous purchase of several volumes of the Asiatic Journal etc., published during the first half of the 19th century. Its remarkable pages are crammed with letters, reports, articles and accounts of life experienced in India during those tumultuous days when the British were determined to take over the country, while the native rulers understandably resisted.
These selected tales are an extraordinary collection of eye-witness accounts concerning crafty missionaries, tiger hunts, huge bands of plunderers, rapists and murderers known as the Pindaries, the unspeakable ill treatment of captive females, horrendous human sacrifices practiced by the Khond tribes, the exotic and fatal diseases suffered by the British, and the terrible battles between the celebrated Hyder Ali, his son, Tippoo Sultan and the East India Company.
As these rare volumes of The Asiatic Journal are well beyond the reach of the average reader with an interest in India of the first half of the 19th century, I felt that such contemporary material will never see the light of day unless, I or others like me, take the trouble to seek them out and make them available to the general public. |
