Early 19th-century Gujarat was a landscape of shifting loyalties, urban warfare, and the eventual rise of British influence in the Baroda State. It was a time when the "security team" could become the "board of directors," and a prince could find himself a prisoner in his own palace. This is the story of how the Baroda State nearly collapsed under the weight of its own defense, how the role of the Resident was created, how the map of Baroda State was transformed, and the Pesh

After eight years in a Padra prison for attempting to poison his brother, Malharrao Gaekwad found his kismet finally coming around. When his brother, Khanderao II, died without a male heir in 1870, Malharrao became the legal successor. The succession remained in limbo while Khanderao’s widow, Jamnabai, was pregnant. It wasn't until July 5, 1871, when she gave birth to a daughter, Tarabai, that Malharrao’s path to the throne was finally cleared. The Shadow of the Residency