| Lieutenant-Colonel James Skinner (1778-1841),
an Anglo-Indian, was also known locally in northern India as 'Sikandar
Sahib' (Alexander the Great). He was the son of a Rajput princess
and Hercules Skinner, a Scottish lieutenant-colonel in the East India Company
service. Famous for military adventures and a large string of victories,
his regiment was called 'Skinner's Horse' or the 'Yellow
Boys'. Reputed to have a large harem of Hindu and Muslim wives, Skinner
gave his heirs 194 Indian villages and an assortment of palaces and indigo
factories. |
