New Delhi, Feb. 8 -- In 1809, a British official took great umbrage at the conduct of an Indian prince. The ruler of Gwalior, the man reported, had "bestowed his affections" on a woman called Rus Kufoor. It was bad enough that the rajah had taken up with this "common prostitute", but what was worse was his largesse. He had, allegedly, given the lady a vast landed estate; a palace "furnished in the most costly and magnificent manner"; elephants and camels, not to speak of an army of human servitors; and, worst of all, he was seen publicly riding with her, occasionally even fanning her. In no "European state", the white man declared, would such indecency be tolerated. Why, if a Western prince behaved this way, he would be thrown into "a mad...