About the Author

An archaeologist, historian and writer, Rima Hooja is currently the director of Minnesota University's MSID India programme. With a MA in history, a post-graduate certificate and a Ph.D. in archaeology from the University of Cambridge, Rima has held several academic posts, including associate professor of Indian tradition and culture at Kota Open University and visiting fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and has served on several governing boards, committees and councils. Rima has over fifty published research papers and articles to her credit, besides journalistic articles, contributions to the Students Encyclopaedia Britannica and presentations at international seminars and conferences. Books by her include, The Ahar Culture and Beyond, Prince, Patriot, Parliamentarian: Biography of Dr. Karni Singh Maharaja of Bikaner, Environment Degradation, Crusader for Self-Rule: Tej Bahadur Sapru and the Indian National Movement, and an English translation of a fifteenth-century Sanskrit manuscript on iconography, Mandan's Devata-Murti-Prakarnam.