James Grant Duff

James Cunningham (or Cunninghame) Grant Duff (born July 8, 1789 in Banff, Scotland; died September 23, 1858) was an Indian soldier and statesman.

James Grant Duff joined the army of the East India Company, at sixteen years of age. He played a role in the final Anglo-Maratha war that led to the end of the Peshwa rule over Pune. After their victory in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, the British Empire annexed most of the Maratha territory to Bombay Presidency, leaving them in virtual control of India south of the Sutlej river. Grant Duff became the British Resident at the court of Satara.

Grant Duff was one of the multi-talented British soldiers who were the key drivers in the rapid expansion of the East India Company's domains in India. He worked in India for a relatively short time, but within that time was able to master the Marathi, Urdu and Persian languages. Making full use of his access to Maratha state documents, and building friendships with Maratha nobles, he was able to compile the seminal work, "History of the Mahrattas", the first and still one of the best English histories of that famous people. It was translated into the major languages of Western India and made required reading for Indian students during the British Raj.

Grant Duff was forced to leave India due to ill-health and returned to his native Banffshire by the 1830s. His son, Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff, was later an Under Secretary of State for India and a Governor of Madras Presidency.

Works

* "History of the Mahrattas," 3 vols. London, Longmans, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green (1826); also more recent editions, ISBN 8170209560 ISBN 1421221373; [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0IHfKb-QJzMBfSIv&id=ZQXGmDs3LlMC&printsec=toc&dq=%22James+Grant+Duff%22+%2BHistory+of+the+Mahrattas%22#PPP1,M1 vol. II only on line.] Also, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0yn61LmNFJxfrhM8p75j9D&id=e_Pc4ZQMoy0C&dq=%22James+Grant+Duff%22+%2BHistory+of+the+Mahrattas%22 revised ed., S. M. Edwardes, London, etc., Oxford University Press (1921) Vol. II only on line.]

Literature

* A.R. Kulkarni, "James Cuninghame Grant Duff : Administrator-Historian of the Marathas," Kolkata, K.P. Bagchi (2006) ISBN 8170742862