Indian history has long been seen through a male prism with the contribution of women rulers largely overlooked, but author Archana Garodia Gupta hopes to correct the imbalance with her recent book.
"The Women Who Ruled India: Leaders. Warriors. Icons." focuses on 20 women, some famous and others barely finding a mention in history books, who singlehandedly shaped the fates of their kingdoms.
Spotlighting the lives of women such as Nur Jehan and Ahiliya Bai Holkar, the book tells tales of valour, diplomacy, leadership and wit. All the women, with the exception of Mughal empress Nur Jehan, the wife of Jehangir, were those who ruled independently, "either as regents or titled rulers".
"The initial list I compiled was of about 100 women rulers. Many factors influenced my selection. One of course was the availability of information.
"While there have been many women who strongly influenced their husband's or sons, I have selected only those who ruled directly, either as regents, or in their own name. The sole exception is Nur Jahan, who ruled indirectly but was probably the single most powerful woman ruler in the world ever," the Delhi-based author told PTI.
Gupta is a leading national quizzer, who won BBC Mastermind India's 'Champion of Champions' title.
Gupta, who has also written a two-volume collection of The History of the India for children' (Vol 1 and Vol 2) said studying Indian history is like studying a continent with many countries