User blog:JonathanMarkoff/Ruler of India (for my amusement)

India has a millennia-long record history, with numerous forms of head of state and government. Since 1950, the head of state has been the President, and since 1947 the Head of Government has been the Prime Minister. Governments prior to 1947 were primarily monarchical, with the Monarch of the United Kingdom doubling as Emperor or Empress of India from 1877 until 1947.

The following individuals ruled India during or after the point of divergence of one of Harry Turtledove's alternate history timelines, or in stories that are otherwise speculative. Most Turtledove PODs occur when India is a part of the British Empire.

Southern Victory
The British Monarch acquired the title '''Emperor or Empress of India in 1877.

The Two Georges
From 1877 onward, the British Monarch has also held the title '''Emperor or Empress of India.

(*) Not referenced in novel.

Other rulers
Harry Turtledove has identified the following rulers of India in other works.

King George VI of Britain plays background roles in Worldwar, The War That Came Early, and Joe Steele. In Worldwar, his rule of India comes to an end in Striking the Balance, when the 1944 Peace of Cairo makes India one of the Race colonies on Tosev 3. In The War That Came Early, he remains Emperor at the conclusion of the series, but the position is quite tenuous. In Joe Steele, British Empire rule over India probably ended as in OTL, but the novel does not address this.

In Through Darkest Europe, India is divided into multiple nation-states. In the mid 20th century, the warlord Faruq al-Ghaznavi seized power over most or all of India, and ruled brutally until his overthrow in a WWII analog. What title he used is unclear.

In Curious Notions, set in 2096, India was never decolonised. As Great Britain is subject to the German Empire, it is unclear whether the Kaiser of Germany or the King of England (both of whom are referenced in broad strokes) is the Emperor of India.