Manu S. Pillai

Manu S. Pillai was born in Mavelikkara, Kerala in 1990, and grew up in Pune. He received a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Fergusson College and a Master's Degree in International Relations from King's College London. He holds a PhD in history (titled Rajas, Rani, Deity and Company) from King's College, London. ==Career==

Following his education, he worked with the Parliamentary office of Shashi Tharoor in New Delhi and Lord Karan Bilimoria in London. He also worked as a researcher on the BBC Radio 4 series, Incarnations with Sunil Khilnani, which tells the story of India through fifty great lives. In 2017, he became a full time author. the story was expected to be adapted into a web series by Arka Mediaworks. Rebel Sultans, Pillai's second work, narrates the story of the late medieval Deccan over four centuries. Pillai's 2021 book False Allies concerns the rulers of princely states during the British Raj, focusing on five states whose rulers patronized and were painted by Raja Ravi Varma. ==List of works==

• The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore. HarperCollins India, 2015. . • Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji. Juggernaut, 2018. . • The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History. Illustrated by Priya Kuriyan. Context, 2019. . • ''False Allies: India's Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma''. Juggernaut, 2021. . • Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity. Penguin Allen Lane, 2024. . ==References==