New Delhi, March 14 -- In 1656, a senior courtier of the sultan of Golconda defected to the Mughals. Titled Mir Jumla, this Persian emigre was one of India's wealthiest, most powerful men: he lent money to English traders on the coast, owned a merchant fleet of his own, controlled the kingdom's diamond mines, possessed an army, and above all, steered the sultan's government. It was a phenomenal achievement for an immigrant who had begun life as a shoe-salesman. So phenomenal, in fact, that eventually, the sultan smelled a threat. Salacious gossip-for instance, that Mir Jumla had taken a tumble in bed with the queen-mother-did not help. With things at a risky impasse, the minister chose to flee. But in the process the Persian also carted o...