Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod (1782–1835) was a British East India Company officer, scholar, and diplomat famously revered as the “Father of Rajasthan History”. Arriving in India in 1799, he served as the first British Political Agent to the Western Rajput States between 1818 and 1822. During his tenure, he became deeply fascinated by the region, traveling extensively on horseback to collect historical documents, royal genealogies, old coins, and folklore—earning him the local, affectionate nickname “Ghore Wala Baba” (The Horse Rider).