Book excerpt: "The Head of the District" revolves around Grish Chunder Dé, a Bengali. Yardley-Orde, the District Commander of the North-West Frontier, is dying. It's a wild region, with lawless tribesmen just across the border, fanatical Mullahs instilling hatred against the English, and a blood feuding and cattle-raiding tradition. Such a district could only be governed effectively by tough fair-minded men who understood the people and commanded their respect. Then the Indian Government, in their wisdom, appointed a highly educated Bengali, Grish Chunder Dé, to succeed Orde. Bengalis are emphatically not respected by the tribesmen. Will the lawless tribesmen allow Grish Chunder Dé to rule? Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936) was an English novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He wrote stories for children and poems about British soldiers in India. He was born in Bombay, in the Bombay Presidency of British India, and moved to England with his family when he was five years old.