Abstract
This essay is a postcolonial analysis of Gurcharan Das' play Larins Sahib, which is set in Punjab, India during a period of political instability after the death of its greatest ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Lion of Punjab, and before the formal establishment of British power in the region. The play dramatizes the transformation undergone by the British Resident Henry Lawrence from a well-meaning survey officer to an ambitious ruler. Lawrence's transformation is carried out through his mimetic identification with and imitation of Ranjit Singh. The essay examines colonial mimicry and its implications for postcolonial studies.