Editing Captain Nemo (section)

== Fictional character biography ==
[[File:OrchhaPalace.jpg|thumb|[[Orchha Fort complex]], home to the real-life rajas of [[Orchha State|Orchha]], Bundelkhand.]]
Chief among the few details of Nemo's history given in ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' are his hatred of imperialism and his grief over the loss of his loved ones in years past.

In ''20,000 Leagues Under the Seas'', Captain Nemo is not described as an Indian yet; in fact, his nationality is unknown. This was a result of a controversy between the author and the publisher 
on this subject.<ref name=pole>{{Cite web|url=https://culture.pl/en/article/the-polish-aristocrat-at-the-helm-of-the-nautilus-or-the-true-story-of-captain-nemo|title=The Polish Aristocrat at the Helm of the ‘Nautilus’, or the True Story of Captain Nemo|website=Culture.pl}}</ref>
 
In ''[[The Mysterious Island]]'', Captain Nemo identifies himself as Prince Dakkar, son of the Hindu [[Maharaja|raja]] of [[Bundelkhand]], and a descendant of the Muslim [[Sultan]] [[Tipu Sultan|Fateh Ali Khan Tipu]] of the [[Kingdom of Mysore]], famous for the [[Anglo-Mysore Wars]] (1767–1799) and [[Mysorean rockets|Mysorean rocket]] technology. After the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], in which Dakkar lost both his family and his kingdom, the prince devoted himself to scientific research, ultimately building the [[Nautilus (fictional submarine)|''Nautilus'']] and cruising the seven seas with a crew of devoted followers.<ref>{{cite book |last =Rovin |first =Jeff |title =The Encyclopedia of Supervillains |publisher =Facts on File |date =1987 |location =New York |isbn = 0-8160-1356-X |pages=51–52}}</ref> They gather [[bullion]] from various shipwrecks in the ocean, most notably from the hulks of the Spanish treasure fleet sunk during the [[Battle of Vigo Bay]].
 
However it turns out that the original intention of Jules Verne was to make Captain Nemo a Pole, a participant of the Polish [[January Uprising]] against the occupation of Poland by the [[Russian Empire]], and it was planned that Nemo would sink Russian warships. However the publisher, [[Pierre-Jules Hetzel]], strongly objected to this for fear of losing the Russian book market: the book would be banned by Russian censorship. In addition, Hetzel felt that the book would undermine French-Russian relations.<ref name=pole/>

Nemo claims to have no interest in terrestrial affairs but occasionally intervenes to aid people in distress, e.g.,  by giving salvaged treasure to participants in the [[Cretan Revolt (1866–1869)]] against the island's [[Ottoman Turks|Turkish]] rulers; by saving (both physically and financially) a [[Sinhalese people|Ceylonese]] or [[Tamil people|Tamil]] pearl diver from a shark attack; by rescuing the castaways in ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas''; and by covertly protecting another set of castaways in ''[[The Mysterious Island]]''.

Like many actual [[Princely state|Indian princes]] of the era, Nemo received a Western education, during which, as he states, he spent his youth touring and studying throughout Europe. In his first meeting with Professor Aronnax and his companions, the three castaways speak to him in French, English, [[Latin]], and German; Nemo later reveals that he is fluent in all of these tongues. Aronnax praises the captain's French, noting that he "expressed himself with perfect ease and without any accent." Relying on his intuition and knowledge of [[ethnology]], the professor concludes that "there's southern blood" in him but can't determine the captain's exact origin. The ''Nautilus''{{'s}} library, lounge, and art collections reveal that Nemo is intimately acquainted with European culture, also that he is an accomplished performer on the [[pipe organ|organ]].

Nemo dies of unspecified natural causes on board the ''Nautilus'', docked permanently inside Dakkar Grotto on [[The Mysterious Island|Lincoln Island]] in the [[Oceania|South Pacific]]. Cyrus Harding, leader of the castaways whom Nemo protected, administered the last rites, then submerged the ''Nautilus'' in the grotto's waters. Shortly after, the volcanic island is destroyed when magma reaches the sea water in Dakkar Grotto, creating a massive steam explosion which blows the island and the ''Nautilus'' to pieces.