Aurangzeb (1618–1707) is considered the last of the great Mughal emperors. In 1680, Aurangzeb invaded the Marhatta (or Maratha) Empire in Bijapur, instigating the Mughal–Maratha Wars from 1680 to 1707. After defeating the crumbling Mughal Empire, the Maratha became the dominant empire in northern India and held that prominence throughout the 18th century.

Mukharji is likely referencing Milton’s Mulberry Tree in the Fellows' Garden at Christ's College, Cambridge. In reality, John Milton (1608–1674), author of the epic poem Paradise Lost, did not plant the tree himself. Rather, the mulberry tree was planted in Fellows’ Garden the year the poet was born. It is said that during his time as a Cambridge student, Milton took to writing in the shade of the mulberry tree. Today the Milton Mulberry is the only remaining tree of the original 300 black mulberries planted at the college.

A term primarily used in northern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, a dai is a wet nurse or midwife. It is unclear to which profession Mukharji is referring here. Midwives may be more likely to attend a ceremony of professors and doctors as the profession is considered more medical than wet nursing. The English word is derived from the Hindi dhāī/dāī and the Urdu dāya/dāī.

LL.D, or Legum Doctor (Latin for “teacher of laws”), can indicate either a doctorate in law or an honorary doctorate. Though not made clear by Mukharji, in this context LL.D likely refers to an honorary doctorate. Sir George Christopher Molesworth Birdwood (1832–1917) was an Anglo-Indian professor, writer, and public official. He served as a member of the English India Office, the Sheriff of Bombay, and as a key figure in the British Internal Exhibitions from 1857–1901. Sir Edward Charles Buck (1838–1916) was an Anglo-Indian civil servant in Bengal. At the time of publication (1889), the sitting Maharaja of Narsingarh was Raja Pratap Singhji, ruler from 1873–1890.

Warren Hastings (1732-1818) was the first Governor of Bengal and head of its Supreme Court Council. He was accused of corruption and impeached in 1787, but was eventually acquitted in 1795

The Qutub Minar (then spelled "Kootub Minar" or "Cootub Minah") is a five-story minaret belonging to one of India's first mosque complexes. Construction of the first story began in 1192, and the structure still stands today.

Bholanauth Chunder is the author of The Travels of a Hindooto various parts of Bengal and Upper India, published in 1869.

The Annals of Rural Bengal is a collection of Bengali traditions and records that W.W. Hunter began compiling in 1862.

The article refers to the Bengal (or Bihar) Famine of 1873-43, which was caused by drought. It affected 21.5 million Indians. British relief efforts lessened the impact of the famine by importing goods, and prevented widespread mortality.

Émeute is a French word meaning "riot".

The Vernacular Press Act of 1877, introduced by then-Viceroy of India, Lord Lytton (1831-1891). The act was intended to suppress criticism of the British Empire in Indian press. The act was unanimously passed on March 14, 1878, just over a month before this article's publication on April 19 of the same year.

A Tower of Silence is a circular Zoroastrian structure used for excarnation. This practice was first recorded in the 5th century BCE.

In 1829, Lord W. Bentinck was the Governor-General of Bengal. He is most well known for suppressing suttee and thuggeeism.

George Eden (1784-1849) was the First Earl of Auckland, otherwise known as Lord Auckland. He served as the Governor-General of India from 1836-1842.

Jung Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji (1817-1877) was the ruler of Nepal from 1846-1856. He founded the Rana Dynasty. He is well known for making efforts to modernize Nepal, which is perhaps why the practice of suttee at his funeral was particularly shocking to the English.

Sir William Wilson Hunter (1840-1900) was a member of the Indian Civil Service. At the time of this article's publication (1878), Hunter was working on the Imperial Gazetteer of India. The Gazetteer, which Hunter began creating in 1869, is now a historical reference work. It provides extensive historical, cultural, and geographical information on India. The author of this article refers to the social statistics contained in the Gazetteer, which were collected by poll and sought to shed light on Indian cultural, religious, and behavioral norms.

Sir Monier Monier-Williams (1819-1899) was an Anglo-Indian professor at Oxford University. He taught and studied Asian languages, chiefly Sanskrit, Persian, and Hindustani. He is most well known for founding the India Institute at Oxford, as well as publishing a Sanskrit-English dictionary.

Lord Overstone, or the First Baron of Overstone, was a title given to Samuel Jones-Loyd (1796-1883). He was a banker and politician.

Nizam is a title for Indian sovereigns under the Mughal Empire, similar to the Nawab.

Nawab is a title given to Muslim rulers by the sitting ruler of the Mughal Empire. The title functions similarly to British peerage. Nawab typically refers to a male, while females of the same rank are referred to as "Begum" or "Nawab Begum".

The Earl of Shaftesbury is a hereditary title in the Peerage of England. Until 1999, all Peers could sit in the House of Lords. Given the time of publication, July 6, 1861, the article likely refers to Anthony Ashley Cooper, the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (1801-1885). He was known as "the reforming Lord Shaftesbury" because of his work as a politician, philanthropist, and abolitionist.

Also known as the House of Commons, the Lower House is a legislative body in the British Parliament. The other legislative body, the Upper House, is also known as the House of Lords. Though both Houses may create bills, the most important ones are traditionally introduced by the House of Commons.

A steam threshing machine removes the seeds, stalks, and husks from grain. Before industrialization, the laborious process of hand-threshing was responsible for around one-quarter of agricultural labor. The first threshing machine, invented in 1786 by engineer Andrew Meikle, was horse-powered. Steam-powered threshing machines rose to prominence in the early 19th century.

In the Old Testament, Esau is the first-born twin brother of Jacob, the patriarch of the Israelites. In Genesis, a famished Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. The story of Esau’s birthright originated the English idiom “(to sell for) a mess of pottage”, used by Mukharji to demonstrate the inequality created by British colonial rule in India.

The Banjárá are a nomadic people that originally resided in Afghanistan and in northwestern India. The Banjárá people worked largely as transporters of goods before the British Crown enacted the first Criminal Tribes Act in 1871. The Criminal Tribes Acts, intended to stifle Thugeeism, criminalized the cultural practices of lower-caste Indians as they were seen as “uncivilized” and thus prone to vagrancy and Thugeeism.

The Battle of Worcester (1651) was the final battle of the English Civil War. King Charles II's army of Royalists was defeated by Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarian New Model Army, resulting in the establishment of the Commonwealth of England. After the battle, a £1,000 bounty was placed on the former king’s head, and he fled the country. After six weeks of traveling by night and taking refugee in various estates, Charles safely arrived in France.

A crore is equivalent to ten million. In India, crore is a unit commonly used to discuss large sums of money. For example, one hundred million rupees can be written as “ten crore rupees”.