Hindi Word in English: Raj

The English word RAJ is borrowed from Hindi raj, meaning "state, government," which in turn comes from Sanskrit rajya, "kingdom, realm, state." In English, the word "Raj" was used specifically to refer to the "British Raj," meaning the direct rule of India by the British from 1858 until Indian Independence in 1947.

The word raj is related to English words like "regal" and "reign" which are derived from Latin rex (reg-). Both Sanskrit rajan, "king," and Latin rex come from the same Indo-European root, *hreg-.

You may have seen the television miniseries The Jewel in the Crown which is based on the four-volume novel series known as The Raj Quartet; The Jewel in the Crown is title of the first novel in the series.