<p>The Onge of Little Andaman one of the surviving important Negrito com-munities in the world have a very small static population since last four decades. There have been several critical issues pertaining to adopting the induced changes in their habitat and economy. The volume presents detailed documentation and indepth analysis of the situation and concerns related to their survival. The volume is the outcome of a prolonged field investigation and research presented in the form of analytical and development ethnography with eco-logical socio-cultural economic and political perspectives of a dwindling community listed under Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group of India. The Onge have ever been rather vulnerable toward any option for radical change they deserve close careful attention to ward off any untoward impact of change-initiatives. The authors a team composed of an Anthropologist and a Human Ecologist have tried to throw light on the degree of agreements between the induced change programmes and the peoples' age-old survival strategy. The depth of the authors' intimate interaction with the people their ecology cultural niche psychology economy and in a way the livelihood as such presents a flavour hitherto unknown. The volume is remarkably enriched with good number of rare photographs along with important maps charts and illustrations. This work is an invaluable record for reviewing and revising process and outcome of the long continued welfare programme before further such appli-cation on the remaining groups in the archipelago. The local and global level researchers teachers and planners interested in foraging tribal population and issues related to their welfare development etc. will certainly find this volume extremely useful. About the Author Dipali Danda (b. 1939) is former Superintending Anthropologist of the Anthro-pological Survey of India. She carried out intensive field investigations on several tribal communities in India and has contributed to many scholarly publications. Sumit Mukherjee (b. 1957) field-based researcher in the field of Human Ecology worked for three decades in the Anthropological Survey of India. He has jointly authored two important Atlases on Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes of India apart from several books and articles. He is at present a guest faculty at the University of Calcutta.</p>

<p>India was severely hit by the Great Depression. The income of the peasants was halved due to the fall in prices while rent and revenue demands as well as debt service remained at the same old level. The government followed a deflationary policy to support the exchange rate and thus intensified the impact of the Depression. A flow of distress gold poured out of the country thus India faced no balance of payments crisis as most other countries did at that time. From a macro-economic point of view India appeared to be not affected by the Depression. Shifts in the internal terms of trade are of no concern from this point of view. Accordingly not much attention has been paid to the impact of the Depression on India. The present study breaks new ground in this respect and blends economic and political history. The book has four major parts: Financial Linkages Rural India Industrial India and Political Consequences. The first part shows India in the context of global financial relations and monetary policies it also provides an analysis of the Rupee ratio controversy and of the budgets which were balanced with a vengeance according to the principles of 'sound finance'. The influence of the Bank of England on Indian finance is traced in detail. The second part is devoted to the fate of the peasants and rural unrest. The legislative attempts at debt conciliation the control of moneylenders etc. are discussed with a view to the specific conditions of various Indian provinces. The third part portrays the development of the Indian cotton textile industry in the 1930s as well as that of other import substituting industries (sugar and steel) finally it deals with crisis management in the major export industries jute and tea. The last part shows how the impact of the Depression was inextricably meshed with the course of the freedom movement the advent of provincial autonomy and the widening of the franchise which inducted the substantial peasantry into the mainstream of Indian politics. The Indian National Congress became a party of the peasants in the 1930s and gained a much wider social base. These political consequences of the Depression were of great importance for the further course of Indian history. About the Author Dietmar Rothermund (1933-2020) studied history and philosophy at Marburg and Munich universities and at the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D. 1959). He was Professor Emeritus of South Asian History at Heidelberg University Germany.</p>

<p>Members of the middle class in colonial Malabar left behind a copious amount of writings. These are to be found among other places in magazines autobiographies and diaries. This book explores the social history of the middle class in the region during the British period on the basis of these writings in combination with archival sources. It delves into how they conceptualized domesticity forged new friendships cutting across caste and sometimes even racial lines and the new forms of leisure they envisaged. The author also analyses the dilemmas the group faced as it responded to the changes unleashed by colonial modernity at their work places in the public sphere and inside homes where they desperately clung on to tradition even while accepting much of what the West had to offer. About the Author Sreejith K. teaches History at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Government College Kolkata. He did his Ph.D from Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi and has published numerous articles among other places in the Economic and Political Weekly and the Social Scientist.</p>

<p>W.H. Moreland’s From Akbar to Aurangzeb is a study in Indian Economic History of the first half of the seventeenth century. The author examines the changes which took place in the course of the next fifty or sixty years the period covered by the reigns&nbsp;</p>

<p>This charming collection of folk tales by C.A. Kincaid recounts the inci­dents and encounters of certain popular religious and political leaders of the province of Sind. In keeping with the nature of all folklores these have been embellished by generations of storytellers and herein lies its appeal. A legacy of the past these tales that have been preserved to this day and reflect basic human nature. They have all the ingredients that make them evergreen: mysticism and mystery love and lust loyalty and treachery cowardice and courage myth and wisdom. This book also contains a short section entitled ‘Round About Nasik’ which narrates some of the mythologies associated with Nasik: how the river Godavari came into existence of the ‘rekha’ that Lakshman had drawn to protect Sita and of the story of the Kapileshwar Temple. Written in a lucid language and style Folk Tales of Sind and Guzarat can be enjoyed by both the young and the old and will make the reader experience a gamut of emotions from joy to dismay from relief to shocked astonishment. About the Author A high court judge in colonial India C.A. Kincaid (18701954) has authored several books that centre on and around the Indian sub­continent.</p>

<p>Sikhim and Bhutan: Twenty-one Years on the North-East Frontier is J. Claude White's memoir of his expeditions in Sikkim eastern Bhutan parts of Tibet and missions to Bhutan that took him to unexplored regions of these places which he has captured brilliantly through his writing and photographs. Appointed as the Political Officer in administrative charge of Sikkim and later of Bhutan by the British Indian government White's account covers his official activities interactions with people from diverse back­grounds – both maharajas and common folk – and his explorations making this book a fascinating read. White's expeditions on both glacial and non-existent road tracks through snowstorm and blizzard witnessing avalanches crossing wobbly cane bridges and to the Tatshang Monastery in Paro -- more famous as the Tiger’s Nest – are invigorating and thrilling. White has also given detailed and rich descriptions of monasteries forts castles and hamlets the people and their life and political events like the Delhi Durbar. His remarkable photographs that include the Maharaja of Bhutan Sir Ugyen Wang-chuk the Maharaja and Maharani of Sikkim Kanchenjunga glacial lakes Bhutanese houses a precarious bamboo roadway monasteries and artefacts significantly contribute to Sikhim and Bhutan’s appeal. The book also includes general information on Bhutan and Sikkim their arts and industries and its laws and customs. About the Author Engineer author and avid amateur photographer John Claude White worked for the British Indian government.</p>

<p>The peasants have always had a significant role to play in the economic social and political structure of a country. They have attracted the attention of economists historians sociologists and anthropologists. Scholars in these fields have been looking for contemporary literature in their search for more information about various aspects of rural life. S.N.A. Jafri’s book The History and Status of Landlords and Tenants in the United Provinces (India) was first published in 1931. It deals with the North West Provinces of Agra and the region of Oudh (present day Uttar Pradesh) where the tenant question had a complicated and complex history. These regions witnessed a number of peasant upsurges during 1857-1931. The book gives a vivid description of rural life in the United Provinces. The author has discussed the changing status of the cultivator brought about by constant and judicious legislation to a position of some security. He also deals with the miseries of the cultivator and observes with ‘regret that the general outlook of the life of an agriculturist has changed very little from what it was in the past ages’. The book is divided into two parts with twenty-one chapters altogether. It describes the origin of the revenue system and traces its history from the earliest times to the British period; the revenue settlements in Agra and Oudh; assessment and the legal status of the tenantry; administrative machinery to safeguard tenures; indebtedness and taxation; methods of irrigation; village sanitation; medical relief; education and various aspects related to rural economy and village uplift. The book also deals with village communities taking into account the daily life and habits of agriculturists; social customs and manners; re­creation and amusement in the countryside; peasant songs and poetry; and questions related to village autonomy. The author has given substantial data such as budgeting in the peasant families etc. – data which is much needed to explore the economic con­dition of the people. About the Author S.N.A. Jafri an advocate had direct contact with both landlords and tenants through his profession. The present work is a result of his relationship with these two social classes enriched by an evaluation of the available official and non-official source material on the subject.</p>

<p>The aim of the book India at the Death of Akbar: An Economic Study is to present a sketch of the economic life of India at the opening of the seventeenth century or at the death of Akbar. Here the author tells us about the country the people the admin­istration and its effect on trade and industry the consuming classes agricultural production non-agricultural production commerce standard of life of the upper middle and lower classes the wealth of India and its distribution. He has very closely looked into the Ain-i-Akbari to extract valuable statistics for his construction of Akbar’s revenue system. About the Author W.H. Moreland spent twenty-five years in North-Western Provinces. For twelve years he was Director Land Records and Agriculture. He wrote extensively on the economic history of Mughal India. Among others his other books are: The Agrarian System of Moslem India; From Akbar to Aurangzeb; and Relations of Golconda in the Early Seventeenth Century.</p>

<p>Historic Lucknow first published in 1939 is a collection of essays on the nawabs of Oudh how Lucknow came into existence and descriptions of its myriad monuments palaces and gardens be it the Imambara the Residency the Walaiti Bagh or Begum Kothi. Sidney Hay's detailed chronological narrative of the nawabs from Sa'adat Khan up to Wajid Ali Shah uplifts the book from being a mere historical chronicle. The idiosyncrasies of each ruler who played a significant role in their contribution – or lack of it – to Lucknow the snippets of gossip and rumour surrounding them and quotes from various sources make this book fascinating. The author has also thoughtfully included a detailed description – along with attire jewellery – of each ruler as depicted in their portraits. Through the life and times of the nawabs readers will also get a glimpse of how the British gradually gained control over Lucknow. The city's monuments tombs bridges and shrines many of which were mute spectators of the unfolding of the events of the Indian mutiny of 1857 are also featured in this book. Hay's descriptions of the mutiny and its events are captivating. Anecdotes on the nawabs' extravagant dinners or animal fights at Musa Bagh or his observations on the portraits in Taluqdars' Hall are both amusing and engaging. About the Author Sidney Hay was a famous historian and also authored books such as By Order of the Shah.</p>

<p>The History of Kerala is a monumental work in four volumes. Chaplain of Cochin (1717-23) Jacobus Canter Visscher wrote descriptive letters to his friends and which were edited and published. K.P. Padmanabha Menon re-edited the English translation of the letters with an extensive and exhaustive commentary. His notes speak eloquently of his wide range of information and study and no less of his power to present the varied material into a highly readable historical narrative. The author has used Visscher's book as the thread on which to string the ancient history of Kerala. It contains cameos on many of the important events and institutions customs and manners and the salient features of the region and of its social political and economic conditions based as far as possible on contemporary records. The author has brought into lime light a part of India about which not much was known earlier and has brought out in an orderly fashion some of the events and institutions manners and customs of the place to give one an idea of the eminent position which Kerala had held even in those early days of her social and political evolution. About the Author K.P. Padmanabha Menon (1857-1919) was an Indian historian. He was the son of Diwan Peshkar P. Sankunny Menon the author of the History of Travancore. It was first published in 1924 five years after his death.</p>