David Hardiman, a founding member of ‘Subaltern Studies’ and the author of several monographs on the societies, cultures, and histories of Western India (Gujarat, Maharashtra, and parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan), is widely recognized as being among the foremost contemporary historians of the subcontinent. His prose is seen as being particularly accessible and jargon-free. Hardiman’s practice as a historian— both via his enormously rich empiricism, archival work, and fieldwork, as well as via his discursive lucidity—has been an inspiration to many, even as it has implicitly questioned some of the fashionably arcane modes of history-writing.

This collection pulls together Hardiman’s core ideas and writings on politics, environmental issues, Gandhi, moneylending, disease, and subaltern history. Many of these writings are not otherwise easily available.

This book will interest all serious readers of Indian history as well as scholars in the areas of politics, sociology, culture, and religion in modern India. It is also hoped that it will be of some value for marginalized and subordinate groups in India, providing examples of how their histories may be written, and serving as a tribute to their resilience in continuing adversity and oppression.