This volume is in honour of distinguished historian Professor V N Datta. The essays contributed by some of the most eminent historians which cut across boundaries of time and space highlight the diversified and multidimensional nature of historical studies, encompassing some of the most fascinating themes in history from ancient to contemporary times. "The book covers broad themes like land relations; regional identity; gender relations; composite culture; internal migration; colonial notions of power; environment; science; nationalist discourse; ethnicity and politics of Dalit identity. In addition, two essays conceptualising and illuminating modernity in Europe and Asian identity form part of this volume. The collection makes an important contribution to the field of social, political and cultural history. Contributors to this volume are: K M Shrimali; Bhairabi P Sahu; Indu Banga; J S Grewal; Aniruddha Ray; Shireen Moosvi; Sabyasachi Bhattacharya; Sudhir Chandra; Satpal Sangwan; Deepak Kumar; Radica Mahase; Suranjan Das; Harish K. Puri; Barun De; Irfan Habib; Kesavan Veluthat; K N Panikkar; Amrik Singh; K L Tuteja and Sunita Pathania.