This book is significant contribution to the history of Orissa, throwing a shaft of light not only on the period d1912-1939 but also on some of the formative factors which shaped in the long run the history of the present state of Orissa. While the book addresses issues pertaining to regional history, the theoretical premises underlying the analysis situate the regional history in the broader framework of the Indian colonial economy, shaped on the one hand by the agenda of the British policy-makers, and, on the other, certain structural features which characterised agrarian relations in many other parts of the subcontinent. Viewed in that broader context, the significance of Dr. Sahoo’s research findings exceed the limits of regional history for the enable us to compare the regional experience, its specificities and the commanlities shared with other parts of India, to allow us to form a more comprehensive picture – and probably a more complex picture – of agrarian relations in the colonial economy in India.
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