This felicitation volume is in honour of Professor Hermann Kulke whose contribution to the world of history, especially Indian history, is very well known. It incorporates essays which are thematically and spatially related to his areas of interest. Thus, the three sections into which the contributions are organized broadly overlap with some of the areas of historical enquiry as well as geographical regions that have attracted Professor Kulke – Historians and Historiography, South and Southeast Asia and last but not the least, Orissa. The first section includes an article, Ways of Questioning: Historians and Histotiography’, that highlights Professor Kulke’s contribution to the study of Indian history and culture. The other chapters focus on major issues related to archaeology, historiography, and the significance of the horse in Indian history. The nest section includes chapters that examine issues related to Kharavela, The Date Formula in Ceylonese inscriptions, Tradition and Time, Trade, Vidisa during the Guptas, early medieval Orissa and Tagore’s Perceptions of Southeast Asia. Finally, the third section contains essays that explore the Oriya identity movement in Singhbhum, the blurred boundaries between religion and politics, the making of cultural identity, the rumours associated with Gandhi in the literary tracts, the problems of decolonization, sub-regional centres like Khallikote in south-western Orissa, the colonial classification of the Kondh tribe and the Saivite version of the puja manuals of Jagannatha of Puri. Besides historians, this book would attract political sociologists, social anthropologists and indologists.
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