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Synopsis A political scientist, historian, cultural analyst, social anthropologist, and philosopher, Partha Chatterjee has consistently provided academia with novel conceptual tools for analyzing the present. This collection brings together scholars from a wide range of disciplines to honor his life and work.

Dealing with different ways of theorizing the present, the essays in Theorizing the Present focus on some critical themes underlining twentieth century India--work of history in Indian context, framing the nation in the pre- and post-independence era, forms of community and the role of violence, and the limits of civil and political society formulation.

Theorizing the Present includes contributions from prominent scholars all of whom, at one point of time or other, were associated with the Center for Studies in Social Sciences in India--an institution Chatterjee served and nurtured over several decades. Together they discuss themes that were shaped by, as much as they shaped Chatterjee's own broad interests. The volume reflects the myriad ways in which scholars worked with, through or against his many important formulations.