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As Marxist scholar and historian, Irfan Habib has been a towering presence on the Indian intellectual scene for over four decades. His truly formidable intellectual reputation, already firmly established in the sixties with the publication of the The Agrarian System of Mughal India, gained in depth in the succeeding years as the boundaries of professional specialization were broken. Habib’s intellectual project broadened to cover the entire area of Indian history, from ancient to modern, and his undiminished commitment to the cause of socialism is reflected in highly original and bold analyses of Marxist historiography and theories of socialist construction.As mark of esteem and affection for Irfan Habib, scholars in India and abroad have come together to offer him this volume. The festschrift reflects the range of Irfan Habib’s interests and contributions in great measure. It includes essays by not only historians but political scientists and economists, not only those specializing in the medieval period but also theorists of modern India, theorists of culture and socialist systems.