——-

The book under review is the second in the series of books which form collections of articles presented at seminars in Oxford. The articles are prefaced by a very readable introduction on the history of Indian studies at Oxford.

The articles in the book are not linked together in a thematic framework and the result is a lack of cohesiveness. The only two essays which dovetail are the ones on ‘Provincial Autonomy’ by Sunil Chander and the ‘Partition of India’ by Anita Inder Singh. Suhil Chander views the years 1937-39, when the Congress assumed power in various provinces, as years of suppressed tensions and conflicts rather than as ‘a constitutional honey¬moon’ in which light it has been generally regarded. The idea behind the provincial government was one of ‘contained con¬flict’ in the view of the British Raj—‘opposition from a Congress in office, it was thought, was preferable to the dangers of an agitation by a Congress out of office, supported by the Kisan Sabha and the communists.’