Is it possible to write history alongside historical events? This is the question the author tries to grapple with in these essays, which study patterns of agrarian transformation in West Bengal and Bangladesh, caste and politics in Bengal, CPI(M) party organization, culture, the legacy of Naxalbari, and political strategy for agrarian change. Students of politics, sociology and history, and journalists will find this book essential reading. It will also interest, and even fascinate, the general reader.