Social Scientist Literary History, Region, and Nation in South Asia: Introductory Note Sheldon Pollock 1 Emergence of Regional Identity and Beginnings of Vernacular Literature: A Case Study of Telugu S. Nagaraju 8 Coconut and Honey: Sanskrit and Telugu in Medieval Andhra Velcheru Narayana Rao 24 Towards Hind Svaraj: An Interpretation of the Rise of Prose in Nineteenth-Century Gujarati Literature Sitansu Yashaschandra 41 Constructing the Canon: Problems in Bengali Literary Historiography Mahasweta Sengupta 56 Constructing a Literary History, a Canon, and a Theory of Poetry: Ab*eHayat (1880) by Muhammad Hussain Azad (1830-1910) Shamsur Rahman Faruqi 70 From Veneration to Virulence: A Case for a Women's Literary-History in Malayalam Jancy James 98 Literary History, Indian History, World History Sheldon Pollock 112 269-71