1 SOCIAL SCIENTIST settle in north-western India, had a gradual interaction with the non-Aryan speaking agricultural population, and perhaps extended patronage and protection to the latter, based on their familiarity with the horse and with new weaponry, in the phase of collapse of the Harappan civilisation. This perception of the relatively limited extent of large- scale violent conflict in early India finds an echo in Gore's paper as well, where the relative social harmony in which a multiplicity of religions co-existed in India in the middle ages is underscored and contrasted with the European experience. Gore is of the view however that our claim to having achieved unity in diversity through our history is at best patchy; and such unity does not characterise our contemporary social reality. It is only our progress towards a socially just, democratic and secular order which would determine our ability to achieve unity. This theme of unity in diversity also figures in Athar All's paper on Akbar and Abu'1 Fazl. Even before their time, the author argues, the concept of India had gone much beyond a purely territorial one in the Indo-Muslim tradition and Abu'1 Fazl inA'in-i-Akbari saw Indian culture, despite its diversities, as a unity. But he looked forward to a higher composite Indian culture which is purified by reason and rejects traditionalism, providing in the process a justification for Akbar's promotion of rationalism and social reform. Janos Kornai, the Hungarian economist well known for his critique of socialism, has recently come out with a comprehensive work entitled Socialist System. The review article by Tamas Krausz on Kornai's book discusses a wide range of issues, both historical and theoretical, concerning the erstwhile socialist societies, and argues that socialism cannot be reformed further in the direction of a market economy without engendering capitalist restoration. No other choice exists before mankind apart from the two alternatives: the socialism of self-government and free association or entrapment within capitalism. We also publish in this issue a review article on the recently published Essays{4n Indian History by Irfan Habib. A review of this book by E.M.S. Namboodiripad has already been published in the pages of this journal. But we think the book is important enough to merit further discussion, and we are glad to have Amiya Kumar Bagchi initiate it. We carry a critique of post-structuralism which sees parallels between some of its positionings and those of earlier romanticist critiques of 'modernity-as-universalist reason'. And C.P.Bhambhri reviews the crisis of Indian capitalism, locating the twin phenomena, namely the emergence of sectarian movements and the attempt to globalise the economy, within this crisis.