SOCIAL SCIENTIST VOLUME 26 NUMBERS 1-4 JAN.-APRIL 1998 ADVISORY EDITORS Ash ok Mitra Amalendu Guha Irfan Habib Amiya Bagchi Kishore Theckedath Jacob Eapen CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Thomas Isaac Atis Dasgupta Javeed Alam V.K. Ramachandran Venkatesh Athreya CIRCULATION & ADVERTISEMENT 35A/I (Sec. floor) Shahpur Jat, Near Asiad Village, New Delhi 110 049 Phone: 649 7999, 649 1448 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Inland Single issue Rs. 20 Double issue Rs. 30 Annual (individuals) Rs. 200 Annual (institutions 6c libraries) Rs. 350 Annual (students) Rs. 125 2-years (individuals) Rs. 300 3 years (individuals) Rs. 400 (Rs. 20 extra if by outst;ition cheque) EDITORIAL BOARD Madhu Prasad Utsa Patnaik D. Raghunandan C.P. Chandrasekhar MANAGING EDITOR Raj en dr a Prasad EDITOR Prabhat Patnaik EDITORIAL OFHCE 35A/1 (Sec. floor) Shahpur Jat, Near Asiad Village, Delhi 110049 Foreign (In US Dollars) Annual: Air mail 60 Sea rtiail 50 ISSN 0970 - 0293 Social Scientist is listed in the International Current Awareness Services and its contents are indexed in the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences. This issue is priced at Rs. 507- This issue is printed in Decemberl998 Printed and distributed by Tulika Print Communication Services Pvt. Ltd. 35A/I (Second floor) Shahpur J'at, Near Asiad Village, New Delhi 110 049