and the other on the nature of Kol and the Bhumij revolts are well-written, informative and concise; and they can usefully serve as a primer to the readers with anthropological interests. But such readers may very well be surprised at the omission in this collection of any account of the Santhal hool and Munda ulgulan. P.K. Shukla's "Indigo Peasant Protests in North Bihar, 1867-1916", is a highly researched, well documented and analytical essay. On the basis of extensive use of primary sources, which adds credence to his arguments, he underscores the economic basis of the discontent, solidarity and resistance of the peasants of North Bihar against the oppressive and inequitous indigo system enforced by the European planters, and brings to light how the indigo peasants were acquiring consciousness and mobilizing resistance on their own much before urban intelligentsia's intervention in their affairs. He argues that their resistance was communitarian not sectional, class, caste or religion played no divisive role. He also very cogently argues that it was this insurgency potentiality of the peasants that impressed Gandhi and made him quickly realize the essentiality of peasants' presence in the nationalist movement to make it forceful and effective. With Nirmal Sengupta's article on regional characteristics of peasant movements and Surendra Gopal's spotlighting of their changing social basis the anthology starts probing the nature, character and extent of the organised phase of the peasant struggle in Bihar. Both of them in their rambling accounts, inter alia drop hints of debunking the often romanticized legend of Kisan Sabha's achievements by underscoring their flaws and limits. Sengupta argues that the influence and effectiveness of the Kisan Sabha was limited only to some localized pockets of Bihar because of its inability to broaden enough its ideology and programmes to encompass all the diverse grievances and aspirations of the peasants of different districts. Surendra Gopal adds to this assessment by referring to the circumscribed caste base of the Kisan Sabha movements which led the middle caste peasants to form a separate organization, Triveni Sangh; though this petered out soon, it helped sharpen the caste identities among the peasants with later unfortunate consequences. But both these articles seem to be written in a hurry. Sengupta has not even given references to the sources of his information. The story of indigo is carried forward by Papiya Ghosh in her 'Peasants, Planters and Gandhi: Champaran in 1917'. In her analysis of Gandhi's role in Champaran indigo agitation she highlights how the peasants often defied Gandhian parameters of resistance even