ROLE OF THE PAST 37 However, it may be questioned, for instance, why we need at all to consider newer concepts such as "change, conflict and tension", to view the past and the present and the future. For one thing, change and continuity are twin fundamentals of the dynamics of human societies, whereas we have concentrated on the continuity aspect of tradition in India. The other broader reason lies in the argument that the cosmos is governed (as we know today) by the dynamic laws of change, earth and life being very much a part of it. This is an accepted scientific view of the universe today albeit without any inevitability, and it provides the rationale for accepting change as a model as much of the rationale in status quo or equilibrium models lies in the earlier 'harmony' and 'equilibrium5 view of the universe. In the ultimate analysis, models are ideal type referents against which individual cases can be compared. In fact, any model represents a structured set of a system of concepts and ideas. But this does not necessarily mean that human socio-cultural systems may be equated and expected to behave as natural systems of inorganic or other organic matter. Furthermore, concepts and models are not only heuristic devices which help to put into order our complex data and observations, they also have a self-fulfilling prophetic value, through the building up of an image of the past. It is only through this image that it may be possible to realize the vision of a new society, because every society has necessarily to relate to its past in order to explain not only its present state of existence but also to project and predict the future directions it is likely to follow. 1 Romila Thapar, The Past and Prejudice, Sardar Patel Memorial Lectures, (mimeographed), 1972. a S C Malik, Indian Civilisation: the Formative Period (A Study of Archaeology as Anthro' pology). Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla 1968. 8 S C Malik, Indian Civilization: the First Phase (Problems of a Sourcebook), Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla 1971. 4 S C Mailk, "Indian Archaeology : Models and Social Relevance", in Proceedings of Carbon-14 and Indian Archaeology Conference, DP Agrawal (ed.) Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay 1972. 5 S C Malik, Understanding Indian Citilization—A Framework of Enquiry, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla 1957.J