76 SOCIAL SCIENTIST to identify the causal factors which appear decisive in setting the scene for a specific event. Not only is this effort intellectually paying for its rigour it also raises new questions challenging the so-called conventional hypotheses. Chandikaprasad Sarkar's The Bengali Muslims : A Study in Their Politicization, 1912-1929 belongs to the genre of study in which an attempt is constantly made to relate each and every micro-political event with the broader socio-political and economic scene. The task appears difficult especially in the context of rather conflicting and confusing source materials; by marshalling evidence, the author has however developed an argument which appears plausible in the light of other studies on related phenomena. In order to study the politicisation of the Bengali Muslims between 1912 and 1929, the author concentrates on the British-initiated and sponsored reform schemes and the Congress effort to woo the educated Muslims through agreements at the elite level. Divided into seven chapters, the book deals with the politicisation of the Bengali Muslims in the context of the British machinations and other influences. Chapters one and two are a mere reiteration of familiar hypotheses regarding the changes the Bengali Muslims, particularly its leadership had undergone in the early part of the century as a result of various factors affecting the prevalent socio-cultural and political processes. Drawing on the available evidence, Sarkar identifies three factors which appear significant in the replacement of the loyalists by an indigenous leadership: (a) the emergence of a group of 'patriotic and Bengali-oriented ulema* (p. 71) who by criticising the Urdu-speaking leaders strove to champion the cause of the indigenous leadership; (b) by capitalising on the growing anti-British feeling, the new Muslim intelligentsia, represented in the leadership strengthened its position vis-a-vis the loyalists; and (c) the spread of the English education. The emergence of an indigenous leadership brought about remarkable changes in the Muslim psyche : not only were the Muslims drawn into the contemporary political processes they also evolved appropriate roles for themselves in shaping their future. This is what the author calls 'politicization* which denotes 'a multidimensional process through which the Bengali Muslims gradually became aware of the impediments in the way of their political, cultural and economic advancement and also of the means of overcoming them so that they might play their appropriate role in shaping the future of the country" (p. ix). Politicization, defined thus, contributes significantly to the identity formation which probably precedes the involvement in the political process. Notwithstanding the debate, the identity formation process is essentially cultural at the outset in which religion plays a pivotal role. As a colonial society, the pre-1947 Bengal injected various alien values which significantly influenced the Bengali Muslims.