ABSTRACT
This volume is dedicated to and is a festschrift for Damodar Ramaji SarDesai (b. 1931) with whom all the contributors of this volume studied, or worked with in one capacity or another, in the Department of History at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Professor SarDesai’s own alma mater as well. He is one of those professors who was much more than a teacher as his office door was always open and he was always willing to stop his own work to greet students and colleagues with a welcoming smile, often a quip, and to offer his support and guidance and to share his considerable erudition. His delightful sense of humour, always bubbling to the surface, made any discussion a welcome and pleasant one, but what made any talk with him so rewarding, stimulating, and enjoyable is his exceptionally keen intelligence and his wide knowledge and deep reading. He can carry on a conversation on almost any subject offering insights and knowledge, yet, with an inquisitive mind, he is, like a true intellectual, always listening and willing to learn from others, young or old. With his wide experience of life in India, the United States, and England and his travels the world over, he is a cosmopolitan person as well, with a wide experience and a mind to match.
