Introduction, Sep-Oct, 2021

For me and countless others Professor Irfan Habib has been a source of great inspiration, not just for his outstanding intellectual output but also because of his unwavering commitment to the Marxist world outlook and to the founding values of the Indian republic. I consider myself fortunate that my student days in Delhi were marked by an extraordinary cultural and intellectual richness: not only did I have some excellent and inspiring teachers in my discipline of economics, but each year was marked by two special events: a new film by Satyajit Ray, Teen Kanya, Mahanagar, Charulata and Kapurush, and a new article by Professor Irfan Habib in the journal Enquiry edited by Professor Bipan Chandra – articles like ‘The Agrarian Causes of the Downfall of the Mughal Empire’, ‘A Critique of Wittfogel’s Theory of Oriental Despotism’ and ‘Potentialities of Capitalist Development in Pre-British India’. The impact of such a heady mix on the formation of a young student is unimaginable.