Sekhar Bandyopadhyay is Senior Lecturer and Head of the History Programme, School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His research interests include the social and political history of modern India, with special reference to Bengal. He has previously published a number of books including "Caste, Protest and Identity in Colonial ""India: The Namasudras of Bengal, 1872 1937; Caste, Politics and the Raj: Bengal 1872 1937; "and "Bengal: Rethinking History, Essays in Historiography "(co-edited). He is also the author of numerous articles on caste, culture and nationalist politics in colonial India that have appeared in many journals and edited volumes.