The papers1 in this special issue of the Economic & Political Weekly aim to tackle the concept of region in its manifestation at multiple scales—subnational (provincial2 and others, including city regions), national, and supranational (regions such as South Asia or Bay of Bengal littoral or the Indian Ocean region or global region). Analyses by social scientists in different disciplines have not successfully combined these multiple scales in understanding the different aspects of Indian history and development. For instance, analysts have largely used either the national scale or the subnational, regional scale but rarely, both these scales. Either the nation manifests itself in a region or a particular region stands in for the nation. The conceptualisation of the region and an examination of the dialectical relationship between the nation and the region have not received adequate attention so far. Especially for the period after 1947, regions are usually officially-defined bounded entities like states, or substate regions Vakulabharanamthat have official demarcation (like the National Sample Survey regions). This special issue is a preliminary attempt at kick-starting the much-needed project of conceptualising the region in the Indian context in all its diversity—in thought as well as its material manifestations
