This book binds together essays that, in spite of adopting diverse methodologies and different perspectives, study Bihar's development, cultural changes, violence, governance, etc., over a long durée and across a vast region with blurred or even absent boundaries. These keywords are reflective of the realities 'in', rather than 'of', this state as in many other regions across the world. The state's profile on these parameters has undergone change several times in the last century. The essays in this collection present some of these changes in a vivid manner as well as set the agenda for new research.