Historical Geography

Historical geography has never been a priority area in Indian geography, though its importance can hardly be overemphasized. Most of the studies cited in the review do not come from geographers, nor can they strictly be considered as historical-geographicalresearches. Nevertheless, acceptance and emergence of new notions, ways, perspectives, subaltern views, oral history, biographical resources, heritage ecology, etc. are some ofthe recent concerns enriching the field of historical geography of India. All such studiescan provide essential raw material for a meaningful historical-geographical interpretation.

Social Geography
Though this specialism is characterized by a more than desirable dose of eclecticism, the sub-discipline has received adequate attention by a number of geographers during the period under review. The most important feature of the growth ofthe sub-discipline has been an accent on theory impinging more on epistemological issuesat the cost of empirical research. More contributions have come in the form of chapters in edited volumes rather than articles in leading journals. This cannot be taken as a healthydevelopment. The immediate cause for a shift in interest in socio-geographical research appears to be the post-modern discourse that has caught the attention of Indian geographers following their western counterparts. A few geographers have however continued with studies of caste and morphology of rural settlements, spatial aspects oflanguage and shifts in language and ethnic conflicts and the like.