[ bY ] with their potentialities not, yet exhausted. But the materials on which their studies were based had to be collected from diverse sources, and these had to be sifted scientifically before any conclusion could be drawn; this process of historical reconstruction has not yet come to an end, and hence it is often held by hyper-critical scholars that the time for writing a connected history of this country is still to be waited for. Lack of materials or the hypothetical character of our knowledge in respect of some problems should not, however, deter us from attempting a stock-taking of the progress already achieved in historical research. There was a real demand among the educated public of Bengal for a comprehensive history of the province, and this has been ably met by Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sen's recent publication, Brihat Vanga (A History of Greater Bengal in Bengali) which gives a vivid portrait of Bengal drawn on a broad canvass of historical phenomena which, touching the yet indistinct fringes of Vedic and Mohenjo-daro life, and comprehending the dim expressions of pre-historic culture and art, cover in their sweep and range almost every manifestation of national will and genius till the middle of the 18th century. It is a book in which Bengal will expect to discover her hidden soul. The idea of producing a complete history of the Bengalee race by collaboration among Indian and European specialists took a preliminary shape at Government House nearly two decades ago, when Lord Ronaldshay's (now Marquess of Zetland) Secretary, Mr. Gourlay invited the co-operation of Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sen in preparing some of thc literary chapters of the work under contemplation. Unfortunately, the scheme did not materialise, but Dr. Sen who had been associated with it since its inception stuck to it with a consistent resolution and made up his mind to write the entire history himself. The work that has just been published
