Some of the most celebrated writers and critics examine issues central to the contemporary academic debate: issues of interface between political activism and aesthetic representation, the dominant discourse of mainstream or centre and the subaltern or marginalised voices, narratives of 'nations' in opposition to those of the 'nation', essentialism and universalism v. specificities and diversities, historical and spatial location of the author/reader, the insider's view v. the outsiders's, (ir)relevance of modern literary theory, the need to re-examine Western paradigms and search for alternative models, etc., Interrogation of hegemonic discourses -- literary and theoretical -- remains a central concern in the volume. Planned as a tribute to the memory of Jaidev the volume includes some unpublished essays by him. Other contributors are Mahasweta Devi, Bhisham Sahni, Ayyappa Paniker, Meenakshi Mukherjee, Arun Mukherjee, Suzette Henke, Jasbir Jain, Bhim S Dahiya, Amiya Dev, Harish Narang, E V Ramakrishnan and T S Gill.