The Man Behind the Plough is a wide-ranging, in-depth and moving study of the endemic problems and tragic suffering of the peasants of the undivided Bengal. In order to go into the roots of these problems, the author Sir M.Azizul Haque examines the land system introduced by the Permanent Settlement (1793), contrasts it with what prevailed during the Mughal era and throws light on how the zamindars’ lobby distorted the original intention of the regulations of 1793 with disastrous consequences. The author has made use of extensive facts, archival material and statistics to establish his interpretations and conclusions. It is a research work of very high quality, and may be regarded as what is now called an interdisciplinary work. The author put in ten years of labour of love, albeit very har