India, July 25 -- The more things change, the more they stay the same. A new book India's Forests, edited by environmental historians Arupjyoti Saikia and Mahesh Rangarajan, which showcases both the deep continuities in the social ecology of forests from ancient times to present day, as well as the disruptions over this period, exemplifies this truism. India's Forests represents exciting new work, based on both archival and field research in the realm of environmental humanities that helps us better understand nature around us.

India's Forests points to the continuities in the ways forests have been used, governed and preserved over time. For instance, Kumkum Roy's chapter 'People, Produce and the Political' based on research on the Arth...