Gopalkrishna Gandhi has been an administrator, diplomat, author, and public intellectual of distinction for over four decades. His writings have spanned diverse genres, showcasing both his deep scholarship as well as a profound engagement with issues of politics, history,iterature, and culture. He is respected not only for his statesmanship, but also admired as an exemplar of a fading ideal of our republic, one that placed ethics and the pursuit of the common good at the core of our publicife. The Fourthion, a festschrift in honour of Gopalkrishna Gandhi, consists of twenty-six essays contributed by individuals drawn from various walks ofife and from across the globe. Organized into thematic sections—Literature and Culture, History, Environment, Politics and Public Affairs, and Memoirs—the essays speak to concerns, interests and sensibilities that animate ourives.