The happenings of a particular decade, be it a war or any milestone in geopolitics, a spectacular scientific discovery or a technological breakthrough, can never be attributed to that particular span of ten years. Every major development is normally preceded by a process of evolution through many decades and gets a definitive shape over subsequent decades. Yet, the human mind has a tendency to perceive every milestone of development, good or bad, in the context of a specific period ~ a decade, a century.

By that logic, three decades of the last century had the most far reaching impact in the present global scenario ~ the 1940s, the 70s and the 90s. The 40s witnessed the rise of the Fascist powers in Europe, the Holocaust, the Second World War, first application of nuclear bombs in war, decline of Europe vis-à-vis emergence of USA in geopolitical importance, consolidation of the Communist nations, fall of colonialism in the new world order, beginning of the Cold War and formation of the United Nations. The 90s witnessed fall of Communism in east Europe and erstwhile Soviet Union, rise of Jihadi Terrorism, emergence of China and other South-east Asian nations as the new economic powerhouses of the world, communication revolution in the form of internet and mobile telephony and spectacular technological development in medical treatment. In India, the 40s witnessed the worst of the famines, rise of communal politics leading to partitioning of the sub-continent and independence.

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In the 90s, India witnessed the rise of coalition politics and liberalisation of the economy. In between came the 1970s which according to many writers was the turning point in geopolitics, in science and technology and in culture and sports. Interestingly, the books and the tele-films that came out on the events and personalities of the Seventies were mostly UScentric. “The Seventies; The Great Shift in American Culture, Politics and Society” by American historian Schulman B.J. (2001) highlighted the political, cultural and social transformation of American society in that decade. “The Seventies in America”, the Volume edited by Super, J.C. (2005) was a kind of encyclopaedia with 672 essays that examined the issues and moments of the decade, iconic personalities and is an important source of reliable information for anyone interested in US history.

“The 1970s: A New Global History from Civil Rights to Economic Inequality” by Borstelmann, Thomas (2013) showed how the decade “wrought irrevocable transformations upon American society and the broader wor – ld that continue to resonate to – day”. However, “A History of the Seventies” by Dia nda, B. (2019) is perhaps the first attempt to explain the “indepth and complete look at the Seventies” ~ the political, cultural, social and economic developments that shaped the modern world. “The SEVENTIES: Turbulence to Transition”, a book edited by Nandi, Sayantan and Deb, Indrani (2025), brought out by an initiative of the Thinkers’ Club, is a recent addition on the subject. Besides historical, political and social perspectives of the landmark events of the 70s, the book dwells upon important breakthroughs of science and technology, women’s journey towards equality, critical perspectives in the happenings of the cultural world, performative arts and sports. In all, twentyseven essays in the book covered such different aspects of life which had a remarkable turn in the 70s to shape the subsequent decades. The book starts with the essay that provided an insight into how the decade saw a “decline of the ‘normal’ Left and the conservative liberal to a more nationalistic populism fuelled by free market ideologies”.

Then there are pieces on the role of the US in the emergence of China as an economic powerhouse, the oil crisis and its far-reaching aftershocks, and the intellectual origin of subaltern studies. Subsequent essays change focus from global to South-Asi – an issues: historicizing images of Mother and Motherland right from the days of the Bengal Partition to liberation of Bang – la desh, the war of 1971 ~ when a fe – male leader fought ~ and the Bangla – desh Liberation War from the perspective of North-eastern India. The essay on the Kesavananda Bharati case and the landmark judgement of the Apex Court of India (1973) traced how “a constant battle to decide how far the legislature could use its power of amendment, and what part of the Constitution was sacrosanct” finally came to terms in India in the 70s. The article on “Dijikstra ~ The Un-hyped hero of Computing” traces out how the fingerprints of this genius are “visible all through the state-of-the-art in the science of computing of today”.

The article on Voyager-I, “Where no one has gone before” records the amazing journey of the spacecraft which started in the 1970s and is still communicating with earth. The essay “What the 1970s meant for Physical and Biological Sciences” traces the landmark dev – elopments which contributed to shaping the technology-driven society of today. The essay on the book “Sexual Politics” by Millett, Kate (1970) reveals how this book influenced the women’s movement in the 70s all over the wor – ld and contributed to cultural transition. At the national level, the article on the report (Tow – ards Equality, 1975) of the Committee set up by the Government of India on the Status of Women explains how it acted “as a founding text, a historic document, as a milestone in Indian Women’s ongoing journey towards equality” In the section on culture, there is an essay on “thematic centrality of anger” in the cinema of the 70s, mostly using ex – am ples from Indian and Hollywood films.

The piece exposes the “distinctive nature of anger (in the movies of Seventies) which differentiates it from earlier and later personifications”. The essay “The Total Revolution of Total Football” reveals the game changing transition of football which happened in the 70s. At the regional level, the piece on Badal Sarkar’s plays of the 1970s gives an insight to “in – novative changes in the world of theatre, both in form and content”. The essay on “Changing landscape of Bengali kitchen” explains how in the 70s, the “kitchen (was) being shaped by new economic changes, cultural tastes and the rising popularity of advertising”. The essay on the book “Pe – dagogy of the Oppressed” by Freire Paulo originally came out in Portuguese in 1968 (English version first came out in 1970) explained how it shook the roots of the education system which was in vogue all over the world. Also, there is an essay on architecture which explains how the decade witnessed a paradigm shift in modern architecture.

Two articles: one relating to a struggle of a reputed English daily from Calcutta to retain its moral centre during the Emergency days and the other gleaned from a Bengali daily explored the Naxalite period from the lens of a contemporary observer. Besides, the book has a few pieces which are based on personal reflections on the decade by eminent academicians and bureaucrats. “The SEVENTIES: Turbulence to Transition” can be a source of reference for anyone interested in the history of that period.

(The writer, a former civil servant, is now an independent commentator on socio-economic issues and public policies)