The focus of this volume is South Asia and South East Asia, one of the most fascinating regions of the world. It introduces to its readers the great transitions being witnessed by its different nations in their vast developmental, social and cultural domains. It does this by offering a collection of essays divided into five interrelated sections. The ‘Religion, caste and tribe section’ dwells on some unique interpretations of the changes seen in religious and caste identities, especially in their social and cultural behaviour, both in the historical and contemporary perspectives. In the ‘Neoliberal authoritarianism and corporatization section’, the authors show how neoliberalism leads to authoritarianism and redistributes gains from trade in favour of richer nations; and further, how the newly introduced process of financing is challenging labour laws and operational strategies of businesses. The ‘Comparative analysis of growth performance section’ covers a wide domain, providing a set of renewed insights into the complexities of the relationship between China and India. It also looks at the relative growth performance of India and Vietnam; and the relative performance among five niche garment exporting countries - Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Vietnam - in the highly competitive global apparel market. The ‘Cases of individual countries section’ presents country studies set in a historical as well as in the contemporary framework. It includes the rise of British colonialism in India and its devastating impact on Bengal’s agrarian economy; the nature of concentration of the Indian manufacturing industries and its influences on economic reforms; the impact of Covid-19on food security in Bangladesh; and the emergence of China as the dominant world leader in the field of industrial design. In the section on ‘Gender issues: entrepreneurship and empowerment’, the papers provide insights on the growth of women entrepreneurs in India; the influence of social customs on the decisions regarding participation of women in the labour market; and the prospects of empowerment of female-owned enterprises in the country’s large informal sector. The focus of this volume is South Asia and South East Asia, one of the most fascinating regions of the world. It introduces to its readers the great transitions being witnessed by its different nations in their vast developmental, social and cultural domains. It does this by offering a collection of essays divided into five interrelated sections. The ‘Religion, caste and tribe section’ dwells on some unique interpretations of the changes seen in religious and caste identities, especially in their social and cultural behaviour, both in the historical and contemporary perspectives. In the ‘Neoliberal authoritarianism and corporatization section’, the authors show how neoliberalism leads to authoritarianism and redistributes gains from trade in favour of richer nations; and further, how the newly introduced process of financing is challenging labour laws and operational strategies of businesses.