Open AccessMyrdal's "Asian Drama" (Review Article)
Author(s) -
Jan Tinbergbn
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
pakistan development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.154
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 0030-9729
DOI - 10.30541/v8i4pp.618-625
Subject(s) - drama , independence (probability theory) , multitude , subtitle , politics , order (exchange) , history , poverty , world war ii , sociology , political science , social science , literature , law , philosophy , linguistics , economics , art , mathematics , statistics , finance
The publication by one of Europe's greatest scholars about theworld's most important problem area is an event of the first order. Thescholar I mean is Myrdal and the area South-Asia. I am happy to offersome comments on this book, called "Asian Drama", with the well-chosensubtitle "An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations" [1], both because ofits merits and because of the challenges it contains to somebody sosympathetic to the author's view and at the same time so full of doubtwith regard to a number of methodological issues raised. The book coversan impressive multitude of subjects and is fascinating in many respects.It brings a good deal of history of the area, from before its politicalindependence obtained after World War II, to to-day and gives a lot ofinteresting background information in Chapters 4 and 5 on how thefrontiers of the countries were established. It gives pictures of thegreat leaders of in¬dependence, Gandhi (pp.92, 754-55 for some strikingelements), Nehru and Jinnah. It deals extensively with the backgroundsand consequences of Parti¬tion (Chapter 6) and with the not-too-goodrole the French and the Dutch played (p. 226) in theircolonies.