Book reviews: South Asia

This policy essay examines the historical and policy evolution in Bhutan from the creation of Bhutan in the 1600s to 2014. An examination of the overarching policy intent of Gross National Happiness is reviewed as well as how modern political institutions in Bhutan implement Gross National Happiness. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the new Bhutanese state founded by the Shabrung Ngawang Namgyal established its political and institutional right and legitimacy to rule based on Mahayana Buddhism canonical tenets, including ensuring that Bhutanese citizens could obtain Enlightenment and happiness. A modern manifestation of this historical precedent for state and political institutional intervention to promote collective happiness is embodied in the policy of Gross National Happiness. This essay concludes by noting that modern Gross National Happiness is a holistic development approach based on a trend emanating from more ancient Mahayana Buddhist traditions Gross National Happiness balanced with modern economic, governmental, and social conditions with Mahayana Buddhist spiritual requirements embodied in Gross National Happiness.     

Book Reviews: South East Asia

The best Lapis lazuli in the world comes from Afghanistan, from Badakhshan, where it has been mined for over 6,000 years.

Merchants carried lapis to cities all over Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, where distinctive ornaments have subsequently been excavated. More recently emerged a quite different use of lapis-the grinding of the stone to produce pigment for painting (ultramarine) This technique travelled as much as the stone itself from caves in Asia through wall paintings of the early Middle Ages to the Italian Renaissance and, finally to Titian     

Notes on South Asia in Crisis

Abstract

Louis Dumont has argued persuasively that the concept of caste is not simply a form of social stratification, but a way of looking at society as a whole. Dumont argues that the “Western mind” sees society as the relationship between individuals and the mass, but that the “Indian mind” sees relationships between groups (castes) and social unity. This holistic concept of Indian society is essentially religious, for it is based on beliefs and values which reflect a sacred order, undergird religious institutions, and are the subjects of religious texts. At the heart of these beliefs and values are the Hindu concepts of purity/pollution, and the karmic cycle of birth and rebirth. Both of these concepts are intimately related to the notion of Untouchability; and without them, the caste system would lose its religious legitimacy. The question, then, is whether the Untouchables accept this logic, or whether it is forced upon them.     

Parties and political change in South Asia

Over the past seven decades and more political parties have become an essential feature of the political landscape of the South Asian subcontinent, serving both as a conduit and product of the tumultuous change the region has experienced. Yet they have not been the focus of sustained scholarly attention. This collection focuses on different aspects of how major parties have been agents of – and subject to – change in three South Asian states (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), examining some of the apparent paradoxes of politics in the subcontinent. Recurring themes are the importance of charismatic leaders and their families (and the corresponding neglect of institutionalisation) and the lack of pluralism in intraparty affairs, factors that render parties and political systems vulnerable to degeneration.     

Statement on political prisoners in South East Asia

This article reports a part of the field research carried out in Shanghai in 1991, dealing with worker's culture. Specifically, it examines the factory's role in shaping the worker's sense of future and meaningful life. In this particular aspect, factory identity among workers appears to be very weak, while those whose factory identity is strongest tend to be cadres and party members. This article argues that such lack of factory identity partially explains why lifetime employment yields such dramatically divergent results in China and Japan. Finally, this article looks into the notion of activism vs passivism and confirms, with qualification, previous studies on authority in the Chinese work place.     

艰苦的工作浩大的工程--贺《简明南亚中亚百科全书》出版

<简明南亚中亚百科全书>终于出版了,这项由数十人参与编写,数十人参与编辑、校对和提供资料,历时八九年的浩大工程终于竣工了,这的确是一件值得祝贺的好事.我首先要向这一工程的参加者表示祝贺,他们多是国内相关问题研究的专家,在自己研究领域工作多年且成绩斐然.