RE-EMERGENCE OF ASIA ON THE GLOBAL CENTRESTAGE

Book Review | Asia Reborn

I had never heard about a book that tried to define Asia- its contemporary ideologies and modern histories, its vibrant economies and shared cultures- in a single book or volume series. So when I heard about the book “Asia Reborn” by Prasenjit K. Basu, my excitement and amusement knew no bounds. The exhilaration grew manifold- as I delved into this detailed book- and amusement too, for I realised how little I knew about the Asian continent, its inherent similarities and colonial histories, and this voluminous chronicle turned to be far more informative than I had imagined. Moreover, this book enlightened me to view Asia from a new perspective- a continent in totality, Asia Rising; as the author has intended his readers to get this strong message from his book.

Aptly subtitled “A Continent Rises from the Ravages of Colonialism and War to a New Dynamism”, the book details how Asia is rising again and leaping forward to reclaim the lost ground- due to the perils of Colonialism- and the message of the Asian countries as a power to be reckoned with, in an increasingly multilateral world, is unmissable. In line with the modern rhetoric, India and China have been projected as the global players on the world stage; however credence has also been given to other Asian countries with their roles not completely written off. The inherent dynamism of Asia, one that had certainly slowed down during the colonial period, and is fastly gathering momentum again, is portrayed in the book with substantial verve.

The author, being an acclaimed economist, and having spent the last twenty-five years analysing Asia’s economies- in the form of copious analytical commentaries for his employers and their clients, writing op-ed articles for leading newspapers, and being a regular commentator on various channels, has weaved a lucid narrative, though somewhat detailed at 680 pages, which he admits is due to the simple fact that Asian nations and peoples need to know each other’s histories. He has also co-authored another book “India as a New Global Leader”.

The dedications page of the book is another delight, for it is here that Subhas Bose and M.K. Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and Narendra Modi share the same page. The first two are under the heading of the liberators, and the latter find a place amongst the builders. Though these four Indian leaders, with different ideologies, have a lot of differences, one commonality binds them- putting India on the world map. The author, by placing the names of these Indian stalwarts, with the other Asian compatriots- the list also includes Ito Hirobumi, Kishi Nobusuke, Sukarno, Aung San, Ataturk, Mossadegh, Lee Kuan Yew, among others, has implied the role these have played in contemporary Asian politics and in taking Asia to new heights.

To better understand the contents of the book, one needs to know the names of its chapters. The book is divided into six chapters, and follows a time-frame bound narrative. These are “In Europe’s shadow: Asia’s political landscape in 1900”; “The first stirrings of Nationalism (1901-1913)”; “The first European civil war and its aftermath (1914-1925)”; “The Nascent Clash of Imperial Titans and New Ideologies (1925-1939)”; “The Great Asian War and the ebb of European empire(1940-1946)”; and “Freedom, Revolution and Japan’s miracle among the cold war (1947-1971)”.

The first chapter details the British Empire in India, the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in Asia and the Dutch colonies in Java. However, Japan is shown as an exception and described as an Asian sun piercing the colonial clouds. The second chapter describes Curzon’s gambit to partition Bengal, the fragile emergence of Republican China and Japan’s victory over Russia in 1904-05.

The third chapter details the “Arab revolt”, the emerging strategic centrality of oil reserves and Bolshevism in Russia. The fourth chapter describes the Soviet challenge to Asia’s status quo and the rising spectre of Communism in Asia.

The fifth chapter details Japan’s conquest and liberation of the West Asian colonies, path to India’s independence, Thailand’s quest to remain independent, and Japan’s Nuke-induced surrender. The sixth chapter details Britain’s decolonization, the convoluted paths to post-colonial Southeast Asia and making of Japan’s economic miracle. The shortcomings of India’s Nehruvian model of Comprehensive Import Substitution and the economic liberalisation of 1991 have also been detailed.

The frequent rhetoric in the book is of Japan’s credential role as a leader in Asia’s rebirth. The author mentions that the most prosperous parts of Asia in the second half of the twentieth century were those that had been ruled by Japan, while those parts of Asia that were ruled longest by the British were its poorest. The examples are Taiwan, Korea and Manchuria, where the Japanese built physical infrastructure, invested in heavy industries, modernized land tenure and vastly boosted literacy. This legacy proved to be vital for launching them onto the path of modern economic growth.

The book also shows that the British, Dutch and French colonies had scant infrastructure or modern industry, and were also debilitated by the social conflicts sparked by the European overlords; and thus were far behind Japanese ruled territories in terms of social indicators such as literacy and life expectancy by mid-century. It has also been detailed that how by the end of the century, the eastern part of the liberated continent, from South Korea to China to India, had emulated Japan and Singapore in transforming itself into an industrious, dynamic and increasingly creative force, taking its people to new heights in the Asian twenty-first century.

This book is about contemporary Asia and should be read by literary enthusiasts of such a genre to gain a deep insight into the socialist and democratic ideologies, and the communist and post- Marxist historiographies that have helped shape this seemingly diverse continent, yet with inherent similarities which go much farther than cartographic ties. Aptly being referred to as the first single chronicle of the modern economic and political history of the whole continent, this beautiful hardbound volume will also do a favour of decorating bookshelves of economists and political analysts covering the region, for they may find new meanings and new socio-political connotations in the interconnected and informative analysis presented in the book.

(“Asia Reborn” by Prasenjit K. Basu is published by Aleph Book Company and is priced at Rs. 1999).