In recent years several books have appeared that review the overall process of soci0-political changes in Pakistan. Qadeer’s sociological exposition is more narrowly focused: It examines in considerable details the dynamics of a particular city in Pakistan, i.e., Lahore, as it has evolved and developed over the years before and since Independence. Before embarking on his case-study of Lahore, in an introductory chapter, Qadeer examines some of the current theories about urban growth in the Third World. The author maintains that the internal dynamics of cities in the Third World must be analyzed in the context of their class structures and external links. He argues that the larger cities have become “centres of conspicuous consumption and imitative Western-ism. Their international links tend to dominate their external roles (p.13). This implies that the student of urbanization “has ‘to be cognizant of the broader social and economic processes of the society-at-large”
