The Argumentative Indian : Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity
Contents: Preface. Diacritical notation for Sanskrit words. I. Voice and heterodoxy: 1. The argumentative Indian. 2. Inequality, instability and voice. 3. India: large and small. 4. The diaspora and the world. II. Culture and communication: 5. Tagore and his India. 6. Our culture, their culture. 7. Indian traditions and the western imagination. 8. China and India. III. Politics and protest: 9. Tryst and destiny. 10. Class in India. 11. Women and men. 12. India and the bomb. IV. Reason and identity: 13. The reach of reason. 14. Secularism and its discontents. 15. India through its calendars. 16. The Indian identity. Notes. Index of names. General Index.
"India is a very diverse country with many distinct pursuits, vastly differing convictions, widely divergent customs, and a veritable feast of viewpoints. The Argumentative Indian brings together an illuminating selection of writings from Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen that outline the need to understand contemporary India, including its thriving democracy, in the light of its long argumentative tradition.
That tradition has not only influenced the history of literary, cultural, political, scientific and mathematical developments in India, but also the intellectual pluralism underlying its religious diversity. This includes heterodoxies within Hindu philosophy as well as India's other religious experiences, varying from the early flowering of Buddhism, Jainism and Atheism to constructive encounters with religions coming from abroad, particularly Islam. Understanding the political, social, cultural and economic challenges that contemporary India faces demands an adequate appreciation of its pluralist, interactive and dynamic heritage.
Sen argues that external views also affect the national perception of identity through an interactive process, especially in the post-colonial world. The west has often perceived India as a place of endless spirituality and unreasoning mysticism. Yet it has a long tradition of scepticism and reasoning, with perhaps, of all ancient civilizations, the largest body of agnostic and atheistic literature, in addition to secular contributions in mathematics, astronomy, linguistics, medicine and political economy. Sen also discusses aspects of India's rich intellectual heritage, including philosophies of governance outlined by Kautilya and Ashoka in the fourth and third centuries BCE to Akbar in the 1590s; the history and continuing relevance of India's close relations with China in the first millennium; its old and well-organized calendars; the films of Satyajit Ray; and the debates between the visionary poet Rabindranath Tagore and Mohandas Gandhi about India's past, present and future.
The understanding and use of India's rich argumentative tradition are critically important, Sen argues, for the success of India's democracy, the defence of its secular politics, the removal of inequalities related to class, caste, gender and community, and the pursuit of sub-continental peace." (jacket)
