The Argumentative Indian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Argumentative Indian (ISBN 0-7139-9687-0) is a book written by the Indian Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen. It is a collection of essays that discuss India's history and identity, focusing on the traditions of public debate and intellectual pluralism.
The Argumentative Indian brings together a selection of writings from Sen that outline the need to understand contemporary India in the light of its long argumentative tradition. The understanding and use of this 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.
[edit] Criticism
The well-known American historian Will Durant wrote in The Story of Civilization long before September 11, 2001 attacks: "...the Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precious good, whose delicate complex order and freedom can at any moment be overthrown by barbarians invading from without and multiplying from within."[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Will Durant , "The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage" (page 459)
[edit] External links
- The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen, a review published in The Asian Review of Books.
- Beyond the call centre, a review published in The Guardian.
- In defence of reason, another review from The Guardian.
- Effort to right wrongs leaves past shackled, a critical review from The Times Higher Education Supplement.
- The Argumentative Indian The new book of Prof. Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian (2005) is a wonderful book on Indian history and culture.
