Book: The Argumentative Indian

Author: Amartya Sen

Review
This book consists of 16 essays written by Amartya Sen which are further divided
into 4 parts.
In the first two essays of the book, Amartya Sen throws light on the long history
of reasoning and argumentation in India and its connection with advances in the
fields of science, mathematics, etc and in the politics of participation and
secularism and its contemporary relevance in removing social inequality. Ashoka
and Akbar gave special importance to public dialogue and reasoning. He goes on
to say that silence is a powerful enemy of social justice. In the next 2 essays, the
challenges to an inclusive and heterogeneous Identity by an aggressive yet
diluted one (from the Hindutva supporters) are discussed. The Hindutva version
has miniaturized India and deeply influenced the way the world sees us. He then
compares the Hindutva version with the British version of India during colonial
times.
The next part is the one I find most interesting as it tells us about the various
differences that Tagore and Gandhi had on various subjects such as idols,
nationalism, God, science, patriotism, etc but still they wished for a united and
secular India. But Tagore believed more in reasoning than in traditionalism and in
the exchange of ideas between different cultures. The next essay focuses on
Satyajit Rays appreciation of cultural divides and his efforts in overcoming these
cultural barriers. The next essay tells us the different approaches in which the
West has tried to understand India and our culture. The last essay focuses on the
flow of ideas between China and India, especially in science, mathematics,
literature, heath care and medicine. Chinese came here to learn Buddhist texts
but were influenced by healthcare facilities in Pataliputra. Sen ,then ,enjoins
Indian administrators to learn from China as it has now moved way ahead of
India especially in providing basic education and quality health services to its
people.
In the next part, he describes our journey since independence. Our democratic
setup has remained strong and is stable even today. But we have lagged far
behind in the removal of social inequality and backwardness. A more vigorous
and vocal use of public participation is needed to achieve a more inclusive
growth. The next essay focuses on role of class distinction. He says that Class
does not act alone in creating and reinforcing inequality, and yet no other source
of inequality is fully independent of class. He uses the concept of friendly fire to
show that the very institutions that were created to overcome disparities have
reinforced inequality. The next essay focuses on gender inequality. A fuller
cognizance and appreciation of womens power is beneficial not just from women
but for the whole society. The last essay deals with the nuclear ambitions of India
and Pakistan and their detrimental effect for entire subcontinent.

In the last part, the role of reason in decision-making is emphasised. Reason

must replace traditionalism and our choices must be based on reason. He then
dismisses anti-secular protests on based on various fronts. He defines secularism
as treatment of all religions equally but then goes on to say that this limit of
equal treatment is undefined and hence secularism is itself incomplete .Through
the study of calendars, he points out to the cultural diversity in India.
In the last essay, he tells us that there can be no unique homogenous identity
that fits all such as a Hindu Identity .Plus ,we all have different identities and it is
upto us to decide how much priority we assign to different identities. An Indian
identity is an inclusive identity that tolerates, protects and indeed celebrates
diversity within a pluralist India.
I found his thesis very rich. The clarity with which he has written about topics
such as secularism and religion was very insightful. Each and every point of his is
backed up by thorough analysis.
Submitted byGaurav Shroff
BPCA3G048