Argumentative Indian : Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity / Amrtya Sen

By:

Sen, Amartya

Language: Eng Publication details: Penguin UK, 2006. New Delhi :Description: xx, 409 pISBN:

9780141012117

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

954 SEN-A

Contents:

Parts: Voice and heterodoxy -- Culture and communication -- Politics and protest -- Reason and identity. The argumentative Indian -- Inequality, instability, and voice -- India: large and small -- The diaspora and the world -- Tagore and his India -- Our culture--their culture -- Indian traditions and the Western imagination -- China and India -- Tryst with destiny -- Class in India -- Women and men -- India and the bomb -- The reach of reason -- Secularism and its discontents -- India through its calendars -- The Indian identity.

Summary: India is a country with many distinct traditions, widely divergent customs, vastly different convictions, and a veritable feast of viewpoints. In The Argumentative Indian, Amartya Sen draws on a lifetime study of his country's history and culture to suggest the ways we must understand India today in the light of its rich, long argumentative tradition. The millenia-old texts and interpretations of Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Muslim, agnostic, and atheistic Indian thought demonstrate, Sen reminds us, ancient and well-respected rules for conducting debates and disputations, and for appreciating not only the richness of India's diversity but its need for toleration. Though Westerners have often perceived India as a place of endless spirituality and unreasoning mysticism, he underlines its long tradition of skepticism and reasoning, not to mention its secular contributions to mathematics, astronomy, linguistics, medicine, and political economy.

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Books	Library, SPAB	Non Fiction	954 SEN-A (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		011201

Total holds: 0

Parts: Voice and heterodoxy --
Culture and communication --
Politics and protest --
Reason and identity. The argumentative Indian --
Inequality, instability, and voice --
India: large and small --
The diaspora and the world --
Tagore and his India --
Our culture--their culture --
Indian traditions and the Western imagination --
China and India --
Tryst with destiny --
Class in India --
Women and men --
India and the bomb --
The reach of reason --
Secularism and its discontents --
India through its calendars --
The Indian identity.

India is a country with many distinct traditions, widely divergent customs, vastly different convictions, and a veritable feast of viewpoints. In The Argumentative Indian, Amartya Sen draws on a lifetime study of his country's history and culture to suggest the ways we must understand India today in the light of its rich, long argumentative tradition. The millenia-old texts and interpretations of Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Muslim, agnostic, and atheistic Indian thought demonstrate, Sen reminds us, ancient and well-respected rules for conducting debates and disputations, and for appreciating not only the richness of India's diversity but its need for toleration. Though Westerners have often perceived India as a place of endless spirituality and unreasoning mysticism, he underlines its long tradition of skepticism and reasoning, not to mention its secular contributions to mathematics, astronomy, linguistics, medicine, and political economy.

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