The argumentative Indian : writings on Indian history, culture, and identity / Amartya Sen.

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.

DS423 .S338 2005

First American edition.

9780374105839 (hardcover : alk. paper)
0374105839 (hardcover : alk. paper)
031242602X
9780312426026

xx, 409 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

(OCoLC)60644821

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.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

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