I have read 8 out of 16 essays by Amartya Sen in
The Argumentative Indian. In fact I have skipped
a lot of content as he himself acknowledges in the
preface that a lot of material might be replicated,
since essays have been written at different times,
and not originally intended to be a book.
Most of the book is about how India and Indians
have contributed to the world much more than
their religious beliefs and practices. How,
India has had a rich democracy and an ability
to accommodate various ethnic groups since
time immemorial which has facilitated a lot of
give and take between different cultures not
only in terms of the cultural exchanges but
scientific, or rather mathematical influences as
well.
Speaking of the scientific and mathematical exchanges,
he repeatedly cites the decimal system and few
astronomical calculations by our ancient scientists.
And, as is expected of a Nobel laureate, he backs
each claim of his with some solid evidence and
debunks some popular myths about India and Indians.
He also chastises the Hindutva brigade of attempting
to isolate India from the rest of the world and thus
hindering the free flow of ideas.
All in all, old wine in new bottle, but a bottle which
is rather impressive due to the solid evidence that
he cites to cement his claims. Though I would have
been much happier if he had actually unearthed
some contribution by India to the world, which is
hitherto unknown. Decimal system, democracy, multi-ethnicity
are all well known, well established. Give me something
new, as is expected of a Nobel laureate !!
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