Published in 2005, The Argumentative Indian collects and expands essays by the Nobel-winning economist Amartya Sen on Indian history, culture and identity. Its central claim is that India has a long, often neglected tradition of argument, scepticism and tolerance of dissent, visible in the Upanishads and the epics, in Buddhist councils, in the debates at Akbar's court and in the writings of Tagore and Gandhi.
Sen uses this tradition to contest narrow religious nationalism, which he argues misrepresents India's past as uniformly Hindu and spiritual. He also challenges Western stereotypes of India as mystical and irrational. Later essays address gender inequality, caste, poverty, the nuclear question, the relation between India and China, and the calendars and scientific achievements that reveal cultural exchange.
The book is learned but accessible, written in Sen's characteristic patient, carefully qualified style. It is as much a defence of reasoned public debate as a reading of history, and it has been widely discussed as a statement of a liberal, pluralist idea of India. Readers should expect essays rather than a single continuous argument.
Book details
| Author | Amartya Sen |
|---|---|
| First published | 2005 |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Philosophy |
| Type | Non-fiction |
| Pages (approx.) | 410 |
Themes
- Public reasoning
- Pluralism and secularism
- Indian identity
- Heterodoxy
- Social justice
Who should read it
Readers interested in a liberal, historically grounded case for Indian pluralism and democratic debate.