![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Amartya Sen has made a strong argument by bringing out the thoughts and actions of the enlightened minds in India’s own history like Aryabhatta, Ashoka, Akbar, Rabindranath Tagore and more to prove Indians should not be defined by how the world sees them, nor should it close itself to the external world. When there are a bunch of extremists resisting technological innovations from the west, there are others making movies and writing books that depict India the way west wants to see us, as the mysterious land of snake charmers. “If traditionalism were proper, the prophets would have merely followed their elders” – Akbar What we all miss out on are the hidden stories about the fisherwoman, the eunuch and the doubtful husband, until we become too old to change ourselves. Almost every good hindu parent narrates selective stories from Mahabharata and Ramayana to their kids – the guys learn to listen to their elders from Rama and girls learn to never laugh out loud from Draupadi. Most Indians have a largely black and white attitude towards things: western influence, bad culture and values, good rationalisation, bad faith, good. Published during the decade of rising communal violence, every essay in this book urges Indians to figure out an identity that is not rooted in their religion. The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity by Amartya Sen ![]()
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