The Argumentative Indian- Review

AMARTYA SEN is one of the leading intellectuals not just in Asia but throughout the world. In this collection of essays, he cements his reputation as a clear-thinking visionary for the future through his thorough understanding of both the past and the present. His arguments are persuasive, infused with concern for people of all stations and filled with the calmness that derives from a masterful employment of discourse.

Perhaps the best of these is the second section, entitled "Culture and Communication", which is instrumental in defining the overarching themes of the book. In "Tagore and His India", Sen re-establishes the work and reputation of Rabindranath Tagore as a polymath with concerns political and practical.

The stories of the pilgrimages of Chinese monks to India to secure Buddhist texts are well-known; less well-known are the travels and lengthy sojourns in China of Indian sages and their impact.

In the section entitled "Politics and Protest", Sen again employs his technique with forensic precision to skewer the illogicalities and inequities inherent in the discrimination against women, low castes and the poor endemic in Indian society. The same discursive techniques show how ill-served India has been by its resumption of the nuclear bomb testing program and the foolishness of religious extremism.