THE ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN – A REVIEW

By: Abhinav Sinha

Institute of Management, Nirma University

One of the many difficulties in writing a book about a country like India is to decide where to begin. Anyone who has been associated with this part of the world for a significant length of time knows that to define India, even broadly, by a single feature or trait is not just unjust but highly impossible. To begin with, one does not know whether to associate the land with its people or its places, its customs or its religions, its geography or its history. There are so many facets of India – each one more important than the other – that it is difficult to pin down one aspect which can bind everything together. Amartya Sen, in his book ‘The Argumentative Indian’ treads the path carefully and adeptly chooses one aspect which is inherently inbred in any discussion about India – its contradictions. India is a land of contradictions – where every viewpoint has a counter viewpoint, each one as convincing as the other – and this is where Mr Sen finds a focal point to discuss the culture, history and identity of the country in a book that is both comprehensive and crisp at the same time.

In the book, which is divided in four parts, each part in turn containing four essays, Mr Sen writes just about everything one understands to be essentially Indian. In this endeavour, Mr Sen risks his credentials by digressing from his established role as an accomplished economist to a cultural commentator, a path which not many economists have made in the past, let alone be successful at it. To undertake a task such as this, one needs to be impassioned about the subject matter, and in the case of Mr Sen this is definitely true. However, and this is where his book indisputably succeeds, Mr Sen does well to not let personal bias creep into any of the essays. In fact even in his political essays, where it is difficult to alienate oneself from personal ideology, Mr Sen crafts the words in such a way so as to mitigate the chances of misinterpreting them as biased opinions. Although certain sections of the reviewers still accuse of him of aligning to an anti-right ideology, the accusations are far more likely to be a result of the reviewer’s own sense of scepticism to anything neutral rather than a judgement based on pure reasoning.

However, while Mr Sen tries to maintain a neutral viewpoint on most issues, a reader cannot help but notice a sense of desperation of a culturally defensive nationalist. Mr Sen is undoubtedly a well read person and he exploits this fact well by citing excerpts from writings about India from the past to defend his argument. However, the very fact that he considers argument and counter argument as an inherently Indian trait and a vital ingredient for intellectual progress vindicates him of any accusations of such sort. It is also premature to criticize Mr Sen on this front when one considers the regard he pays to Rabindranath Tagore, who he quite openly states was free from excessive nationalistic

feelings. Indeed, in his piece on the Nobel laureate, which perhaps stands out as the best of the lot, Mr Sen supports Tagore’s criticism of undue patriotism in no uncertain terms. The essay further dissects the intricate relationship between Tagore and Gandhi and the point of divergence in their ideologies. While Tagore admired Gandhi for the political leadership he provided to the freedom movement, he found himself at odds with him on subjects like nationalism, rationality, and the nature of economic and social development. The essay is dotted with some of the best excerpts from India’s political leaders as also with some of Tagore’s poetry themselves.

Along the same lines, it is easy to see Mr Sen’s affinity towards Bengal in particular even as he generalizes the central idea to encompass the country as a whole. This is evident in his glorification of Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray. Although they are undeniably two of the most influential cultural icons of contemporary India and the best artists India has produced in their respective fields, it would have done Mr Sen’s credentials as a pan-India commentator a world of good had he mentioned a few other artists from across the country. This is however understandable when one considers the possibility that the two artists from Bengal have probably had a significant influence on a young Sen and been instrumental in shaping his thought process in early adolescence. Moreover, as a reader, one is ultimately thankful for the affinity, as the piece of writing on Satyajit Ray makes for an interesting read especially for someone with an inclination and passion for cinema. The two essays on the Bengali icons are, in fact, the high points of the book as they enthral the reader by being, at once, entertaining and enlightening.

A striking feature of the book is the way in which Mr Sen has linked the past to the present, where everything that forms an integral part India’s identity today can be traced to historical events. For instance, in the essay ‘The Diaspora and the world’, Mr Sen attributes the cause for India’s image in the West as a mystical and religious place, rather than a centre of intellectual vigour that it in fact was, to adroit misrepresentation of India’s intellectual history by early colonial writers such as James Mill which has been instrumental in forming India’s image in the West in the early period of colonization, an image which has been difficult to shake off later. Such misrepresentation, Mr Sen argues, was ‘crucial to sustain autocracy in the east’ whereas the religious and mystical portrayal of India was believed to have never been a threat to colonization. Such misrepresentation has also caused the post-colonial India to undermine its own intellectual superiority, which has perhaps been the single greatest cause for India’s stunted growth after independence.

A pervasive theme in the book is the need for emphasis on critical reasoning and public discussion as a primary tool for analysis of India’s history and culture. Mr Sen’s fascination with rationality in the face of orthodoxy is remarkably evident when he traces the history of the country from the time of Ashoka to that of Akbar where rational thinking and public discussions formed the backbone of decision-making. Given this fact, Mr Sen finds it appalling to believe that rationality, and even democracy, is commonly mistaken as having

originated in the west. On a different but related note, Mr Sen raises questions about our fundamental understanding of secularism and morality as a concept from a critical viewpoint rather than relying on preconceived notions of the same. However, while linking morality to nuclear armament he fails to adequately pursue the alternative eventualities of disarmament. His obstinacy in defending disarmament, a stand which seems fashionable for the intelligentsia to take, stretches to a point where possibility of an alternative line of thinking seems hopelessly out of question. Subtle indoctrination of this sort, although unmistakably meant for the greater good, is unexpected from a book which celebrates the art of argumentation over and above morality.

While reviewing the book it is worthwhile to remember Sen’s global recognition. The real question one needs to ask, then, is not whether the book deserves the accolades it has received (Sen’s reputation far transcends such trivialities) but just how important it is as a literary piece of non-fiction and a definitive work on India’s cultural, historical, moral and intellectual paradigms. It will perhaps not be an exaggeration to say that the book is a necessary reading for any Indian, especially given the fact that it has appealed to the elite and the masses (more or less) alike. However, to restrict its utility within such narrow boundaries will be hugely unfair to the author. The true worth of the book can only be judged by the extent to which it influences global perception about the ‘idea of India’, a term used by the author himself. And this is something that can only be decided conclusively in the decades to come.