The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen

The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen, highlights India as more than just the home for effete mysticism that it has been portrayed to be in some western societies.

Books is collection of 4 essays which talks about culture, relationship with China, politics, protest, religion, ethnicity and much more. also an very important and interesting argument Sen makes about how inequities inherent in the discrimination against women, low castes and the poor endemic in Indian society deeply interrelated not only with each other but also with factors such as religion & ethnicity. He explains that it is not possible to challenge one of these factors without affecting or monitoring simultaneously by changing other.

Sen highlight who Greatest Hindu King Ashoka's was establishing human rights much before Jesus, when european catholics were killing each other, persecuting jews while Akhar was claimed Delhi without interferred on religion basis, when Aristotle still explaining about freedom but by excluding women and slave and such exclusion while no such exclusion where made in Indian monarch. Indian secularism unlike in the west, has never intended to separation of religion from state or the prohibition any religious activities. But by encouraging profusion religious tolerance without anyone being favoured or privileged or favoured by the state.

Its very interesting argument not just against Western stereotyping but also against Hindu hardliners who pushing for platform to ought India to be Hindu state. According to the author, the soHindutva movement has entered into a confrontation with the idea of India itself. With these essay collections, Sen demolishes premises of Hindutva along with Western religious reductionism.

If I have say one(of many) good take away from this book-- is that you can be cosmopolitan & you can be an Indian and that's no contradiction. I hope as many Indian will read this book not just to be very nationalist but for more rational analysis and pick-up sen's argument to (our own)world's stage.