India, he makes plain, has a long tradition of civil debate, of secular thought and of contributions to math and science. Sen denounces-and indeed disproves-the bigoted view that reason is essentially Western or European.
Religionists in India have their own reasons for promoting a particular piece of its eclectic history, and Westerners too often reduce the subcontinent to a place they can visit when they need a shot of mysticism. This tradition, he declares, is valuable in a society pursuing democracy, yet it has been neglected in recent years. How do all these different groups, with their different calendars, coexist? Over the centuries, states Sen, India has developed a robust “argumentative tradition,” a practice of rational discourse. Occasional pieces on his native land by Nobelist Sen ( Rationality and Freedom, 1999, etc.).Įven the rather commonplace observation that India is incredibly diverse seems fresh when elucidated by the author in an essay devoted to the country’s many calendars: the Buddha Nirvana, the Saka, the Kollam, etc.
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