Preview

Amartia Sen

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
837 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Amartia Sen
Inequality, Instability and Voice
Author: Amartya Sen

The essay ‘Inequality, Instability and Voice’ is one of the articles written by Amartya Sen. It figures in the book ‘The Argumentative Indian’ which is a collection of writings on Indian history, culture and identity by the Economics Nobel prize winner. In the essay, Sen touches upon three issues. They are:

Inequality in the Indian society and the quest for equality;

Unity and diversity in India; and

Need for greater commitment to dialogue and solidarity in South Asia.
Inequality and Quest for Equality
Amartya Sen notes that India has had a bad record of social inequality of which the country’s caste system is one aspect. But he also notes that the country through its history has had a tradition of accommodation towards others especially of religions. Muslims, Christians, Jews, Parsees were all allowed to live through a policy of ‘swikriti’ or equity of toleration. While he says that this was not any affirmation of equality it still meant acceptance of these groups. He also notes that even after over fifty years of independence, the political equality that was given to all the Indians under the Constitution has not still brought about social and economic equality. He notes that in addition to the fundamental rights the Indian Constitution specifies certain social and economic entitlements. Progress on these fronts should go towards greater equality. He also identifies the argumentative Indian tradition as a tool in the struggle towards greater equality. Voices of dissent and people and groups speaking against caste, class and gender barriers contribute in this area. He is of the view that political groups fighting for greater equality for the under privileged should be united in their fight if they need to make progress. Fighting among themselves would harm their goal. He also says that the recent trend towards increased religious and communal identities has resulted in increased sectarian

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Drinks are full of many substances that make up the taste, color, and uses of the beverages. One very important part of a sports drink are electrolytes. An electrolyte is a liquid gel that contains ions and can be decomposed by electrolysis, it is present in a battery. This substance is in many of the everyday drinks we use. From the orange juice we drink in the morning to the many sports drinks we use when we exercise. What do these electrolytes do to help us in our active everyday lives.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Geographic Luck Theory

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Geographic luck theory is that some countries developed faster with the resources they had than others and got more advanced in ways with guns, germs, and steel, therefore were able to obtain much of the world. It gave some people an advantage over others that enabled them to gain wealth, power, and strength. Geographic luck challenges the traditional explanation of inequality that claims certain races and ethnicities are genetically and culturally superior and inferior. Weaponry is a factor that was influenced by the geographic luck theory. Pizarro's conquistadors were armed with the best in weapon technology like swords and guns which helped them to do many things. Pizarro is known in history as the man who conquered the Incas by leading…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alina

    • 2664 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Hum 2210: Humanities I (3)—Pre-requisite: successful completion of the communications requirement. The study of the arts and ideas of various cultures consisting of an integrated, historical, and global approach to cultural expressions in the humanities including architecture, sculpture, painting, music, drama, literature, religion, and philosophy. Course covers the expressions that date from the Paleolithic period to the European Renaissance; includes Middle Eastern and Asian influences upon European culture.…

    • 2664 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The fraud in the story "Skinwalkers" was committed for the sole purpose of getting back at the American government. The reasoning behind the fraud was because a treaty that was signed at Fort Summer decades ago. This treaty promised things to the Indian people things, which were never delivered, such as one teacher for every thirty residents. Basically Dr. Yellowhorse was now making the government reimburse the hospital for the bills of people who had already been released and even for people who were already deceased. The reason this was done so easily was because there were no death certificates for the deceased and many people that were dead had no date of death along with there name. The cases where Dr. Yellowhorse easily covered up people that were still living because he worked in the hospital and had access to the financial data. This meant it was almost effortless for him to file faulty reports as often as possible.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Hindu Caste System

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Caste System determines the wealth, power and privilege of all human beings. But aside from the belief in tradition and order the Caste System brings about inequality and injustice towards many of society. Members of the higher castes enjoy all kinds of privileges, whereas the lower caste of society are deprived of all privileges, more than 160 million people in India alone are considered "Untouchable.” Oppression plays a huge role during the early ages of the Caste System. The Untouchables were made to fear all those that dominated above them, they were treated inhumanely, Untouchables live in continual fear of being publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and raped by upper-caste Hindus in reassurance to keep them in place. They were deprived all choice of social, religious, economic, cultural and political rights and privileges. This is considered inequality as the Untouchables have done nothing to deserve such punishment. Walking through an upper-caste neighbourhood is a dangerous wrongdoing. During the beginning of the 1900’s was the time in which justice…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Indian caste system is harsh and oppressive, yet it has not always been that way, and policies have been implemented to end this intolerance. The caste system within India is a set of classes that is used to place people into occupational groups. It is a system followed by Hindus. The story of how it began states that the original five varnas were made from a primordial being, and each varna contains many castes and sub-castes, each of which has a specific job. The cast system of India had three stages; the early caste system, changes in the caste system, and today’s caste system. The solution to this intolerance will not be simple, but will hopefully help to one day allow India to escape the binding…

    • 1578 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Amarna

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A brief summary of all the archaeological works done on the site is necessary before going deeper into the actual work. Amarna was first discovered by the French Jesuit, Father Claude Sicard in 1714. He was the first to describe one of the stelae that delimited the boundary of the city. The first map of Amarna was established by geographers during Napoléon Bonaparte's expedition in Egypt in 1798-1799.1 The ruins of the city were later explored by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson in the 1820s and an another map of the city was made.2 In 1833, a British copyist, Robert Hay, explored some of the South tombs and reproduced reliefs and engravings found in them. The next expedition aimed, once again, at establishing Amarna's topography. Between 1843 and 1845, a German…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sen, Amartya. 2005. The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity. New York: Picador.…

    • 4247 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Religion and Hinduism

    • 1016 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hinduism is a system of belief that claims over 700 adherents, most of them in India. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the Code of Life, and is not strictly a religion. Nevertheless, it has influenced the conduct of men for millennia. Although it is unfortunately not a “good” influence in Western eyes, Hinduism is considered to be responsible for the caste system in India; that is, Hinduism had such a great influence that it created the entire societal structure. The caste system is actually based on distinctions among people as they progress in the religious life (Ross, PG), but has permeated all of society to the point where its origins seem largely forgotten. All that’s left is the injustice of a system that denies people the opportunity to advance through their own efforts.…

    • 1016 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Language and Violence

    • 6410 Words
    • 26 Pages

    [ 17 ]. Sen, Amartya, Identity and violence, the illusion of destiny (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006), pp. 85, 89.…

    • 6410 Words
    • 26 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Given the insidious harm the caste system possesses, the study is significant because it allows people to understand the root of the problem and the different concepts that affect and contribute to the conundrum faced by India. Thus, through the paper, the information contributes to a more informed society where people will be equipped with knowledge that will allow them to take part in discourse regarding the fight for human rights and equality in a time where it is long overdue.…

    • 2624 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Dear Patricia, You’ll be sorely missed. Thank you for all your wonderful work and for your enormous support over all these years. X…

    • 3354 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cast System in india

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    It all started with the advent of the Aryans and the writing of the Vedas. The caste system has been there in India since then but it was merely a class system on the basis of division of labour. But it accelerated during the British Raj as they produced the Scheduled Caste List to enforce their ‘Divide and Rule’. The colonial experience resulted in the obsession of Indians with fair skin colour. But even this inferiority complex fails to provide an explanation as to why Indians would dish out racial abuse against their very own people, the Dalits. Decades after Dr. B.R Ambedkar issued for its removal, caste still dominates the social, cultural, religious and political horizon. The sun might have set over the British reign but not over the Caste reign.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Caste system in India

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages

    M.K.Gandhi fought against the caste system in India. He called the low caste people as Harijans or the Children of God. The democratic Government in India has taken many steps to improve the condition of the low caste people. There is provision…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Culture and Civilization

    • 1438 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the article by Amartya Sen “A World Not Neatly Divided”, the author explains that when trying to gain insight into the various conflicts that take place nowadays and the conflicts that occurred in the past, many social scientists and politicians support the “civilization approach” (Sen 2001, p.1). In other words, people are judged only based on religious basis (Sen, 2001, p. 1). For instance, individuals are divided into “the Western” and “Islamic” worlds (Sen 2001, p.1). However, Amartya Sen explains that in every country, there are representatives of other nationalities, which makes it impossible to generalize all people only to one category such as Muslims. Another idea is that in every nation there are people who are atheists or support the religious beliefs of another religious group. Although…

    • 1438 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays