NCERT solutions for English - Kaleidoscope Class 12 chapter 5 - The Argumentative Indian [Latest edition]

Sen quotes Eliot’s lines: ‘Not farewell/But fare forward voyagers’. Distinguish between ‘faring forward’ (Krishna’s position in the Gita) and ‘faring well’ (the position that Sen advocates).

Sen draws a parallel between the moral dilemma in the Krishna-Arjuna dialogue and J. R. Oppenheimer’s response to the nuclear explosion in 1945. What is the basis for this?

Maitreyi’s remark—‘what should I do with that by which I do not become immortal’—is a rhetorical question cited to illustrate both the nature of the human predicament and the limitations of the material world. What is the connection that Sen draws between this and his concept of economic development?

It is important to see that the Indian argumentative tradition has frequently crossed the barriers of gender, caste, class, and community. List the examples cited by Sen to highlight this.

What is Sen’s interpretation of the positions taken by Krishna and Arjuna in the debate between them?

[Note Sen’s comment: ‘Arjuna’s contrary arguments are not really vanquished... There remains a powerful case for ‘faring well’ and not just ‘faring forward’.]

What are the three major issues Sen discusses here in relation to India’s dialogic tradition?

Sen has sought here to dispel some misconceptions about democracy in India. What are these misconceptions?

How, according to Sen, has the tradition of public discussion and interactive reasoning helped the success of democracy in India?

Does Amartya Sen see argumentation as a positive or a negative value?

How is the message of the Gita generally understood and portrayed? What change in interpretation does Sen suggest?

This essay is an example of argumentative writing. Supporting statements with evidence is a feature of this kind of writing.

For each of the statements given below state the supportive evidence provided in the essay

(i) Prolixity is not alien to India.

(ii) The arguments are also, often enough, substantive.

(iii) This admiration for the Gita, and Krishna’s arguments, in particular, has been a lasting phenomenon in parts of European culture.

(iv) There remains a powerful case for ‘faring well’, and not just ‘forward’.

Examine the noun phrases in these sentences from the text

• The second woman head of the Indian National Congress, Nellie Sengupta, was elected in 1933.
• This concerns the relation—and the distance—between income and achievement.
• This may be particularly significant in understanding the class basis of the rapid spread of Buddhism, in particular, in India.