I am very aware that there are other ways of proceeding. It does not reflect a belief that this is the only reasonable way of thinking about the history or culture or politics of India. I need not, therefore, labour the point that the focus on the argumentative tradition in this work is also a result of choice. Any attempt to talk about the culture of the country, or about its past history or contemporary politics, must inescapably involve considerable selection. India is an immensely diverse country with many distinct pursuits, vastly disparate convictions, widely divergent customs and a veritable feast of viewpoints. The first four, which make up the first part of the collection, introduce and explain the principal themes pursued in this book, related to India's long argumentative tradition. These essays on India were written over the last decade - about half of them over the last couple of years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |