Q1 of 12 Page 188

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’ –

(i) “Krishna Menon’s record of the longest speech ever delivered at the United Nations (nine hours non-stop)”

(ii) “the famous Bhagavad Gita, which is one small section of the Mahabharata, presents a tussle between two contrary moral positions.


(iii) Krishna’s emphasis on doing one’s duty, on one side, and Arjuna’s focus on avoiding bad consequences on the other.”


(iv) “Krishna’s moral position has also been eloquently endorsed by many philosophical and literary commentators across the world, such as Christopher Isherwood and T. S. Eliot. Isherwood, in fact, translated the Bhagavad Gita into English.”


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4

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

 1

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

 2

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

 1

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.