Amaryta Sen's philosophy
Professor M. Zahidul Haque, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka
Last December, Nobel laureate and noted economist Professor Amartya Sen visited Bangladesh. While inaugurating the Manikganj Festival 2006 at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka, Prof. Sen observed that intolerance is a major bar to uplift. He said, "We have to overcome this intolerance as quickly as possible. Otherwise, we will not be able to make progress and peace will not come. Tolerance is imperative for peace."Well, when Prof. Amartya Sen was preaching his philosophy in Dhaka, a very painful incident took place at the same time in India. The incident was reported by Reuters and published in "The Hindustan Times" which read "A hungry 10-year-old girl from India's lowest Hindu Caste had all the fingers of her right hand chopped by an upper-caste landowner for taking a few spinach leaves from his field." The incident occurred in Bihar. Would Prof. Sen please extend his goodwill to dissolve intolerance prevailing between the higher and lower caste Hindus in India?
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