'The Argumentative Indian': Insight into Amartya Sen's genius (Review)
Subhash K. Jha
It is a miracle that this vital documentary throwing light on one of India's brightest minds, ever made into theatres. Miracle, because the film's architect and director Suman Ghosh (whose feature film "Nobel Chor" fictionalising the real-life theft of Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel prize) had to fight a long and hard battle with the Indian censor board to stop some hard-hitting comments on India's politics from being cut.
It is also a miracle to see Amartya Sen reach the age of 84 when 66 years ago, the doctors had given him only five years to live after he was detected with mouth cancer. We hear Sen's mother speak of that miracle -- of her son surviving a serious death to become one of India's most perspicuous minds. We also hear Sen describe the self-diagnosis that he undertook and which probably saved his life.
What comes across in the hour-long documentary is the Nobel laureate's tenacity and obstinacy. He does bend but you won't catch him tripping over his thoughts or contradiction his own views. He is not immovable in his opinions either.
The documentary is essentially a two-part interview conducted by the famed economist Kaushik Basu, conducted with a 15-year gap between the two conversations. Although the conversations per se are illuminating and deeply reflective of Sen's intellect, I craved for more insight into his heart rather than focusing almost entirely on the mind.
Sen's mother comes forward with her cursory thoughts and she is specially disarming as she recalls her son's phone call about winning the Nobel prize. We see Sen receiving the Nobel prize early in the narrative. Just why vital events from his life occupy a particular place in the documentary is not explained.
But where are Sen's two daughters? We would have loved to see them speak on their father. While the documentary sheds illuminating light on the Nobel laureate's academic pursuits, there isn't enough on his other roles in life. This perhaps is a conscious omission indicative of the lacuna that all intellectual minds are familiar with.
A life so devoted to the pursuit of knowledge tends to preclude domestic duties. What we see in the documentary is the academician, the teacher, the philosopher and the intellectual, but seldom the man in his domestic environment.
Towards the end, the discourse veers towards, what else, mortality. But Sen seems uncomfortable discussing that subject. He is far more expansive talking on his growing up years in Dhaka, and on Mahatma Gandhi.
"I am not a nationalist. But I am still quite proud of my country," Sen says at one point of his conversation.
It is a defining moment in the discourse that tells us why a mind as sorted as Amartya Sen needs to be stubborn on national issues.
You can only aspire to greatness if you shun mundane roles.
"The Argumentative Indian" is a documentation of a life careening towards immortality. Not to be missed by any Indian.
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3 Indians arrested in Canada for shooting outside home
Ottawa (PTI): Three Indian nationals have been arrested by Canadian police on an anti-extortion patrol and charged after bullets were fired at a home.
Harjot Singh (21), Taranveer Singh (19) and Dayajeet Singh Billing (21) face one count each of discharging a firearm, and all have been remanded in custody until Thursday, the Surrey Police Service (SPS) said in a statement on Monday.
The suspects were arrested by patrol officers after an early morning report of shots fired and a small fire outside a home in Surrey's Crescent Beach neighbourhood, the LakelandToday reported.
On February 1, 2026, the SPS members were patrolling in Surrey’s Crescent Beach neighbourhood when reports came in of shots being fired and a small fire outside a residence near Crescent Road and 132 Street.
The three accused were arrested by SPS officers a short time later, the statement said.
SPS’s Major Crime Section took over the investigation, and the three men have now been charged with Criminal Code offences, it said.
All three have been charged with one count each of discharging a firearm into a place contrary to section 244.2(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be forthcoming. All three have been remanded in custody until February 5, 2026.
The SPS has confirmed they are all foreign nationals and has engaged the Canada Border Services Agency, it said.
One of the suspects suffered injuries, including two black eyes, the media report said.
Surrey police Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said on Monday that the suspect had refused to comply with instructions to get out of the ride-share vehicle and started to "actively resist."
"As we were trained, he was taken to the ground and safely handcuffed," said Houghton.
A second suspect with a black eye was also injured in the arrest after refusing to comply, Houghton said.
The arresting officers were part of Project Assurance, an initiative that patrols neighbourhoods that have been targeted by extortion violence.
Houghton said the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is also involved because the men are foreign nationals, and the trio may face additional charges.
It's not clear if the men are in the country on tourist visas, a study permit, or a work permit, but Houghton said CBSA has started its own investigation into the men's status.
Surrey has seen a number of shootings at homes and businesses over the last several months, but there's been an escalation since the new year.
