How do deprivations related to class, caste, and gender interrelate?
Why are our political leaders so good in saying what should be done without doing anything much about them?
How should we think about Sanskrit and ancient India without adding religious colour?
Why is it important to revive Nalanda, the world’s oldest university?

The Country of First Boys is Amartya Sen’s intellectual journey through the past and present to seek an understanding of India’s history and the demands of its future. The themes of these essays include the hardened and extreme nature of inequality in India, and what can be done about it. One of the many rewards of good schooling—denied to most Indians—includes the understanding that India is an integral part of a world civilization. Always sensitive to global communication and interaction, India’s own contributions vary from the development of a multiplicity of astronomically reasoned calendars and the invention of games like chess to the establishment of the foundations of several branches of modern mathematics.

In this collection, Sen examines justice, identity, deprivation, inequalities, gender politics, education, the media, and the importance of getting your priorities right. These are accessible yet pioneering essays that hold the kernel of many of his seminal works.

About the Author

One of the world’s foremost thinkers, AMARTYA SEN teaches economics and philosophy at Harvard University, and was earlier Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. He has served as President of the American Economic Association, the Indian Economic Association, the International Economic Association, and the Econometric Society. His awards include the Bharat Ratna (India), Commandeur de la légion d’honneur (France), the National Humanities Medal (USA), Honorary Companion of Honour (UK), Ordem Nacional do Mérito Científico (Brazil), and the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Gopalkrishna Gandhi Editors’ Preface Introduction by Amartya Sen 1. India Through Its Calendars 2. The Play’s the Thing 3. The Smallness Thrust Upon Us 4. Hunger: Old Torments and New Blunders 5. Speaking of Freedom: Why Media Is Important for Economic Development 6. Sunlight and Other Fears: The Importance of School Education as a Source of Nourishment for Indian Children 7. Sharing the World: Interdependence and Global Justice 8. The Country of First Boys 9. Poverty, War and Peace 10. What Should Keep Us Awake at Night 11. What Difference Can Tagore Make? 12. A Wish a Day for a Week 13. On Nalanda University Name Index Subject Index About the Author