'Crude' system sows division

October 31, 2003

Amartya Sen, master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and a Nobel laureate in economics, this week denounced the Samuel Huntingdon classification of the world into largely religiously defined civilisations as "shallow and divisive".

In his keynote address to the conference of Commonwealth education ministers, Professor Sen said the system was crude, putting India, for example, in the box of Hindu civilisation even though it had more Muslims than many so-called Muslim countries.

"Our identities have many components, related to nationality, language, location, class, occupation, history, religion, political beliefs and so on," he said. Religion-based classifications could contribute to political insecurity, pitting religious groups against one another.

Register to continue

Why register?

  • Registration is free and only takes a moment
  • Once registered, you can read 3 articles a month
  • Sign up for our newsletter
Please
or
to read this article.

Sponsored

Forging links to aid global collaboration

On the day the 2018 World University Rankings were announced, notable figures in higher education met to discuss the way forward for international research partnerships

Promoted by Jisc
Sponsored

Featured jobs

ADVERTISEMENT