Question

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’.

Answer 1

The supportive evidence provided in the essay:
(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 struggle between contrary moral positions’.
(iii) ‘It was spectacularly praised in the early nineteenth century by Wilhelm von Humboldt as 'the most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical song existing in any known tongue'. In a poem in Four Quartets, Eliot summarises Krishna's view in the form of an admonishment: 'And do not think of the fruit of action! Fare forward'. Eliot explains: 'Not faring well/But faring forward, voyagers'.’
(iv) ‘As we reflect on the manifest problems of our global world (from terrorism, wars, and violence to epidemics, insecurity, and gruelling poverty), or on India's special concerns (such as economic development, nuclear confrontation or regional peace), it is important to take on board Arjuna's
consequential analysis, in addition to considering Krishna's arguments for doing one's duty.’