According to the passage about the 1958–1960 famine in China, who discussed…

Concept

In a passage-based attribution question, identify the person attached to the relevant reporting verb, such as “discussed” or “described.” Keep that attributed person distinct from the passage’s speaker, author, or other people mentioned.

Application

1. The passage concerns the famine in China from 1958 to 1960.

2. It says that the famine was discussed in most detail by Amartya Sen.

3. It then states that Sen treated the famine as an ideological crime because institutional conditions allowed the disaster to occur while information about it failed to reach the centre.

Cross-check and contrast

• Karl Marx is not the person to whom the passage attributes this detailed famine analysis.

• Amartya Sen is explicitly linked to both the detailed discussion and the ideological-crime interpretation.

• Noam Chomsky is a linguist and political commentator, while the passage assigns the detailed famine analysis to Sen.

• T. S. Eliot is not named in the passage’s attribution.

Therefore, the answer is Amartya Sen.