The story of India is considered one of profound and steady change. It has been formed by the dynamic of migration, battle, mixing, coexistence, and cooperation. In this ten-part internet collection, I’ll inform the story of Indians and our civilisation by exploring a few of our biggest historic websites, most of which had been misplaced to reminiscence and had been dug out by archaeologists. These websites embody the Harappan metropolis of Dholavira, Mauryan Pataliputra, the Ikshvaku capital at Nagarjunakonda, the Buddhist centre of studying at Nalanda, enigmatic Khajuraho, Vijayanagar at Hampi, Delhi of the Mughals, and historic Varanasi. I’ll additionally give attention to historic and medieval overseas travellers, resembling Megasthenes, Xuanzang, Alberuni, Marco Polo, François Bernier and others, whose idiosyncratic accounts conceal shocking insights about us Indians.

Throughout the collection, I’ll be surveying India’s lengthy and thrilling churn of cultural concepts, beliefs, and values—some that also form us in the present day, and others which have been misplaced without end. I received’t dwell a lot on boring dates, battles, and kings—the type of stuff that turned you off historical past at school. Instead, I’ll discover the roots and the evolution of deeper cultural and social currents which have made us who we’re, utilizing rigorously curated visuals for instance my story.

The collection largely mirrors – and sometimes extends – the contents of my e book, Indians: A Brief History of a Civilization (Penguin India, 2021). For each the e book and the collection, I’ve leaned on various tutorial scholarship in addition to main sources—from archaeologists’ website experiences to travellers’ accounts to archaeogenetic analysis. My hope is to advance a contemporary understanding of our previous that’s rooted in sound scholarship, whereas illuminating a number of the most consequential tendencies, transformations and fault strains of Indian civilisation. 

In doing so, I’ll even be discussing a number of the most polarising matters of our historical past in the present day. Questions like, who had been the Harappans and what language did they converse? Did the Aryans actually migrate into India, and why is that debate so sizzling in the present day? What are the origins of varna and caste in India and the way outdated is untouchability? How did Indo-Aryan tradition acquire a foothold in India and the way did it unfold? What brought on the tip of Nalanda and the demise of Buddhism in India? Why did the individuals of Khajuraho carve specific erotica on temple partitions, subsequent to their gods—and why did this custom disappear? What are the origins of Sati and different patriarchal practices within the subcontinent? How vibrant was India’s mental tradition and science earlier than the Turko-Persian invasions? Was the Vijayanagar Empire really a self-conscious bastion of Hinduism bravely resisting the ‘onslaught of Islam’? What is the Mughal period’s report on mass conversions and temple desecrations? Is it true that India was a rich nation earlier than the British colonial interval? And a lot else.

Taking on such charged and delicate matters on this collection additionally implies that nearly everybody will discover one thing to dislike in it. Informed disagreement is in fact high-quality and obligatory for higher scholarship. But I belief that viewers will assess my arguments in context, in gentle of all proof, and keep away from responding selectively and reductively. To focus narrowly on one argument, wilfully misinterpret it, or make it stand for the entire, swayed by one’s personal passionate beliefs, might gratify some. But it’s unlikely to advertise a extra nuanced public dialogue about historical past, which is my goal with this collection – and an pressing want in India in the present day. In that spirit, I urge you to observe Indians. Bring an open thoughts to it, and see what you would possibly uncover!

Namit Arora is a Delhi-based author and writer of Indians: A Brief History of a Civilization (2021), and The Lottery of Birth: On Inherited Social Inequalities (2017).