India – at times the name conjures such negative stereotypes in the West that our children and young people are embarrassed to call themselves Indian. Just look at the school or university curriculum anywhere in the West and examine the “Indian” component and 1 per cent would be generous. Not all of this would be positive either.
Eminent writer and intellectual William Dalrymple has written a pioneering new book based on methodical historical research to showcase the huge loss for the world in misunderstanding and misrepresenting India. He shows how it was the centre of world trade over 2,000 years ago. It was also the centre of world mathematics and philosophy and culturally advanced and much more superior to Europe and the West. The book is called ‘The Golden Road’, in contrast to the famous Silk Road of Asia.
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In the book, Dalrymple shows that through trade, India’s wisdom and science travelled far and wide becoming a major influence on Asian history and culture. Inventions like Algebra, the Number Zero, Astronomy, Buddhism, Algorithms, Geometry, Trigonometry… the list goes on. We haven’t even talked about art, literature, poetry, the beautiful language of Sanskrit, the science and architecture of temple and palace building, urban planning, drainage – we were pushing all boundaries at the same time with an open mind. Our business and trade skills were so magnetic that people wanted to understand what drives our thinking and culture. We answered their questions and carried our faith everywhere we traded. Even today some of the most beautiful buildings in the West are our temples, all funded and sponsored by Indian merchants.
The word “genocide” usually refers to the largescale killings of people. Scholars are beginning to think about “Cultural Genocide”, which is much deeper and longer lasting than physical killings. The Mughal and British Empires led to the largescale cultural genocide of India. As Dalrymple states in the book, Lord Macaulay stated that one English bookshelf is much more sophisticated than the entire collection of Indian literature. Today even our language has been captured by the English way of thinking and behaving.
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It is up to us as a global Indian diaspora how seriously we claim our culture and wisdom and share it with the young. Our academics and intellectuals who fight for putting this in the curriculum should be supported in every which way. They are often at the frontline of significant battles of ignorance and prejudice. Yet they continue to fight our cause. Do we value them, fund them and inspire them? Why not?
Professor Atul K. Shah [@atulkshah] teaches and writes about Indian wisdom on business, culture and community at various UK universities and is a renowned international author, speaker and broadcaster.