William Dalrymple, the historian and author, recently discussed his latest book, The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World, at the TiE Kerala 2024 conclave, shedding light on India's influence on the ancient and medieval world.
In The Golden Road, Dalrymple proposes that India had a role in shaping and reshaping the ancient and medieval world. He argues that for more than a millennium, ideas originating in India, including cultural exports and Buddhism, rewired cultures and civilizations, spreading far and wide from the Red Sea to the Pacific.
Dalrymple contends that ancient India transformed nations and crossed political boundaries not by military force but through the soft power of innovative ideas, particularly during the period from 250 BCE to 1200 CE. He emphasizes the importance of the maritime trade routes—the "Golden Road"—linking India to diverse lands, demonstrating India's role in ancient trade and culture, which he argues has not been given due weight in mainstream Indian historiography.
"This map which people continue to reproduce in book after book of what is said to be the Silk Road... bypasses India," said Dalrymple, challenging the conventional understanding of the Silk Road and emphasizing India's central role in ancient trade networks, according to The New Indian Express.
The book also explores how Buddhism, Hinduism, and mathematics were instrumental in spreading Indian influence across the world. Dalrymple notes that India's influence on the Arab world includes Khalid ibn Barmak, whose intellect reflects his father's studies in Kashmir, helped plan Baghdad as a circular city, probably inspired by the mandala.
However, Dalrymple's latest work has sparked public controversy in India, drawing criticism from some academic historians. According to The Indian Express, his comments have drawn ire from academic historians. Critics argue that his treatment of India's history is partial, selective, and skewed toward perpetuating outdated and divisive colonial stereotypes.
Some have accused Dalrymple of overemphasizing Buddhist or Islamic conduits of Indian knowledge while underplaying the original Indian frameworks that generated and sustained such knowledge. For instance, his brief nod to the Palas ignores their role in founding institutions like Vikramshila and Somapura, which preserved and disseminated India's knowledge across Asia.
Dalrymple also addresses the concept of "WhatsApp history" in India, attributing its growth to the failure of academic historians to write for general audiences, leading to the proliferation of misinformation about history.
EasternEye, Scroll, BBC News, The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Guardian, Hindustan Times, and The New Indian Express reported about the book, among other news outlets.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.