World must rediscover how ancient India shaped it, William Dalrymple tells Fareed Zakaria

Historian William Dalrymple's The Golden Road highlights India's overlooked centrality in shaping global civilization. Ancient India spread its influence across Asia through culture, trade, and intellectual achievements, from Buddhism's reach to Sanskrit's role as a scholarly lingua franca. Innovations like zero and algebra revolutionized mathematics, while landmarks like Nalanda University symbolized India's knowledge exchange. Dalrymple urges recognition of India's historical prominence as a hub of trade, intellect, and spirituality, reclaiming its rightful legacy.

India, often celebrated as the cradle of chess, the concept of zero, and the revelation that Earth orbits the Sun, has played a transformative role in shaping human history. However, as historian William Dalrymple argues in his enlightening book, The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World, the nation's profound impact on global civilization has been overshadowed for centuries. Far from being a peripheral player in ancient times, India emerges as a central force—a hub of trade, intellect, and spiritual innovation that connected Rome to China.

During his recent conversation with Fareed Zakaria on CNN’s GPS, Dalrymple elaborated on his efforts to highlight India’s far-reaching influence across Asia. He described ancient India as a "cultural superpower," emphasizing that over half the world today resides in regions shaped by Indian philosophies and religions like Buddhism and Hinduism. Unlike empires built on conquest, India’s legacy spread through the soft power of culture and commerce.

"Buddhism conquered Southeast Asia—Thailand, Laos, Cambodia—and even reached China itself," Dalrymple explained. He referred to this phenomenon as an "empire of the spirit," with India’s spiritual and cultural touch evident even today. From Indonesia’s national airline, Garuda, named after Vishnu’s divine mount, to Cambodia’s iconic Angkor Wat temple and Java’s majestic Borobudur monument, the echoes of India’s cultural exports remain striking.

Between 200 BCE and 1200 AD, Sanskrit served as the lingua franca of Asia, akin to Latin’s role in medieval Europe. Scholars and diplomats across regions as diverse as Java and Afghanistan communicated in Sanskrit. The epic tales of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana transcended India’s borders, inspiring artistic and architectural masterpieces in places like Thailand and Sumatra.

Dalrymple also shed light on the scientific and mathematical advancements born in India that have been largely forgotten in the West. "We call them Arabic numbers because the West received them via the Arabs," he noted, "but the Arabs themselves refer to them as Hindu numbers." He credited the Indian mathematician Aryabhatta for introducing revolutionary concepts such as zero and place value, which laid the foundation for modern mathematics and computing. "Without Aryabhatta, there would be no algebra, algorithms, or binary systems," Dalrymple emphasized, pointing out that even the words "algebra" and "algorithm" trace their origins to Indian texts.

The historian highlighted how India's intellectual contributions have left an enduring legacy. Islamic scholars in 12th-century Spain praised Indians as unparalleled masters of mathematics. Dalrymple drew an intriguing parallel, observing that today, the same recognition is evident in Silicon Valley, where Indian talent continues to lead technological innovation.

India’s economic resurgence mirrors its ancient prominence, Dalrymple argued. With its rapid growth, India is projected to surpass Japan and Germany within five years and rank among the top three global economies by the century's end.

At the March India Today Conclave, Dalrymple delved further into India’s intellectual heritage, spotlighting institutions like Nalanda University in Bihar. He described Nalanda as the "Harvard, Oxbridge, NASA of its era," a beacon of knowledge that attracted scholars such as the Chinese monk Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang). The university symbolized India’s pivotal role in exchanging knowledge in fields like mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy with the wider world.

Dalrymple also challenged the dominant narrative that places ancient China at the center of global trade networks. Instead, he argued that India was the true hub of commerce during antiquity. He cited archaeological evidence, noting that the largest concentration of Roman coins found outside Europe has been unearthed in India and Sri Lanka. Roman merchants, he explained, heavily traded with India, with fleets of ships annually navigating from Egypt through the Red Sea to Indian shores.

Through his meticulous research, Dalrymple seeks to reclaim India’s rightful place in global history, reminding us that the nation was not a passive observer but an active shaper of civilization. As he aptly puts it, it’s time to recover India’s lost centrality and celebrate its enduring legacy as a cultural and intellectual powerhouse.