“Chandragupta built an empire based on a strong central government and a large, powerful army. Ours is akin to it.”
That modern India has been inspired by the Mauryan concepts of statecraft and governance is one of the significant insights provided in “The Dancing Girl: A History of Early India,” by Balaji Sadasivan (1955-2010), a neurosurgeon and Singapore's former Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Capturing this facet of the author's findings, the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who launched the book at a function organised by The Hindu and SRM University here on Wednesday, said Chandragupta Maurya had built an empire based on a strong central government and a large, powerful army. “This model is virtually akin to the model being followed after our Independence.”
Another contribution of the Mauryas during the reign of Asoka, the former President noted, was the provision of moral and ethical dimension. “He defined that the primary purpose of the government was to provide peace, prosperity and welfare to all the citizens. The author rightly brings out that modern India looks to the Mauryan Empire for inspiration and has taken Mauryan Lion as the state emblem.”
Attributing the attainment of Independence to the phase of the freedom struggle which was led by Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. Kalam said people had to cherish and nurture Independence with the ethics and value system of the era of Chandragupta Maurya.
Quoting the author, Mr. Kalam said the Bhakti movement in India developed from Tamil-speaking south to Sanskrit-speaking north. The spiritual development of Hinduism was based on devotional songs, expressing ecstatic love for God. The compositions were mainly in Tamil, though the numbers of popular hymns were in Sanskrit. The Bhakti movement, encompassing Saivites and Vaishnavites, made Hinduism accessible to Indians of all States in both Sanskrit and regional languages, the former President pointed out.
S.R. Nathan, former President of Singapore, who presented copies of the book to donors, said it was labour of love written by an author who was captivated by the history of his ancestral homeland.
Pointing out that the rise of South Asia, like East Asia, was a civilisational one — though attention has been focussed on the economic potential — and the history of civilisations provided profound insights into their contemporary standing and the possible road ahead, Mr. Nathan said that from this perspective, the book offers much not only for the Diaspora but also for those who are in India itself.
Ma Swan Hoo, wife of Balaji Sadasivan, who accompanied him on numerous visits to historic sites across India, provided the rationale for naming the book ‘The Dancing Girl', which refers to a bronze statuette excavated from Mohenjodaro and a showpiece in the National Museum in Delhi. This 10.8-cm statue, a symbol of an advanced civilisation that existed about 4,500 years ago, was important to the history of India, she said.
Balaji Sadasivan, whose roots were in Arcot of Tamil Nadu, was a great lover of the history and civilisation of many countries. He chose to write on the history of India, a country he was so much in love with. He had originally planned to cover the history from ancient times to the present period over five volumes. This book is a combination of the first two volumes of 30 chapters and covers the ancient period up to the start of the decline of the Mughal reign in the 17 century.
Addressing the gathering, N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, praised Balaji Sadasivan's approach to history, and said the author regarded himself as an amateur but he was a gifted amateur. He instinctively realised that history was not an “unending catalogue of dull facts.”
By reading “The Dancing Girl,” one could learn a good deal about the mind and interests of the neurosurgeon and professional politician-turned historian. “He selects; draws out facts of significance, ignoring the dross and the trivial, and invests them with meaning. He provides interpretation. All interpretation is disputable but the historian must venture out to recreate, even trans-create, the historical picture. This is what this gifted amateur does in an engaging, accessible, enjoyable manner,” Mr. Ram added.
He appealed to Mr. Kalam to provide a push and use his moral influence for the Nalanda University revival project as there were reports of slow release of funds by the Union government to the project although the Bihar government had been very supportive.
Dr. V. Shanta, Chairperson, Adyar Cancer Institute, received a cheque for Rs. 5 lakh for the Institute from Mr. Kalam and Mr. Nathan. K. Kesavapany, Singapore's Ambassador to Jordan and Director, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, and T. R. Pachamuthu, SRM University Chancellor, spoke.
i feel very bad about present politicians behavior.Due to lack of high quality leaders indians are suffering
Our present day political leadership should draw inspiration from Mauryan rule to deal with our belligerent neighbours. Mauryan rules successfully stalled the invasion of Greek armies and ensured peace and security. All invaders into India entered from the North-west border of the country which is porus. The Mauryan kings deployed a large army on the Western border and saved the country. The Mauryan rulers gave highest priority to working class who produced enough food and goods for the people. The present day India is neglecting farmers who were dying to produce food for the people.
Mauryan period is considered a golden era in the history of India. Though caste system struck roots during the system, the Mauryan society did not enforce any caste rule. In fact, the rulers themselves were not from the top echelon of the society. During the Mauryan period, farmers enjoyed the highest status in society even a level higher than the Brahmin. Farmers were exempted from punishment even for capital crimes. The Mauryan kindom built a strong army to ensure peace and save the kingdom from invaders. Had Mohenjadaro and Harappan society built strong armies akin to Mauryans, the first invaders- Aryans could never have been entered India. Former President Kalam and others speakers were correct in their perspective to praise the Mauryan rule from which we should learn a lot.
We reject anything that was used as a tool of the caste system to deny the masses their place in society.It is not about Sanskrit being foreign or Tamil being local. It is more about Sanskrit having been used as an elitist media by the keepers of religion,to deny knowledge,learning and religion to the lower casts. Unlike the exclusive vedic texts, the Alvars and Nayanmars expressed their love for god in a langauge the masses understood and identified with. That explains why the Thevaram is popular till today among tamil speakers all over the world, while the Sanskrit texts have become a dinasaur exclusive to scholars and pundits.
I appreciate the neurosurgeon Balaji who turned into a a historian and dwelt on ancient Indian history.We have to reject nihilistic attitude towards Sanskrit literature. Let us not dwell on the Aryan-Dravidian conflict that has been a thing of past.In fact some people say that even Dravidians were not original inhabitants of India. We need critical attitude that allows us to take the good elements from the past of India. When we don't hesitate to use English Why antagonism against Sanskrit?
Sanskrit only helped in adulteration of languages with little to foster culture.Sanskrit only helped in the perpetuation of Aryan supremacy.With majority of the population oppressed in the name of religion,what could have ChandraGupta Maurya done?Only to perpetuate the empire and the inequality.From these days of oppression and exploitation India has progressed and these kind of books and comments by educated people with littel historical perspective is deplorable.There were other great kings like the Ashoka and Akbar who were had the far sightedness and tried to move the culture towards a better understanding and growth though they were far ahead of their times.
As the former president cites, the two classical languages of India, Samskrtam and Tamizh, have been pillars that have supported the culture and civilizations of Bharatam over millennia. Many others, too, have enriched the sub-continent since time immemorial, proving once again that it has truly remained the open-source fountainhead of everything from philosophy to art, and even music and religion. The death of Samskrtam in the Gangetic plains has really deprived that region of that link and continuity. Kalam quoting the bhakti movement is so nice to read in a newspaper. Most of our politicians are neither aware of the pan-India ethos nor quote any over a fear of vote-bank politics. The ethics and value system attributed in this piece have deep roots in Bharatam. It is called dharma, and it has nothing to do with religion. It is as much Indian as are its people, and is its 'DNA'.
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