"Need To Relook At Our History": Economist As PM Offers Prayers At Iconic Cholapuram Temple

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Gangaikonda Cholapuram Shiva temple, has put the spotlight on the Chola empire, especially on the time of Rajendra Chola, who stood tall when northern India was under Muslim rule. This, however, was not an area or a period that gets much attention  -- the study of history being "Delhi-centric", said economist and historian Sanjeev Sanyal, pointing to the big takeaway from the Prime Minister's visit. 

"We need to begin to relook at our history and think about our great ancestors as a vigorous people," said Mr Sanyal, explaining that the popular conception of Indians as a passive people who are thankful to invaders -- from Muslim to British -- for bringing in technology, culture and cuisine. 

Our ancestors, he said, "built great temples, they built entire new cities when necessary".

"This is a much more vigorous view of ourselves than, you know, we are waiting for somebody to conquer us and give us the railways," said Mr Sanyal, who is also the Principal Economic Advisor to the government. 

"These were vigorous, risk-taking people, happy to go to war with each other sometimes or with foreign invaders. But the point is, this were not a passive people. And instead, the only person in our history of our, you know, pre-Islamic history that we celebrate is Ashoka. And the only reason we celebrate him is because he was passive, because the empire collapsed under him," he added. 

He said he was "glad the Cholas are being celebrated," but they were not the only people who had left their mark on the history of southeast Asia. 

"Even Tamil Nadu itself has many others. The Pandyas, the Cheras, which are from next door in Kerala, the Pallavas, and then the Gajapatis and all the kings of Kalinga, who also had these great maritime linkages to Southeast Asia. The western coast of India has amazing history of links with the Roman Empire and so on," he said. 

Even in the north, there was more than what gets most attention.  

"Whether you have the Ahoms of Assam or the Pal dynasty and the Sen-s of Bengal or the Kadambas of Goa or the Chalukyas of Maharashtra and the Rashtrakutas, we all have amazing histories for every part of the country. But somehow we are obsessed with this Delhi-centric view that, you know, we should all be grateful to the Mughals for biryani," he added.

The Cholapuram temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site built around 1030 by Rajendra Chola, stands as evidence of the affluence of the of the empire under him. It was built around two decades after the Tanjore temple and in the same style. 

The Prime Minister's visit comes ahead of next year's assembly election in Tamil Nadu, where the BJP is trying hard to carve out a niche.