William Dalrymple is the closest we have to a pop-historian of India. His success in reaching a broad audience stems from his skill as a storyteller, a crucial attribute for historians, especially those seeking to engage readers beyond academic circles.
Dalrymple also has a talent for selecting subjects and narratives that appeal to a general audience. In his latest book, ‘The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World’, Dalrymple explores ancient Indian contributions, from Buddhism and Hinduism to astronomical texts, the concept of zero, and the game of chess. He argues that, more than the famous Silk Road, it was the waterways linking India to Europe through Persia, Arabia, and northern Africa to the west, and to China, Southeast Asia, and Sri Lanka to the east, that played a crucial role in shaping India’s empire of ideas. Speaking at an online event for The National Archives, he said, “These ideas spread from India to China and Southeast Asia, transforming both regions. The book also covers how Prakrit and Sanskrit languages, along with the broader spectrum of Indic learning, influenced these areas.
“In addition, it examines how Indian ideas have impacted the West in ways we are often not taught. In Britain, we grow up learning about figures like Pythagoras and Archimedes from a young age. Despite this, when I ask audiences on my book tour how many Brits have heard of Aryabhata or Brahmagupta, only a few hands go up, and those are usually from people of Indian heritage. These are the scholars who invented the numerals we use daily, including Brahmagupta, who defined the properties of zero—the final numeral in the Indian system. This numeral system first spread to the Arab world and then to the West, where it is now called Arabic numerals. While this is common knowledge in India, it remains largely unknown in the West. This book is intended as much for Europeans as for Indians, offering new insights that will be enlightening to both audiences.”
Talking about the Silk Road and how it was represented, Dalrymple shares that the concept of the Silk Road gained prominence in the mid-1980s. Today, it is widely recognised, often depicted as a trade route spanning from the Mediterranean to the South China Sea. “This representation implies that the Silk Road was a major trade route in classical antiquity, linking cities such as Alexandria, Gaza, Tyre, Antioch, and Palmyra. However, recent maps often omit India from both the Maritime Silk Road and northern trade routes, which is significant because, based on my research, such maps do not accurately reflect classical trading patterns”, he said.
He further proposed an alternative to the traditional Silk Roads in the early periods. “The focus should be on the westernmost ports leading into the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. When Rome fell in the fifth century, it triggered a crisis in India and led trading guilds to move eastward to what they calledSwarna Bhumi , or the lands of gold, where they discovered gold mines that replaced the Roman gold they had previously received. For example, in the epic Ramayana, the Monkey King Sugriva tells Hanuman that he needs only to go to Swarna Dweep to find gold”, he said.
“This model suggests that, while the Silk Road did exist as a series of local trading routes through Central Asia, it was not a major East-West highway as often depicted until the Mongol Empire disrupted and eventually blocked off Indian access. It was only in the 13th century that the Silk Road began to replace the older trading routes. Supporting this idea are sources such as the mysterious papyrus found in Vienna, which is a shipping invoice from an Alexandrian Greek shipowner trading with a producer in Kerala”, he added.
He also shared his insight into the prominence of Buddhism in India sharing that in the early centuries of Buddhism, from the mid-fifth century BCE to the mid-third century BCE, archaeological evidence is scarce and that Buddhism's visibility increased after Ashoka's conversion in 250 BCE, spreading across India. He shared that, “This period saw the development of notable rock-cut monasteries in the Western Ghats and the emergence of the Padmapani figure in the Ajanta Caves. These structures, along with preserved teak and wooden rafters, demonstrate a transition from bamboo and wooden buildings to stone architecture. Buddhism also spread to Sri Lanka, where Ashoka’s son, Mahinda, converted the local king.”
Dalrymple went above and beyond in illustrating how the book explores cultural exchanges as evidence of India’s global influence, extending well beyond mere trade. He concluded his set by highlighting that advancements in mathematics, such as interest rate calculations and double-entry bookkeeping, ultimately contributed to the formation of the East India Company. This, he pointed out, is a key example of how Indians provided the tools that Westerners later used to subjugate them in the 18th century.
