The Idea of India

In this wide-ranging dialogue, two old friends trace the history of the idea of India through digressions, anecdotes and observations. Their conversation revolves around the narratives that have shaped the Indian identity—from the Vedic times to the present—and those whose voices and visions for this land remain unheard and unseen. Historian Romila Thapar and theorist Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak reflect on the challenges posed by essentialism and exclusion whenever cultures attempt to define and assert themselves, and emphasize the role of education in fostering a more inclusive and accurate understanding of the nation’s complex history.