Sarvajeet D Chandra

Sarvajeet’s Blog

  • Ashoka: Mass Murderer OR Moral Icon? Why Did India Put HIM on Its Passport?

    261 BCE. The Daya River, Odisha. The water is not merely red, it is opaque. It is a slurry of silt and the blood of a hundred thousand Kalingans. Ashoka, forty-three years old, is a man who has dealt in death his entire life. He looks at the carnage and asks a question that will…

  • What Does India’s Civilisational Defence Strategy Tell Us About Power, Deterrence, and Restraint?

    327 BCE. The banks of the Beas River. Punjab. Rain is hammering down. Alexander’s army is camped here, and something is shifting in the air. Not the weather, something else. Imagine a Greek soldier, let’s call him Philotas. He has been away from home for eight years. Eight years of mountains, deserts, rivers, and driving…

  • The Ancient Roots of Indian Music and Art

    Twelve thousand years ago, ancient artists in India portrayed human connection through cave paintings. Advancements in music theory emerged with Bharata Muni’s Natya Shastra, predating Western music theory. Despite colonial pressures that undervalued Indian traditions, figures like Gauhar Jaan helped preserve and assert India’s rich cultural legacy and identity.

  • Maritime Conquests: India’s Influence in Southeast Asia

    In 1025 CE, a Tamil fleet powerfully asserted India’s historical maritime legacy, led by Chola King Rajendra. This naval expedition was spurred by merchant grievances against Srivijaya, revolutionizing Southeast Asian trade. Notably, figures like Kanhoji Angre later exemplified resistance against European powers, reflecting a continuity of India’s rich naval tradition.

  • How Ancient India Shaped the World’s Most Loved Flavors

    The content explores India’s profound influence on global cuisine and agriculture, tracing the origins of sugar, mangoes, and spices to ancient practices. It highlights how these elements shaped economies and cultures, revealing the historical exploitation and colonial dynamics linked to these commodities. The narrative underscores the urgent need to preserve India’s agricultural heritage today.

  • Kailasa – The Ancient Indian Temple So Advanced That Conspiracy Theorists Still Can’t Accept the Truth

    In the 8th century, King Krishna I of the Rashtrakutas carved a ninety-foot mountain downward into the Kailasa Temple: no mortar, no bricks, just subtraction at scale.

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Bay of Bengal. 1025 CE. A monsoon is trying to kill everyone aboard. The ship has no iron. Not one nail. Not one bolt. She is held together by coconut fibre rope and sealed with resin. After Kalinga, Ashoka faced the hardest problem any ruler can face: an empire too large to rule by fear alone. His solution was not peace. It was something far cleverer. He conquered a kingdom, killed a hundred thousand people, and then wrote about it in stone for the entire empire to read. Ashoka’s Rock Edict 13 is one of the most astonishing documents from the ancient world — a sitting emperor, admitting guilt, in his own name, carved into granite. His father hated him. His brother exiled him. History almost forgot him. A gold coin. Per head. She asked Ashoka for one thing while he was ill: the royal seal. Just for seven days. It looked like a paradise. Jasmine trees. Still water. Beautiful gates. 261 BCE. A river runs red. 100,000 dead. And the most powerful man in the ancient world looks at the carnage he ordered and asks: “What have we really won?” Two of the greatest conquerors in history. Fifteen centuries apart. Both arrived at India’s edge.