Speaking at the ABP Network's Ideas of India Summit, Dr Parakala Prabhakar in his opening remark recounted an incident that happenned with him while he was travelling from Hyderabad. Highlighting that what is the "reimagining India" that his taking place in contemporary times, he stated: "I travelled from Hyderabad last night. At the security check, the constable was repetitively saying "one tray, one bag". For a second, I was astonished that why is this constable making a political statement. One tray, one bag, one nation, one election, one language and so on. Then I realised that its a very transactional thing in an airport. But that is the kind of so called reimagining India that is happening today."
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Dr Parakala Prabhakar pointed out that the reimagining happening today is nothing like reimagining the discourses or the idea of the India, but a "repurposed idea of India harking back to early 19th century, especially after the British power has consolidated from 1880s onwards."
Raising some important questions that needs reflection in present times, he stated: "How do we look at India? What is India? Who are Indians?, and What kind of the nation are we going to build.?"
Speaking about who is an Indian, he stated: "India belongs to everybody who is here, every citizen, and citizenship is not related to language, religion, region or anything. But whoever is in India is an Indian. The liberal, diverse, and not just tolerance but acceptance of differences thus looking at every language or persons as equal owners or equal participants in this long journey of India."
'Congress Don't Want Us To Question Mughal Empire': Vikram Sampath
Citing an American historian's quote that "what people did in past is not stored in an amber," Historian and scholar Dr Vikram Sampath stated: "Every generation looks back, and drawing from its own experiences makes pattern of the past and the present."
Shunning the perspective that some people are sponsoring a narrative to push forward their own political agenda, Sampath stated: "So when we are reimagining Indian past, I don't see it as in something bad or something necessarily as a political project that someone sitting at somewhere is sponsoring for the group of hideous people who are saying that ok lets change this narrative so we can get electoral dividence."
"To rubbish away the palpable change in India today to just a political project linked to an ideology or party, would be missing the point. We just saw that during the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony in India, common Indians, who had nothing to do with the BJP, RSS, VHP, felt that this was a renaissance and resurgence when after 500 years of struggle, we got back one of our most sacred spots," he further stated.
Speaking about Mughal empire, Sampath stated: "The Congress don't want us to question the cultural imperialism of the Mughal Empire. They were also oppressors of a different kind than the British... To even talk about these aspects of our past gets you painted as a communal and a bigoted person, which is a problem."
Vikram Sampath is a Bangalore-based historian who has written six critically regarded nonfiction works. His two-volume biography of Veer Savarkar has been a national bestseller. Dr Sampath is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, an Eisenhower and Aspen Global Fellow, and a Senior Research Fellow at NMML. He has received several awards, including the Sahitya Akademi's first Yuva Puraskar for English literature and the ARSC Award for Excellence in Historical Research in Music.
Dr Parakala Prabhakar is an Indian political economist and social critic. He studied at JNU and the London School of Economics. Between 2014 to 2018, he served as the Government of Andhra Pradesh's Communications Adviser, with Cabinet status. He is presently the managing director of RightFOLIO, a knowledge organisation situated in Hyderabad. He is also a well-known current affairs writer with a famous YouTube channel called 'Midweek Matters', where he covers matters concerning India's politics, economics, and contemporary life.
The Ideas Of India Summit
ABP Network's 'Ideas Of India Summit' returns for its third edition at a time when the globe is divided into conflict zones, major elections are taking place or are on the horizon, and immigration and border laws are critical to global policy in the midst of conflicts and widespread immigration. The 'Ideas of India Summit', which will be held on February 23 and 24, will focus on 'The People's Agenda' and the many principles of global and domestic politics ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
ABP Network's flagship 'Ideas Of India Summit' will bring together renowned thinkers on the same platform to discuss subjects critical to global and Indian politics as the world's largest democracy prepares for the Lok Sabha elections in a few months. The much-anticipated summit, scheduled for February 23 and 24, will outline 'The People's Agenda' ahead of the country's vital elections.
The past two editions, with the themes 'Naya India' and 'Open-Minds Open Minds', were tremendously successful in bringing forth the ideas and concepts that drive India, and the third edition promises to be no different.