SAURABH RAJPUT
Batch: MA-AIHCA - 2021-23
Birth : 04-Nov-1986
I came to the academic study of archaeology relatively late in life, although my fascination with Indian history began much earlier. In many ways, I have spent most of my life learning about the past, long before I formally entered the discipline.
Childhood in Jhansi: The Beginning of a Lifelong Fascination with History
My interest in history began when my family moved to the district of Jhansi. My father was a senior officer in the Government of Uttar Pradesh, and the nature of his service required frequent transfers to different cities across the state, sometimes more than once within a single year. As a result, our family was constantly on the move, and every new posting introduced me to a different region, its culture, and its history.
When we arrived in Jhansi, I was still a young child, just beginning to learn to read and write in Hindi and English. It was there that I first encountered the legendary story of Rani Lakshmi bai of Jhansi, along with numerous other accounts connected with the city's remarkable past. These stories captured my imagination in a way few other subjects could. There was a Cannon named "Kadak Bijali Top" which was manned by a Muslim cannoneer Gaus Khan.
One of my fondest childhood memories is of travelling with my father every now and then in his Govt vehicle to visit historical sites around Jhansi. These excursions became informal history lessons. Walking among old forts, ruined temples, ancient gateways, and forgotten monuments awakened in me a deep curiosity about the people who had built them and the events they had witnessed. Without realizing it, these journeys laid the foundation for a lifelong passion for history.
Schooling: Saraswati Shishu Mandir
I was fortunate to receive my early education at Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Datia Gate, Jhansi. The school placed considerable emphasis on India's cultural heritage and historical traditions. Many of my teachers spoke passionately about the country's glorious past, and their enthusiasm left a lasting impression on me.
a few textbooks in particular remains vivid in my memory— "Gaurav Gatha" and "Bharat-Bharati Published Mahan Maha purush Series". It contained inspiring stories drawn from Indian history and tradition, including the legendary reconstruction of the Ayodhya temple by King Vikramaditya and the exploits of Bappa Rawal. Whether historical or legendary, these narratives encouraged us to take pride in India's civilizational heritage and nurtured my growing interest in the past.
My education extended far beyond the classroom. During the 1990s, historical television serials were immensely popular. Together with the boys in my neighbourhood, I eagerly watched programmes such as The Sword of Tipu Sultan, The Great Maratha, Akbar the Great, Chanakya, and Vikram Aur Betal, Bharat Ek Khoj on Doordarshan. Afterwards, we would gather outdoors and re-enact scenes from these serials. We divided ourselves into kings, generals, soldiers, and ministers, inventing imaginary kingdoms and staging elaborate battles. Like countless children of our generation, history became our favourite form of play.
As I grew older, my curiosity grew with me. Fortunately, my father maintained a modest personal library. Although many of the books dealt with religion, contemporary affairs, and material from his UPPSC Commission preparation, it was the history books that fascinated me most. Unlike many school textbooks, they narrated events as engaging stories rather than lists of dates and facts.
Among these books, one became particularly influential: Bharat Ki Aitihasik Manchitrawali ("Historical Atlas of India"). It presented maps covering Indian history from ancient times to the twentieth century. I read it repeatedly until I had practically memorised every map, campaign, and historical event it contained. It was from this book that I first learned about famous battles in Indian history, including Panipat, Khanwa, Talikota and Plassey. Even today, whenever historical chronology is discussed, I can't help but smile, because I had already been introduced to much of it back in Class III or IV
Looking back, this was an unusual accomplishment for a child studying in Class IV, but it gave me a remarkable advantage in both history and geography.
Indeed, this early fascination with historical maps significantly strengthened my geographical knowledge. Throughout my school years, I found it comparatively easy to locate countries, capitals, rivers, and cities on world maps. History and geography remained among my strongest academic subjects throughout my education.
Fortunately, our home contained an ever-growing collection of books and magazines. My mother regularly subscribed to the magazines such as Grihashobha, Sarita, Sarika, Saras-Salil and Saurabh-Suman. Before she had finished reading the latest issue, I had often read it from cover to cover. At the same time, my father possessed a substantial collection of books covering religion, literature, current affairs, and history. Although many of the English and Sanskrit books were still beyond my comprehension, I gradually worked my way through almost everything else.
In those days, English was not as widely spoken as it is today. English was a language of few privileged people, none in my locality had knowledge on English speaking, at that time English had similar scope and knowledge as Urdu or Persian today. Consequently, most of my early reading was in Hindi, a fact that proved advantageous in one respect: it allowed me to build a strong foundation of historical knowledge before language became a barrier.
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| Balhans, Nandan, Nanhe Samrat etc |
My parents also bought me monthly subscription to several children's magazines, including Nandan, Champak, Balhans, and Nanhe-Samrat. These magazines were an important part of my childhood education. Every Sunday, We used to eagerly wait for the Sunday "Saptahik Parishista" and religiously read everything on that children corner. The children's supplements published in newspapers such as Swatantra Bharat and Dainik Jagran. Features Strip stories like Vikramaditya Simhasan Battisi, Didi Ki Chitthi, and Henry became weekly rituals. Looking back, these publications played a significant role in cultivating my love of reading. I reckon back in 1997-98, Dainik Jagaran issued a corpus of Sahastrabdi Visheshank (Millennial Supplement) in several parts, It included every event from history for the last 1,000 years. I had saved every pages from that Special edition, and this collection grew over the time, including numerous paper cuttings from News papers and magazines. I think the collection survived well up to the year 2019 but afterwards I lost it, maybe father sold all of them including a large number of books to the Kabadiwala. That was a great loss to me. A toil for 2 decades lost just in a day. From then onwards I stopped collecting physical books and paper cuttings. Several of my articles in the yearly school/college magazine were obtained from theses sources.
during 1993-94, One uncle in neigbhourhood was very conscious about his only son named "Montu Bhaiya". He used to buy large number of books, games, toys for his son and owned an impressive collection of books, toys, and educational material. Ironically, Montu Bhaiya showed little interest in reading, I used to borrow books from him in exchange of toys. It was through this collection that I first encountered the famous Amar Chitra Katha comics series. For me, these were far more than ordinary comic books. They opened a gateway to India's history, mythology, and folklore. Their vivid illustrations and engaging storytelling brought historical personalities and epic heroes to life in a way that textbooks rarely could.
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| Brothers from 1994 |
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| Back in those days, Amar Chitra Katha cost 6 Rs. Each. Price similar to the ordinary Raj Comics |
Even today, I regard Amar Chitra Katha as one of the most influential educational resources of my childhood. I still recommend my friends to buy Amar Chitra Katha for their children.
The late 1990s were a remarkable period for educational television in India. Historical and mythological serials occupied a central place in our weekly routine. We made every effort never to miss programmes such as Main Dilli Hoon, Panchatantra, Upasana (Kannagi Madhavi), Tenalirama, Suno Kahani, and many others religious serials like Mahabharat, Shri Krishna, Jai Hanuman, Om Namah Shivaya, Urvashi, Vishwamitra broadcasted on Doordarshan (Now themselves are history.)
Unlike today's fragmented entertainment landscape, television then served as a shared family experience. These programmes complemented my reading by presenting historical narratives visually. They stimulated my imagination and encouraged me to seek out books on the subjects they portrayed. Interestingly, everyone else was too watching the same programmes we were watching. Hence, sharing thoughts was an easy way with our friends in locality and school.
By the time we left Jhansi, I had already acquired a solid grounding in ancient Indian history.
Agra: Expanding Horizons and Discovering the Ancient World (1996–2003)
When my father was transferred to Agra, another chapter of my intellectual journey began. By then, history had already become one of my favourite subjects, but moving to Agra broadened my interests beyond the history of India and introduced me to the wider world of ancient civilisations.
I continued my schooling at Saraswati Vidya Mandir, where my enthusiasm for learning only grew stronger. Reading had become a habit rather than an obligation. During every summer vacation, I would finish reading the entire set of textbooks long before the new academic session began. Once those were completed, I searched for anything else that I could read. The History and Geography books had special place in my heart, Both of these books contained information about the world civilization, I usually read them many times as story books, and take enjoyment in every bit of it.
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| Most Naughty Boys with the most cruel yet highly scrupulous teachers (1997) |
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| We first learnt about Sumer, Ur, Jigurat, Hamburavi here in our books (class-VII) |
Around this time, cable television gradually reached our city. Initially, my father did not approve of having a cable connection at home, believing that it would distract us from our studies. Fortunately, one of our neighbours had cable television, allowing us to watch channels such as Discovery and NatGeo whenever the opportunity arose. Those documentaries transformed my understanding of history.
For the first time, I saw professionally produced programmes on Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, the Maya, the Inca, and many other civilisations. Glimpses of these programmes were sometimes shown on the Doordarshan Matinee show but not always. Instead of simply reading names in books, I could now watch archaeologists excavating and discussing about the historical sites ancient temples, examining mummies, and reconstructing ancient cities.
The civilisation that fascinated me most was Ancient Egypt. Its monumental pyramids, elaborate tombs, mysterious hieroglyphs, and extraordinary funerary practices seemed almost magical to a young student from northern India. Archaeology suddenly became something tangible rather than abstract.
One of my tenant was a nurse from Kerala. She was, I suppose a Christian, and had a VCR, where you can play video cassettes, and had a large number of video cassettes of English Christian films, mostly related to Jesus, Moses and other Bibilical topics. We hardly understood anything from the movies but used to watch it for sheer joy of seeing ancient people and battles. She had a cassette of an old movie named Jason and the Argonauts (1963). It was quite good film of the time, like our Alif-Laila Serial.
Another valuable influence during this period was a supplementary reference book entitled Children's Knowledge Bank, published by Pustak Mahal.
Although it was not a prescribed textbook, it contained an astonishing range of information covering history, science, geography, mysteries, inventions, and world cultures. My friends and I frequently exchanged these books, discussing the fascinating facts we discovered in the books.
Pustak Mahal also published a popular series entitled Vishwa Prasiddha ("World Famous"), several volumes of which found their way into our growing collection. Among all these books, one stood out above the rest—Anmol Khazane. Its chapter on the discovery of the tomb of "Tutankhamun" and The "Al-Dorado" completely captivated me. There were also a Chapter on Sutton-Hoo and The Scythian Grave Treasure. I was so inspired that I wrote an article based on that chapter for my school's annual magazine. I still remember the two characters Lord Carnaravon and Howard Carter (1921) from that book.
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| Vishwa Prasiddha Series |
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| Vishwa Prasiddha Anmol Khazane |
Looking back, I now realise that this was probably my first attempt at historical writing.
By the year 1998-99, We had access to the Cable TV at our home and we were now actively watching Discovery and NatGeo at home. By this time they had their program dubbed in Hindi too.
The Ancient Egypt immediately became our favourite and I vividly remember the frequent appearances of the renowned Egyptologist "Zahi Hawass", whose enthusiasm made the ancient world seem alive. At that time, Discovery Channel devoted considerable attention to the Egyptian archaeology, and many of those programmes left a lasting impression on me. Not only me, I saw this sudden surge of interest in all of our friends because at the same time The Mummy was released in India. and It was a big success here. The Mummy and its sequel was watched by almost every young boy here.
Later, the channel expanded its coverage to include the Maya, the Incas, and other ancient cultures. Gradually, my interests shifted from Indian history alone to a broader fascination with the civilisations of the ancient world.
During and after Highschool I became quite busy with my studies, It was really exhausting, I had to leave everything aside to pursue academics.
By the end of my school years in Agra, history had ceased to be merely a favourite subject. It had become a lifelong passion. Books, comics, television documentaries, newspapers, and educational magazines had combined to create an enduring fascination with the ancient world. Without consciously planning it, I had already begun preparing myself for a future that would eventually lead me to archaeology.
At that time, however, I had no idea where life would take me. Ahead lay one of the most demanding phases of my education— Engineering —a path that seemed, at least temporarily, to take me away from history.
Yet history has a curious way of calling people back.
Anand Engineering College, Computers, and the Rediscovery of History (2003–2007)
Finally, after clearing my engineering entrance exam, I got selection and thought that it will be the end of the years of hard-work but little that I knew, it was the beginning of another hardship. The first year of my college was like a nightmare, as a fresh student from Hindi medium school, it was quite challenging for me to survive in the class of senior students (some had even prepared for 4 years for IIT), with some convent educated having very weird foreign accents when speaking English.
For a student from a modest educational background, adapting to this environment demanded tremendous determination. The transition was neither easy nor immediate, but it taught me perseverance and self-reliance—qualities that would later prove invaluable in my academic journey.
Amidst these challenges came an unexpected blessing. To celebrate my success in the entrance examination, my father presented me with a personal computer. Today, owning a computer may seem commonplace, but in 2003 it was considered a luxury, especially for a middle-class family.
So, blessing in disguise, I dived deep down in the world of computers and began to learn minute mechanics behind the machine. At one side was entire theoretical subjects like "Design and Analysis of Algorithm, Operating System, Data Structure" etc which were not at all helpful for me to learn computers and on the other side, the new brave exciting world of the computers and out of course books. I discovered that my real education began outside the classroom.
I spent countless hours dismantling softwares, experimenting with operating systems, troubleshooting hardware, and understanding how computers functioned. Every new problem became an opportunity to learn. Unlike many of my classmates, I was fascinated not merely by using computers but by understanding them.
To be precise, I was not exposed to the internet until 2006. From 2003-2006, I learnt about Operating system, softwares, games, music, films and different computer languages, I had mastered C and C++ programming by 2004 and Java by 2006 and was making complex programs on recursion, object oriented Programming and improving coding to reduce complexity. I was so adept in C language that my seniors used to take assistance from me. I remember people who were new to the computers used to call me for help in setting up the system or for any problem. I was a local expert in those days. We collected numerous softwares of numerous kinds in CDs for quick remedy. In those times, when internet was not available, these softwares (which we now call Apps) were great help.
Looking back, those years laid the foundations not only for my professional career in software engineering but also for the digital research skills that I would later employ in historical studies. Programming appealed to me for much the same reason that history did. Both required patience, logical thinking, careful analysis, and the ability to solve complex problems by assembling many small pieces into a coherent whole.
Many younger readers may find it difficult to imagine a world without high-speed internet. Between 2003 and 2006, internet access was still limited and expensive. Most software circulated through CDs rather than online downloads. Demo versions, trial software, device drivers, utilities, games, and educational programs were distributed with computer magazines. In 2003 itself, I was having lots of digit magazine CDs from an APTECH institute where my friend was having a course. During this period, one of my closest friends was enrolled at an APTECH computer institute. When the institute disposed of its old issues of Digit magazine, he collected their accompanying CDs for me instead of allowing them to be discarded. Those discs became an extraordinary source of knowledge. Because they contained hundreds of software packages, programming tools, multimedia applications, and game demonstrations from all over the world. I explored every one of them with immense curiosity, copying useful programs and learning through experimentation. Without realizing it, I was teaching myself computer science far beyond the requirements of my university syllabus.
The Game That Revived History:
Among the many demo programs included on those CDs was a game that profoundly influenced my intellectual life. The Game "Age of Empires II: Age of the King". While playing this game, it rekindled a lost passion in me. The accurate depiction of history and very uniquely and neatly design graphics took my heart away. I played that demo multiple times for months.
This also urged me to read more about history. After a hiatus of 4 years, I was once again back on the path to read and watch history. Because I was in Engineering college, "The boys" had downloaded a number of movies based on history launched during this period for example, "The Gladiator", "Alexander", "The Troy", "The Braveheart", "300", "Kingdom of heaven", "The Apocalypto", "King Arthur", "The Last Legion" etc. Although these films naturally took artistic liberties, they introduced me to historical settings, military campaigns, political conflicts, and ancient civilisations on a scale I had never previously experienced. These movies also played a vital role in my diversion towards history.
Then after I approached my closest friend (who was rich and resourceful) to get the full version of the Age of Empires-II, that included Joan of Arc, Saladin and Genghis Khan Campaign. He at that time was already having Age of Empire-I: Rise of Rome from NIIT institute, which was earlier published by same Ensembled Studios in 1999. We spent countless evenings playing together over a local area network (LAN). It was quite good and satisfactory experience learning about Ancient Iron Age cultures (Yes, they had Yamato culture, The Phoenicians, The Carthage and The Assyrians too). The Game strictly followed the events in history and hence was very accurate.
In 2004, We purchased a CD of Age of Mythology comprising The Greek, Norse and Egyptian civilizations, this game included pantheon from all three Civs. I was stunned and surprised to see the extraordinary artistic details and the mythological narration of history about the ancient religions. Really, that opened a new door learning about ancient Gods and mythical characters like The Cereberus, the Pegasus, the Centaur and the Minotour etc. I remember at the same time, we were watching "Harry Potter series", "Lord of the Ring series", "Chronicle of Narnia" etc, The mythical characters these films were depicting, most of them had origin in ancient mythology, except a few developed by Tolkien himself (the Elves and the Dwarves). I was immensely mesmerized with all this that I christened my first bike as "The Pegasus" and the name printed on it. I reckon clearly, that I even wrote long paragraphs on the Indian Gods Pantheon and sent a request through email to the Ensemble Studios to include this into their new expansion pack. (It was mere puerile behaviour, however later I came to know that the entire studio dissolved and the game development completely stopped, until it was revived by Microsoft in 2024 onwards)
Regarding the Herakles (Hercules), Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, Athena we encountered in our Numismatics course. I was already having considerable knowledge about them back in 2004. Not only this but also numerous others like The Hades, Oranus, Chronos, Ajax, Agamemnon, Hector, Paris, Circe, Scylla, Odysseus were general jargon for us brothers. The Castor and Pollux, two Dioscuri often seen in the Indo-Greek coins were our sobriquet during game play.
Several other films like The Mummy, and the Mummy Return, The Scorpion King, Belphegor mummy in the Louvre Museum. were solely based on the Egyptian Myths. The Characters Ankh-e-Sanamoon, Imhotep, Nefertiti played by the female protagonists were actually real historical personalities. Look here how exact they were while depicting bronze weapons.
Clash of Titans, Wrath of Titans followed later, but I must admit, I have watched a large number of films and read a large content on both history and mythology. Consequently, my interests gradually expanded beyond history into comparative mythology, religion, and ancient cultures. For Sometime I was into the pseudo science novels like the "Chariots of God" etc.
Eventually, In the later year of my graduation another friend Akash Yadav From College hostel had given full version of The Age of Empire-II-The Conqueror Edition, Each campaign of the AOE-II encouraged me to read further, and before long I found myself returning to books on history with renewed enthusiasm. In the later years, I discovered another RTS game Celtic-King & Imperivm Series, which eventually became first priority for us brothers to play on LAN party whenever we were together.
Although, engineering remained my formal profession, but history quietly reclaimed its place in my life. Without consciously planning it, I had resumed the intellectual journey that had begun years earlier in the forts and temples of Jhansi.
Programming sharpened my analytical thinking. Strategy games stimulated my interest in military history. Historical films encouraged critical enquiry. Computers opened entirely new avenues for learning. All of them contributed to shape my future.
By the time I completed my engineering degree, I had acquired not only technical skills but also a renewed commitment to historical study. What I did not yet realise was that the greatest revolution in my education was still to come.
Internet and after College (2007-2009):
In the beginning of 2006, I got placement in a famous software company, yet I had another full year to complete my graduation course. I took internet connection (Sify-Broadband) for learning purpose during Aug-2006. Remember, this was the time when Reliance and Tata had just entered in Telecom market. They were nowhere in the Internet world. From here onwards my journey towards internet began. Although, I had been using internet portals, social media (MySpace, Orkut, Hi5, Webshots) and Emails (Rediffmail, Zapakmail, Yahoo, Gmail) etc for a long time now, but surfing internet was never possible because of the pathetic net speed. Sify offered genuine broadband speed first time. I still remember I was having 256 kbps speed (512 MB data plan) for Rs. 450 (1 MB ~1 Rs.), quite costly but much-much better than average 16-32 kbps BSNL plan. Watching YouTube was a luxury by that time because data was always limited (1~2 GB). If required we only downloaded highly compressed videos. Today, nobody would even like to watch those video, which we used to preserve for sharing. As a part of nostalgia, I still got a large collection of those songs preserved with me. (acquired rather through sharing not downloading)
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| TATA DOCOMO : The expansive 3G Dongles were popular during 2008-10 |
History was one of the first subjects that drew me in. Night after night, I found myself reading about Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, Mesopotamia, Persia, and India. Reading about comparative civilisations gradually became part of my daily routine. Wikipedia had come in the existence by then and we were referring to it quite often. This Open and free access of Wikipedia, expedited the departure of expansive Encarta-Encyclopedia software sold by different companies. The Multinational Companies however tried hard to shut down Wikipedia but failed utterly.
The access to internet removed the geographical/Monetary limitations that had shaped my childhood learning. Instead of relying solely on the books available locally, I could now consult museums, academic articles, digital archives, and educational websites from around the world. This was when I was still in the college, where substantial amount of time and energy was devoted to CS and IT subjects.
Anyways, In 2007, after completing my engineering degree, I formally entered the software industry. The transition from college to corporate life was demanding. Long working hours, deadlines, and the constant pressure to learn new technologies left little time for personal interests. Like many young professionals, I became absorbed in establishing my career. It was a struggle in itself, I could not get time and peace to spend on my hobby and pastime.
Although history temporarily moved into the oblivion, it never disappeared entirely. I continued reading whenever time permitted, purchasing books whenever possible and following documentaries whenever an opportunity arose. Even during the busiest periods of professional life, my fascination with the ancient world remained quietly alive.
The time passed, during the Sub-prime crisis in America (2008-10), We saw instability in India too. I reckon that I decided after observing the long time affect in our sector to switch to more stable job. The Central Government had recently revised the pay commission and was offering very handsome pay. So, I decided to look for job in the Central Govt department. I have to admit, that I didn't have to struggle hard to get a good job, in just a few exams I got selected in one of them and worked for around 12 years for a PSU Bank. This decision of completely switching from my core sector brought about very profound change. The banking profession provided financial security, but it also placed me in different parts of the country, exposing me to the regions rich in historical and archaeological heritage.
Living Among the Ruins of Empires:
Luckily, One of my postings proved particularly memorable. I was transferred to a region close to the ruins of the great Hampi-Anegundi-Kampili. the capital of the magnificent Vijayanagara Empire. For someone deeply interested in history, it was an extraordinary privilege. Unlike reading about the empire in books, I could now walk among its streets, temples, bazaars, reservoirs, gateways, and fortifications. The landscape itself became a historical document. those were the good times, as we focused more on work yet took out sometime for our hobby. I also visited ancient capital of Chalukyas three times which was not far away from my place. (2-3 hours journey). Exploring its cave temples, inscriptions, fortifications, and monuments allowed me to observe first-hand architectural features that I had previously encountered only in books
Meeting with a friend and change in world view :
During 2012, a Junior officer joined our office, He was from Bengal and had appeared in civil services interview twice, He had completed Masters in History and possessed an astonishing breadth of historical knowledge. Since, he was residing in same guest house as I was, our conversations often extended far beyond office hours. I discovered new perspectives, unfamiliar sources, and more rigorous methods of analyzing historical evidence. for example, while visiting the ancient Capital city Mahakuta near Badami (Vatapi) , we saw a large circular standalone pillar, there were the image of a Dwarf on the top of it. He immediately connected this to the name of the city Vatapi and recited the story of Vatapi and Illvala, From him I learnt a lot and from that time onwards, I also got interest in Medieval India and continued to glean information from publicly available sites,
Even today, I regard those conversations as one of the most valuable informal educational experiences of my life.
From Hobby to Research :
By this stage, history had become far more than a pastime. What had begun in childhood as curiosity had gradually evolved into disciplined, systematic study. I no longer read merely to acquire information. I read to answer questions.
For Example:
- Why had certain empires succeeded while others collapsed?
- How reliable were traditional historical narratives?
- Why had some regions received extensive scholarly attention while others remained comparatively neglected?
- One question, in particular, increasingly occupied my thoughts. Where was the comprehensive history of Indian warfare?
The more I searched, the more I became convinced that this field remained surprisingly underdeveloped. Indian civilisation had witnessed thousands of battles across several millennia, involving countless kingdoms, dynasties, and military traditions. Yet these conflicts rarely occupied the central place accorded to the military histories of Greece, Rome, China, or Europe. Whenever we visit any Museum, we often encounter weapons and amour belonging to the Islamic period but what about the Ancient period ? Why don't we have any specific weapon like object from ancient period ?
The gap seemed too significant to ignore.
I began collecting references, examining archaeological evidence, reading inscriptions, studying sculptures, and comparing literary sources. Gradually, a long-term research agenda began to take shape.
I started collecting data from 2016 onwards, initially it were public forum like Defence-India or the Historum, then it also extended to cover international Museums sites, where a large number of ancient Indian artefact is preserved.
by 2019 after getting numerous transfers through out India I finally resigned to follow the path of research in ancient Indian warfare. Which I believe is the most uncharted field of the Ancient and Medieval India. I believe Indians fought more battles than any other civilization in the world yet they are classified as peaceful non-violence religious civilization at every place. The Indians often call themselves peaceful civilization on various forum but mere absence of proofs can not deny the reality. This is an irony arising out of the ignorance.
Actually, the warfare of India was neither recorded nor represented and hence it is not shown in many books, it was mostly ignored and undermined by the Indians themselves. When we look at the depiction of battles on temple wall-reliefs, we see a number of weapons and war techniques. This evidence alone is enough to say that Indian warfare was very sophisticated, Indians were using a large variety of weapons for various means. We don't see this much variety anywhere in the world. (For example the bas-relief of Assur-banipal Palace in Nineveh explicitly depict several battle scenes, in Almost all of the wars same type of Bows, Same type of Swords, Spears, Slings and Shields are depicted. But while comparing same with a few available battle scenes in Indian Sanchi relief, we get a number of different sword types, Maces, Chakras, Trident, Poker, Long Bow, Short Bow etc are depicted.)
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| Sanchi West Gate : These Guys are holding something like Boomerang |
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| Sanchi West Gate: The Horse tail is tied to a rope here, why? we all know. |
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| Sanchi Depiction : This demon from Mara Army is carrying "Haladie", another carrying "Battle Axe", and "Trident" |
The only problem is documentation of those depictions and enumeration of those wars, If we could able to do that, we can accurately project the picture of real warfare in India. There are a lot of problems and gaps in the Indian military history. (For example, In Copper hoard culture the correct use of the Antenna sword was not known until recently, a perfect shape Antenna sword with hilt found from Sanauli has clarified the decade long debate on the usage of Antenna sword. The usage of Anthromorphic shape weapon is still unknown though.)
Returning to the Classroom: Archaeology, Research, and a New Beginning (2021–Present)
Keeping in view of the above, After years of independent study, I realised that enthusiasm alone was not enough. Self-learning had given me an extensive foundation, but I increasingly felt the need for systematic academic training. I wished to study history not merely as an interested reader but as a researcher capable of engaging with primary evidence, archaeological data, and scholarly debates. Initially, I considered continuing entirely through self-study. However, the COVID-19 pandemic made me reconsider the limitations of working in isolation. Independent learning offers freedom, but it can also become intellectually lonely. Without interaction with teachers, fellow students, and ongoing academic discussions, one risks overlooking new methods, fresh discoveries, and alternative perspectives. Hence, during 2021, Several universities offered postgraduate programmes in history, and I carefully examined their curricula. Agra University offered a combined history programme with greater emphasis on medieval and modern India. Although academically valuable, it did not align closely with my primary interest.
Eventually, I discovered the Master's programme in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology at Jiwaji University. The curriculum immediately appealed to me. Without hesitation, I applied for admission. Looking back, I believe it was one of the best academic decisions I have ever made.
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| Jiwaji University, Department: Professors and students January, 2023 |
Learning Archaeology
Here in Jiwaji, I spent only two years but these two years were quite a lot of achievement. I learnt many new things here, also came to know about the new trends. I came here to learn ancient history but thankfully, I got proper training in archaeology too which is a vital part of the ancient history. Until then, my knowledge had been based largely on historical texts, inscriptions, maps, and literary sources. The university introduced me to archaeological methods, material culture, excavation reports, architecture, epigraphy, and the interpretation of physical evidence. For the first time, I began to appreciate history not only as a written record but also as something preserved in stone, pottery, sculptures, inscriptions, coins, landscapes, and architecture. This shift fundamentally changed my perspective. I realised that archaeology and history are not separate disciplines but complementary ways of understanding the past.
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| Various Field Trips : Organised by the Department during 2021-23 |
Beyond the Classroom : Reflections on Historical Research
During this period, I focused primarily in learning script (although I wanted to learn Sanskrit and Prakrit too but could get time to study them properly, these are still in my bucket list). then I learnt about the ancient Indian architecture. Mainstream archaeology was not much important for me, because I know I am too old to become a part of excavation now. Moreover, Those who decide chronology and write history are not archeologist themselves, they get evidences from the archaeologist and analyse it. The popular history in todays time is also getting away from the clutches of the history academia and now becoming the part of amateurs who have deep interest in history. The government policy has become so rigid that the historian academia are confined to their courses and course books now. No one wants to do extra research work which is not funded by the popular organization. Leave aside the professors, this is a problem with the new students too. The Amateurs are taking advantage of this, in writing half history and half fantasy which could be digested by the ordinary folks.
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| The Sudden Surge in this type of narrative building amateur ultra-nationalist history writing is observed these days. |
I also spotted some of the problems in our academia and the over all trend in the field of archaeology and history which is a tale of another time.
The Value of Academic Institutions
My time at Jiwaji University also gave me a renewed appreciation for the dedication of university professors. Despite limited resources and numerous administrative responsibilities, I witnessed professors who remained deeply committed to their students. They organised lectures, seminars, educational tours, practical training, and academic activities with remarkable consistency. Their efforts often extended far beyond formal teaching. In my opinion, the department possesses considerable potential for future growth.
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| Pillars of the Department. |
With greater institutional support, additional faculty members, and improved resources, it could become an even stronger centre for the study of ancient Indian history and archaeology.
I remain grateful for the encouragement and guidance that I received throughout my studies.
My Future Plans :
I have formally entered the academic world only recently, I do not regard my education as complete. On the contrary, I consider it the beginning of a new phase of learning. There are many areas in which I still hope to improve.
I have not much of the big future plans, I have some small targets for myself to be achieved in the upcoming years. Among them are :
1. Acquiring proficiency in several ancient and modern languages;
2. Studying Sanskrit and Prakrit more systematically;
3. Continuing research into ancient Indian warfare and military traditions;
4. Completing several long-term writing projects;
5. Expanding my knowledge of archaeology, epigraphy, and historical geography;
6. Strengthening my digital skills, including cartography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), artificial intelligence, digital illustration, and historical visualisation.
7. Finishing some books that I had set long ago for reading.
History is a discipline that rewards patience. Every inscription deciphered, every forgotten monument documented, every neglected manuscript studied, and every archaeological discovery examined contributes another small piece to humanity's understanding of the past. But Important thing is, the work only becomes fruitful when done collectively, so whatever you do, make sure it is shared well, recorded well among the other researchers. Remember the ocean is made of drops. Each achievement or the individual is a mere drop in this ocean of history. Without shared effort there will not be any existence of a single drop.
The developed human civilization we see today is the effort of many intelligent minds altogether. "The Rome was not built in a day."
I hope that, in whatever modest way I can, my own work will contribute to that continuing endeavour.
Message for the Next Gen:
Every generation inherits the responsibility of preserving and enriching the knowledge passed down by those who came before it.
During my years of study, I have had the privilege of interacting with many young classmates. Time and again, I have been impressed by their intelligence, curiosity, and remarkable ability to learn new concepts quickly. Whenever they were given meaningful guidance and encouraged to participate actively, they responded with enthusiasm and creativity. In my experience, talent has never been lacking, only the correct path needs to be shown. Opportunity, however, is often more limited.
Some of my experiences with mates like Lokesh, Vivek, Abhijeet, Yogesh, Pradyumn, Anuj, Siddharth, Samin, Parth etc suggested that, people having different abilities mixed together often are helpful in achieving large and complex task because, in that environment diverse people can handle diverse problems with ease. Sometimes training is required but most of the time proper guidance works without any prior training. New Generation is smart enough to grab things quickly. One major problem is to establish co-ordination among people of varied calibre. An able leader can do that.
Many students possess a genuine passion for archaeology and history but face the practical realities of earning a livelihood. Employment opportunities in these disciplines remain relatively scarce, and financial responsibilities frequently compel talented individuals to pursue careers in entirely different fields. However, There is nothing dishonourable in this. One's profession and one's passion need not always be the same. and I am the biggest example of that.
If I may offer a few suggestions to future students, they would be these:
1. Secure a stable livelihood first. Financial independence provides the freedom to pursue intellectual interests with greater confidence.
2. Never abandon your curiosity. Even if professional commitments leave little free time, continue reading, visiting museums and monuments, attending lectures, and engaging with new research.
3. Remain connected with fellow students and teachers. Intellectual communities flourish through discussion, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas.
4. Create study groups and research circles. Regular meetings, however informal, can sustain motivation and generate valuable new perspectives. In this regard, I would especially like to mention the efforts and endeavour made by our Colleague Shri Vaibhav Sharma(Ph.D.), who is totally devoted to the cause of History and Archaeology in the Gwalior region. I am sincerely indebted to him for bringing many innovative ideas and continuous efforts in making boring history more interesting to the commoners. He just not have ideas but a grit and will to make it happen in reality. He is the only person in the region, who is sufficiently self-induced to keep this torch alive. Everyone must subscribe to his efforts and join his research circle. He has a great potential and will achieve something big in his life.
One of several exhibition organised by Shri Vaibhav during sept-2022
5. Maintain a lifelong relationship with your university and department. Institutions grow stronger when their alumni continue to participate in academic life. Hence, Everybody must connect with the department, where everyone can meet and discuss about their interests.
History and archaeology are not merely professions. They are lifelong journeys of discovery. The past still contains countless unanswered questions, waiting patiently for those willing to search for them. I hope that future generations will continue that search with curiosity, humility, and dedication.
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Archaeology Department : Professors and Student on the eve of successful completion of International Seminar - 2023
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