‘Delhi centricity of historians has resulted in other parts of India being ignored’
There is no doubt that Amish Tripathi’s works are responsible for reigniting interest in mythological and historical stories among many. This year also marks a decade since his first work, The Immortals of Meluha, was published. Now, having established himself among the finest storytellers in the country, and having completed two acclaimed trilogies — The Shiva Trilogy and The Ram Chandra Series, he takes on the task of narrating the life of one of India’s greatest kings — Suheldev — in his latest work, Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India.
“I heard of the story of f King Suheldev at a conference in Goa,” he says, adding, “It was when two friends of mine, both scholars, told me about the Battle of Bahraich and King Suheldev.” The first mentions of the king come from the 17th century t Persian text Mirat-i-Masudi. “I was fascinated, and saddened at the same time. Here was a hero who had fought for Mother India. Every child in every Indian household should know his story. And yet, very few people knew of him,” rues Tripathi.
Suheldev is credited with defeating Ghaznavid general Ghazi Salar Masud in the Battle of Bahraich. “This will not be the only one. As Sanjeev Sanyal said, our history books tell us the story, largely, of our invaders, not of our ancestors who fought those invaders. This needs to be set right. Many heroes and heroines have been ignored. I intend to write books, with the help of the Writers Centre, on many of them,” says the author.
However, he does feel that over time, his “book triggers some interest among more mor scholars to study the story of the great King Suheldev”. This, he feels, is important because sadly, the history of many parts of the country have been ignored except Delhi. “Because of the Delhi-centricity of our historians, many other parts of India have been relatively ignored. For example, the Marathas, the GurjarPratiharas, Maharaja Bhoj, the Cholas, the Palas, the Hoysalas, the Ahoms, Emperor Lalitaditya Muktapida, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Adil Shahis, King Kharavela, King Martanda Varma, and so many others do not have adequate coverage in our mainstream history books. This needs to be set right,” Tripathi reasons.