Making a Case for India's Ingenuity

William Dalrymple says The Golden Road is an extraordinary story but also the most challenging book he has written in the last two decades.

- RIA SINGH

For nearly 1,500 years, India’s influence has extended far beyond its borders, shaping art, religion, music, technology, astronomy, dance, literature, mathematics, and mythology across a vast cultural sphere known as the “Indosphere”. This zone of influence stretched from the Red Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east, touching over half of the world’s population.

Yet despite its reach, this cultural network has not received the recognition it deserves, especially when compared to the Silk Route—a well-known trade route linking China and Europe. In his latest book, The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World, historian William Dalrymple brings this overlooked network to light. He explores what he calls the ‘Golden Road’—an extensive network of maritime and overland routes through which ancient India projected its cultural, intellectual, and economic influence. Unlike the Silk Route, Dalrymple explains, this route showcases India’s central role in fostering cultural connections and exchanges across diverse regions.

Dalrymple’s fascination with India runs deep, shaped by a personal journey that began by chance. Born in Scotland, he recalls, “I just landed here by accident when I was 18, and I never left.” Originally drawn to archaeology, Dalrymple had planned to join a dig in Iraq, but his plans changed when “Saddam Hussein [the then Iraqi president] shut down the British School of Archaeology, claiming it was a nest of British spies.” With his original plans foiled, he instead joined a friend who was going to teach in Dehradun. “That was in 1984, and here I am still in 2024,” he laughs.