‘History Demands that We Acknowledge Its Incoherence’

Author Audrey Truschke tells Medha Dutta Yadav how as South Asia continues to grow, both in population and in global influence, it behoves everyone to know a little about the history of the Indian subcontinent

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According to Audrey Truschke, Indians today are bombarded with propaganda and invented stories. Amid the swirls of disinformation and political mythologies about the past, the writer believes, her book offers Indian readers access to genuine history. An excerpt:

This is an ambitious book. What inspired you to write it? And how long was it in the making?

Princeton University Press approached me in 2020 about writing a sweeping overview history of South Asia. I initially declined on the grounds that the subject was too vast for a single volume. But, in the end, I was convinced that we need a starting point for students and general readers alike to access the vast depths of Indian history. The book took five years to bring to fruition.

What was the greatest challenge you encountered while writing the book?

There is no overarching, single narrative that ties Indian history together, which makes for difficult writing. I use a series of recurrent themes—ranging from migration to social stratification to cultural change—to loosely tie the book’s chapters together. But, in the end, history demands that we acknowledge its incoherence, rather than falsely overlay a unifying narrative.

Did your work on this book change your perspective on any earlier research or public positions you've taken?