Ranveer Allahbadia - Vikram Sampath

1) Dr. Vikram Sampath expresses that a country that doesn't understand its roots or know what it has contributed to human knowledge cannot have a great and glorious future. He believes that Indians have been taught to be self-loathing and look at themselves with a sense of inferiority. This has resulted in an entire generation of rootless people without the ability to spread their wings in the air. Sampath notes that there's a thin line between being jingoistic and being proud of a country's history. He acknowledges the negative aspects of society, but the overemphasis on negative aspects of Indian history has created a generation of people without roots.

2) Vikram discusses the reduction of discourse in India to a binary, which leaves no room for nuance. He argues that Gandhi's role in Indian independence is often viewed as the sole contributing factor, when there were various other resistance movements. He also talks about the danger of seeing history in black and white and the need to explore the nuances and complexity of historical figures like Gandhi.

3) Dr. Vikram discusses the root causes of Muslim separatism in India, which can be traced back to the 18th century. The fall of the Mughal Empire after Aurangzeb led to a fear among the orthodox ulema class that they would become subservient to the majority Hindus whom they had previously ruled over for centuries. This puritanical movement was inspired by Muslim thought in Central Asia and was perfected by people like Shah Bali ullah and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who believed that Hindus and Muslims were two separate groups engaged in a clash of civilizations. The British further fueled this separatism by forming the Muslim League and giving separate electorates to Muslims.

4) Vikram discusses the three major movements in India's freedom struggle and evaluates their effectiveness. He explains the failures of the Quit India movement in 1942, calling it a "bloody" and poorly planned movement that disassociated itself from the Congress party. He also points out that India's freedom was not solely due to the nonviolent movements but was also influenced by factors such as the weakening of Britain's economy and fear of insurrection in the British Indian army. Sampath concludes that these factors culminated in the success of India's freedom struggle, rather than the sole influence of nonviolent movements like Quit India.

5) Vikram discusses the involvement of Indian soldiers in World War II, who fought for the British army, but are often not depicted in movies or narratives. He also touches upon the mentality of brown people in the British army and how not all Indians wanted freedom, with a significant portion of educated Indians collaborating with the British government's oppressive regime. Dr. Sampath credits Gandhi's movement for creating the desire for freedom and a sense of one nation among common Indians, ultimately leading to India's independence.

6) Vikram discusses the subjective nature of history and the biases present in Indian textbooks. He questions the training of historians and how they research, triangulate facts, and question sources to retrofit historical narratives for contemporary politics. He also cites examples of historical myths, such as the case of Ashoka, whose Buddhist history was suppressed and replaced with a violent Hindu history. He highlights the agenda of Marxist historians in creating dissension between Hindus and Buddhists by falsely attributing Hindu persecution of Buddhists.

7) Vikram discusses the Indian Freedom Movement's distorted history due to the government's interference in what was meant to be an inclusive movement. He explains how the chosen historian of the time, RC Majumdar, refused to be biased and glorify only the Congress and non-violent movement led by Gandhi. As a result, he was dismissed and replaced with a pliant officer who carried out the government's mandate. Sampath highlights the challenges historians face, including incomplete and compromised sources, personal biases, and lack of competency in certain languages.

8) Vikram discusses the flaws in the Indian education system when it comes to teaching history. He argues that history textbooks tend to focus only on a Delhi-centric narrative rather than covering every part of India, including the Northeast. Sampath believes that Indian history should represent every part of India, not just center around Delhi. Furthermore, he points out the problematic representation of various cultures and communities in popular culture, including Hindi Cinema, which tends to caricaturize and otherize people who look or behave differently. Sampath argues that this othering of communities is deeply problematic for the integration of India as a nation.

9) Vikram discusses the significance of English in India, the decline of khadi post-Independence, what could have happened if Bhagat Singh had lived longer, and the rise of the BJP. Sampath notes how English has become a symbol of prestige in India, and how the decline of khadi occurred after India gained Independence, as the need for economic resistance disappeared. He also speculates on what would have happened to the Indian political landscape if Bhagat Singh had lived longer.

10) Dr. Vikram Sampath discusses the entrenchment of politics in India with dynasties coming into power, consolidating, and bringing in their people, which is different from the umbrella organization of all kinds of people, ideologies, and characters that the Congress philosophy was pre-independence. He then names his picks for three iconic PMs of India, which includes short-statured Atal Bihari Vajpayee, underrated Manmohan Singh, and adds Sachin Pilot and Smriti Irani as possible future PMs.

11) Vikram discusses three individuals who represent qualities India needs for its future, including underdog mentality and a "Never Say Die" attitude. They also talk about historical mistakes that Indians made, including trusting European traders who had ambitions of colonization, as well as the long period of time it took to establish Islamic dominance in India due to the resilience and resistance of unsung heroes and alliances of kings. It's noted that these historical events were surrounded by conspiracy theories, such as Lal Bahadur Shastri's death and the KGB's control over the country.

12) Vikram discusses the impact of external invasions on India and how it led to a sense of distrust and infighting among the people, which was capitalized on by the invaders. He highlights the importance of unbiased historical accounts and praises RC Majumdar for his dispassionate retelling of Indian history. Dr. Sampath also discusses the relevance of podcasts and social media in disseminating information and encouraging people to read and learn more. He talks about the casual and informal nature of podcasts and how they make the conversation more peaceful.

13) Sampath talks about the great Lal Bahadur Shastri who represented the post-Independence India. Shastri was a gentle-mannered, Hindi-speaking man from Varanasi who made a significant impact in his two years as Prime Minister. Despite India's defeat in the 1962 war with China, Shastri brought morality back to the country by leading India in a war against Pakistan and winning, making the farmer and the soldier an essential aspect of national life. However, what he won on the battlefield, India lost at the negotiation table in Tashkent, where he died under mysterious circumstances.

14) Vikram discusses the possibility of a conspiracy behind the assassination of Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. He explains how India, despite claiming to be non-aligned during the Cold War, was tilting towards the Soviet Union. This resulted in the infiltration of every part of the Indian government by the KGB and the secret society of the intelligence department. They did not want to give up India, and anyone who upset this status quo would not be tolerated. This alignment with the Soviet Union ruined the country's potential for growth, becoming an era of wasted opportunities.