Few contemporary Indian authors have reshaped the way readers engage with history and mythology quite like Amish Tripathi. With more than 8 million copies of his books sold in over 20 languages, Tripathi has built a formidable reputation as a writer who blends meticulous research with compelling storytelling. From the groundbreaking Shiva Trilogy to the Ram Chandra Series, his works have consistently sought to make the past both accessible and inspiring. Now, in his latest book, The Chola Tigers: Avengers of Somnath, Tripathi turns his gaze southwards to the grandeur of the Chola dynasty, a civilisation of warriors, visionaries, and empire builders who once dominated trade and culture across Asia. Through this novel, he aims not only to dramatise a forgotten era but also to spotlight what he calls “the greatest resistance in human history,” India’s survival through centuries of invasions. In this wide-ranging conversation with The Indian Express Online, Tripathi reflects on the destruction of Somnath, the biases of history writing, the resilience of Indian civilisation, and why Rajendra Chola deserves to be remembered as the most powerful ruler of his time. Your new book The Chola Tigers uses the historical plunder of Somnath as its catalyst. Why is this event, centuries later, still relevant? For nearly 1,500–2,000 years, many ancient cultures, what today we would call pagan, goddess-worshipping, nature-worshipping, idol-worshipping, even atheist cultures, were wiped out. Invaders like the Turks, Arabs, Mongols, Portuguese, Dutch, British, and French destroyed them. They came to India too. They could not wipe us out, but they left grievous wounds on Mother India’s soul. Somnath ji was not the first temple destroyed. The Arabs destroyed the Sun Temple at Multan earlier, but that temple was rebuilt quickly, and those Arabs became Indianised, even minting coins with Sanskrit on one side and Arabic on the other. With the Turks, it was different. Somnath marked a turning point. After that, temple destruction in the north became widespread and Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Sikh places of worship were ruined. That is why Somnath stands out as a moment the mind keeps returning to. How do we distinguish between invaders who conquer and settlers who integrate? The best way is to look at the contemporary texts of the invaders themselves. In modern times we respect people’s self-identification. We shouldn’t force our interpretations on them. The British called their rule the British Raj, not a Christian invasion. But Turkic colonial rule was mischievously called the Islamic invasion, giving the impression that Indian Muslims were ruling Hindus, which isn’t true. Indian Muslims were as oppressed as Hindus, just as Indian Christians were oppressed under the British. Sadly, after Independence, our historians didn’t decolonize this narrative. Turkic colonial rule kept being called the Islamic invasion. But the invaders themselves, the Delhi Sultans and so-called Mughals, identified as Turks, not as Indians. Babur, for example, openly described his homeland as Fergana, expressed disdain for India, and said he came here to loot. Contemporary texts like the Baburnama are clear on this. Our ancestors, too, knew the distinction. The Vijayanagara kings or Chhatrapati Shivaji called them “Turushka,” Sanskrit for Turk not “Muslim.” Both sides were clear. It’s only in contemporary India that we’re confused. We think Akbar looks like Prithviraj Kapoor, Alauddin Khilji looks like Ranveer Singh, and that they spoke Urdu. They did not speak Urdu. Urdu is our language. They spoke Turkic or Persian. Why do such misconceptions persist? Partly because post-Independence, historians didn’t “decolonise” narratives. Turkic colonial rule kept being called Islamic. Also, an obsession with Delhi distorted our view history textbooks made it seem everything happened between Khyber and Agra. Entire regions, West, Central, East, Northeast India, were ignored: Marathas, Palas, Kalinga, Hoysalas, Kashmir’s dynasties. That needs to change. You have often criticised the way history is taught in India. What’s missing from our textbooks? There are two problems. One, the framing, calling Turkic colonial rule an “Islamic invasion” while calling British colonial rule simply “colonial rule.” That’s mischievous. Two, the obsession with Delhi. For the last 1,300 years, history textbooks act as if everything of importance happened between Khyber and Agra. South India gets a “meanwhile in the South” chapter, but West, Central, East, and Northeast India don’t even get that. The Marathas, Palas of Bengal, Karkotaks of Kashmir, Hoysalas, Gurjar-Pratiharas, Kalinga, all ignored. I’m not anti-Delhi. It is an important part of India. But it’s not the only part. We need a fuller picture of our land. Is it right to say history was written only by the victors? In most of the world, yes. But India is perhaps the only land where the indigenous people won. This was the longest resistance in human history. The same invaders destroyed Aztec, Mayan, Zoroastrian, Greco-Roman, Celtic, and Egyptian civilizations. All gone. Yet India survived. Zoroastrians survive in India, not Iran. And yet, after all this sacrifice, we modern Indians often celebrate the invaders. That, I think, needs a collective psychoanalysis. Why did you choose the Cholas, specifically, and why now? The Indic Chronicles is about commemorating our ancestors who resisted invaders. The previous book was about King Suheldev. I hope to eventually cover others too. The Cholas came next because Rajendra Chola was contemporaneous with Mahmud Ghazni. He was the most powerful man on earth at the time. What makes you call Rajendra Chola “the most powerful man on earth”? Till the 11th century, India was about 35% of global GDP. That’s not “WhatsApp gyaan,” that’s Angus Maddison, the great economic historian. Much of this wealth came from trade. The three great trading powers were the Abbasid Caliphate, the Song Dynasty of China, and the Cholas. Rajendra Chola conquered most of South and East India, Sri Lanka, the Andamans, and Southeast Asia. The Bay of Bengal was his pond. The Cholas controlled trade routes between the Middle East and China, while also being major exporters themselves. That made them the largest, richest empire of their time. You’re one of India’s most prolific authors. How do you manage the research and writing? Through the Immortal Writers’ Centre. I draft a 6,000–7,000-word story outline. Writers then prepare a first draft. I rework it. As for research, I don’t do it book by book. I read constantly, around five or six books a month. I travel. I talk to people. Living itself is research. You walk a fine line between mythology and fiction. How do you avoid offence? Indians accept reinterpretations as long as they are done with respect. My Shiva Trilogy or Ram Chandra Series may differ from traditional stories, but the devotion is clear. I worship these gods myself. I don’t write divisive stories. Both Suheldev and The Chola Tigers show Hindus and Muslims fighting together against foreign invaders. My books are patriotic, yes, but not jingoistic. And because I write with love, not provocation, I’ve had no controversies in 15 years. What role do vengeance and violence play in dharma? India has the world’s oldest pacifist tradition, Jainism. In Jainism, even if you face death, you must not fight back. But if a society is only pacifist, it cannot survive an invader. Our ancestors balanced Ahimsa Paramo Dharma (non-violence is the highest dharma) with Dharma Hinsa Tathaiva Cha (violence for dharma is also righteous). A society needs both the beauty of non-violence and the strength of warriors. That balance is why India survived. What surprising fact about the Cholas did you discover while writing this book? Many don’t know that fragments of the original Somnath temple, destroyed by Mahmud Ghazni, were safeguarded in Chola territory for centuries. A clan of Agnihotris preserved them through daily puja. They’ve now resurfaced and are with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, with hopes of returning them to Somnath. I mention this in the epilogue of my book. You read widely. Any recommendations for readers? I read too much to name all-time favorites, but recently I’d recommend Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity Is Near and The Singularity Is Nearer. AI will impact all our lives. Kurzweil explains it brilliantly. Speaking of AI, what does it mean for writers? I experimented with it. AI can write in my style, but badly, so my job is safe for now! (laughs) It can’t think new thoughts, only rehash what’s been written. Where it helps is research. It can recall references instantly. But there’s a challenge: AI is trained mostly on Western sources, so it carries a Western bias. That’s why India needs its own solutions. Bhavish Aggarwal’s Kutrim, which includes Indian-language sources, is a good example. Otherwise, our kids will only learn what the West feeds into AI. In the past there has been a political debate over Bharat versus India. How do you see it? Our ancestors called this land Bharatvarsh, covering the entire subcontinent from Afghanistan and Balochistan to Kanyakumari, from Kashmir and Nepal to Myanmar. Foreign travellers for 3,000 years, from Greeks to Lankans, all described it as one land. So yes, we are India that is Bharat. The British didn’t create us. Our ancestors did. Your thoughts on “WhatsApp University” and misinformation? Both the Left and Right spread nonsense. I clarify when it’s fiction. But censorship isn’t the solution. It is a slippery slope. Better to debate, counter, and persuade. Freedom of expression is vital without it, science and progress die. What drives you to tell these stories? Gratitude. India is the only ancient civilisation to survive. Our ancestors fought, suffered, and sacrificed so we could live as Indians today. All we need to do is remember. My writing is my way of honouring them.
