Kalinga Did Not Transform Lord Ashoka, Claims Sanjeev Sanyal

Kalinga Did Not Transform Lord Ashoka, Claims Sanjeev Sanyal

Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor to the Government of India, wears many hats. Besides being an economist, Sanjeev is also a teller of history, popular urban theorist, environment expert and an author of eminence.

‘The Indian Renaissance: India’s Rise after a thousand years of Decline’, ‘Land of the Seven Rivers’, ‘The Incredible History of India’s Geography’, ‘The Ocean of Churn’, and the much recent ‘Life Over Two Beers And Other Stories’ are some of his books that have received rave reviews.

We were ecstatic to have a tete-a-tete with Sanyal when he was in Bhubaneswar recently. He unravelled some interesting aspects of the great Kalinga war, the legacy of Ashoka and a lot more. Read below to find out:

Your book, ‘The Ocean of Churn’ published in 2016, explores how Indian Ocean shaped the human history. What inspired you to write the book?

‘The Ocean of Churn’ is a maritime history of the Indian Ocean. The reason behind writing this book is to dispel the misconceptions about Indian history, as it is mostly documented entirely from an English perspective. We are the only country in the world after which an ocean has been named. Yet our history books don’t give any information regarding the country’s relationship with the sea. We have long history of great kings and rulers who explored various countries, and the book helps explore that aspect.

You have talked about Odisha in the book. What facts did you come across during your research?

During my research on Odisha, the most significant thing I came across was Ashoka’s invasion. All the evidences point that Ashoka was a Buddhist even before he invaded Kalinga. None of the Buddhist texts link Ashoka’s transformation to any event in Kalinga. It is also fascinating to note none of the Ashokan inscriptions in Odisha mention any regret the emperor may have. If his regret over the tragedy of Kalinga War led to his conversion, at least one place should have mentioned the expression of his emotions. In fact, the inscription where he supposedly expressed his regret is in modern day Pakistan. Even in those inscriptions, he never offered to release those prisoners. Instead, he warned the tribes of the region of dire consequences if they tried to resist his invasion.

Therefore, the idea of his turning into a pacifist is a pretence. His expressions of noble sentiments are few but there is no evidence to suggest that he believed in them. Even in his own texts, he seems to be prevaricating and is non-apologetic to the people of Odisha for what he did.

His conversion to Buddhism is well-documented and clearly, it has nothing to do with Odisha. So why is the story then? It’s rubbish. More interestingly, people of Kalinga were aware of what Ashoka was doing and they never forgave him. A couple of generations later, a King named Kharavela ruled Odisha who in his Haati Gumpha inscription clearly mentioned that he defeated the King of Patliputra and brought back the Jain idols which were taken away. It was an act of revenge by Kharavela who chose to inscribe it in Udaygiri. Ashoka was anti Jain and massacred many Jains. Thus, Udyagiri is the symbol of Kharavela’s revenge.

I am surprised to see Odias celebrating Ashoka; it is like Jews celebrating Adolf Hitler. Ashoka was waging a religious war and people of Kalingan era were aware of his evil intentions. Earlier, Ashoka was almost a forgotten name in our history as our traditional Indian knowledge system considered Chandragupta as the greatest king. Ashoka was revived only in the 19th century when British historians recognised his time and rule. The mainstream historians too agree that Ashoka’s empire had collapsed while he was alive.

Why did Ashoka attack Kalinga?

It is not clear why Ashoka attacked Kalinga. But from a few things it could be understood that Kalinga was not an entirely free country when Ashoka attacked it. There is an inscription by Kharavela, where he mentioned about a canal, which existed from the time of Nandas. Since the Nandas came before the Mauryas, I feel Kalinga was already a part of the empire that Chandragupta had created. It also makes sense at some level because Mauryans had conquered territories as far as Afghanistan. Compared to it, Kalinga was very close to Patliputra. So, it is very unlikely that it was completely a free country. It could also have been a close ally of Patliputra during the Chandragupta and Bindusaar’s rule.

Now the reason of attacking Kalinga could be that Ashoka was not a chosen king. He usurped the throne by massacring his own brothers. It is quite possible that during that civil war, Kalinga sided with the losing party and Ashoka waged Kalinga War as a revenge.

An excavation was done in 2005 at Beruda, which suggests that the actual location of Kalinga war could be Beruda and not Dhauli. What is your opinion?

There is no evidence that Kalinga war was fought in Dhauli. There is only an inscription which doesn’t even mention about any battle and a river Daya that flows by! The whole thing was a part of mythology which has been created. Archaeological evidence shows that there was a city named Toshali, whose location was near Radhanagar. Archaeologist Debraj Pradhan did a great excavation in Beruda which is next to the Brahamani river and found mud walls which were riddled with arrow heads from that period which suggest that there was a major battle fought. There is also a hill there where Ashoka has put some Buddhist statues, so this place is more likely to be the location of the Kalinga war. There may be some skirmish in Dhauli, but Beruda is in north so Mauryan army would have attacked Toshali and nearby areas and reached other parts later.

So, there is an archaeological site called Toshali which shows signs of massive destruction which fits the description that Ashoka gave in an inscription and there are some Mauryan eras Buddhist statues, which suggest something related to that period; so, if I have to make a bet, though I am not sure, the most likely location of Kalinga War was in that area.

What is the reason for people not trying to bring out the real fact?

The reason is very simple, there is a narrative. There is now a whole bunch of people who have lent their names and are stuck to it and can’t change the narrative. Tourists are visiting Dhauli but they don’t go to see the Ashokan inscription; rather they go to visit that stupa which is a modern structure without a link to anything!

You are also an environmentalist. So, what is your opinion about plastic menace which is affecting marine life in oceans?

This is a serious problem as an enormous amount of plastic waste is thrown into the water bodies and lands. We have to seriously think about the issue. How plastic can be reused or recycled, how much of it enters the water bodies and ultimately ends up in the sea; we all need to think about this at multiple levels. Using less plastics or biodegradable plastics could be a solution.

Also, during festivals, we need to follow the traditional methods. Like in Odisha, there is a festival named Kartik Purnima where devotees throngs to various water bodies and float their boats with a diya in it. Now traditionally banana stems were used to float the diya, but now people have started using plastic or thermocol boats. Hence to protect our environment, we should stop using plastics or thermocol and stick to the traditional way of celebration.

Similarly, during Durga Puja, the idols are supposed to be made of unbaked soil. Instead, we are putting all those non- biodegradable things to craft it.

Sea erosion is a major issue now. Do you think that geo-tubes would help protect our beaches?

Yes, for short term, it is effective. But our coasts are changing every now and then. So, we have to think about natural ways. Planting mangrove trees will be much more effective as it acts as a natural barrier between sea and beach.