Nationhood is constituted by people who share a “common sense of their history” and a “common vision of their future”, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said as he released an 11-volume book series that charts different phases of the history of ancient India and its accomplishments.
Addressing a gathering at the launch event here on Tuesday, the NSA said, “People who have got a different sense of history, ‘if my hero is your villain’, you and I cannot make a nation.”
Describing India as a “civilisation of antiquity” and “civilisation of continuity” spanning thousands of years, Doval also said that it was a “paradox” that the narrative that has been brought is that probably, “the first chapter about Indian history in any western, this thing… Is that it starts with Alexander”.
After releasing the series ‘History of Ancient India’, published by Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) and Aryan Books, he said it consists of scholarly papers contributed by a “large body of scholars”.
Vol I of the series, which covers a vast array of fields, is titled ‘Prehistoric Roots’ while Vol IX is on ‘Science and Technology, Medicine’.