Aurangzeb, Whitewashing & India’s Forgotten Truths | Saurabh Lohogaonkar – Author

Aurangzeb, History & the Politics of Memory – Saurabh Lohogaonkar on India’s Distorted Past ⚔️📖 Aurangzeb remains one of the most polarizing figures in Indian history — remembered as both an emperor and a tyrant, a ruler and a destroyer. But what happens when centuries later, his legacy is rewritten to fit modern political comfort? In this thought-provoking conversation, Saurabh Lohogaonkar joins host Roshan Cariappa to unpack how India’s history has been selectively sanitized — how tyrants became “administrators,” persecution was reframed as “policy,” and why the truth about Aurangzeb still makes us uneasy today. Lohogaonkar argues that whitewashing history doesn’t heal wounds — it deepens them. He explores how religious orthodoxy replaced pluralism, how the Deccan wars drained the empire, and how post-independence academia rebranded a dark chapter of history as a misunderstood reign. This episode is not about hate — it’s about honesty, memory, and reclaiming clarity from centuries of distortion. ⸻ Chapters 00:00 – Intro 01:00 – The Distorted Narrative: How History Whitewashed Aurangzeb 07:20 – Aurangzeb vs Akbar: Two Visions of Empire 14:15 – Faith, Power & Persecution: Religion as State Policy 23:00 – The Deccan Wars: Shivaji, Resistance & Civilizational Shift 33:45 – The Fall of an Empire: Greed, Exhaustion & Regret 47:10 – Modern Whitewashing: Academia, Textbooks & Denial 58:30 – The Lessons: Truth, Memory & India’s Civilizational Clarity ⸻ 👉 If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t forget to subscribe to Bharatvaarta! We bring you deep, thoughtful discussions on politics, policy, and culture every week. 📢 Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bharatvaarta 📸 Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/Bharatvaarta 👤 Follow the Host – Roshan Cariappa 📢 Twitter/X: https://x.com/RoshanCariappa 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carygottheblues/