Prof. Kapil Kapoor on proudly reclaiming Hindu identity — why did Hindus fear their own name for decades?
In this incisive conversation, Prof. Kapil Kapoor dismantles the systematic erasure of Hindu identity from India’s public discourse. He recalls how the word “Hindu” was virtually absent from radio and newspapers for decades, and how ordinary Hindus were conditioned to feel shame about their own identity — quietly getting a tilak in temples before rushing back to secular offices. He credits Balasaheb Thackeray as the first public figure who instilled the confidence to say, “I am Hindu, with pride.”
Prof. Kapoor shares candid stories from his years at JNU — battling the leftist academic ecosystem that rewarded ideological conformity with awards and foreign fellowships, his decade-long struggle to establish a Sanskrit Centre, and the symbolic victory of getting the Swastika etched onto a JNU building over loud objections.
The talk concludes with a powerful reminder of India’s civilizational primacy: the world’s first book, grammar, arithmetic, the invention of zero, and the numerals Arabs themselves called “from Hind.” His core message is uncompromising — you can only protect what you value, and you can only value what you know.

About The Speaker:
Formerly, Prof Kapoor was:
Chairman – IIAS
Pro VC – JNU
Chairman, MHRD, Language Expert Committee
Professor of English at JNU, where he also established the Centre for Sanskrit Studies

He is the Editor in Chief of the unique 11-volume set of The Encyclopaedia of Hinduism
And also of the Sahitya Akademi-sponsored and yet to be published – Encyclopaedia of Indian Poetics, which is also a UNESCO project.