The Mekong River means “Mother Water Ganga” in Khmer — India is written into the world’s geography, history, and mathematics, and it’s time to reclaim it.

This panel discussion at a literary festival traces India’s extraordinary civilisational footprint across the world — from Brahmagupta’s decimal system (which the speaker wants renamed “Brahmagupta’s decimal system” globally) to China’s only empress Wu Zetian, whose palace coup was engineered with help from Nalanda scholars. The 1909 insight that 1857 could not be controlled by physical force alone — prompting Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj, Aurobindo’s Uttarapara Address, and Savarkar’s renaming of the Mutiny — is presented as a turning point in Indian civilisational consciousness.

The speaker contrasts the immense material wealth extracted by Nadir Shah (7,000 wagon-loads sent to Tehran and Istanbul) with the more important observation that India’s spiritual and intellectual wealth kept regenerating — India, in the speaker’s framing, has always given Barkat (blessings, abundance) to the world even while being looted. A call to reclaim this story on the world stage.

About The Speakers:
Dr. Sanjeev Chopra is an author, retired IAS officer and the primary patron and honorary consultant to the Valley of Words International Literary Festival, held annually in Dehradun. He writes extensively in various publications on public policy, development interventions, agribusiness, and rural economy. He has also served as the Director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.

Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a renowned Indian biographer, columnist, and Asia’s first Reading Coach, dedicated to reviving the reading habit in a world of digital distraction. She helps individuals and organizations build purposeful reading practices to boost focus, creativity, communication, and well-being. Reeta has authored six books as well.