India's Grand Narrative: Why We Must Reclaim Our Civilization Story | Prof. Kapil Kapoor

Prof. Kapil Kapoor reveals the fundamental disconnect between India's indigenous knowledge systems and colonial narratives that continue to shape our understanding. Discover how language, epistemology, and naming politics have obscured India's civilizational identity and learn why reclaiming authentic terminology matters for cultural sovereignty. Prof. Kapoor, renowned Sanskrit scholar and former JNU professor, dismantles Western taxonomies while exposing the deeper philosophical frameworks that made India a knowledge civilization. Essential viewing for students, educators, and anyone seeking to understand India's intellectual heritage beyond colonial constructs.

Key Points:
Saraswati Civilization framework challenges colonial "Indus Valley" terminology
Sanskrit's unique role as a knowledge-carrying language with transformative power
Four-fold human goals (purushartha) as civilizational organizing principle
Indian epistemology and pramanas versus Western knowledge systems
How colonial linguistics created false narratives about Indian languages
The guru-shishya tradition and authentic knowledge transmission
Why Grand Narratives need Grand Ideas, not just religious texts
Decolonizing education through indigenous conceptual frameworks

About Prof. Kapil Kapoor: Former Pro-Vice Chancellor of JNU, distinguished Sanskrit scholar, and leading voice in reclaiming Indian knowledge systems from colonial distortions.

About Speaker: -

Shri Kapil Kapoor is an Indian scholar of linguistics and literature and an authority on Indian intellectual traditions.
Currently, Prof Kapoor is
Member - PM's 75th year Amrut Mahotsav Committee
Member Exec Council - NMML (Now PMML)
Member, High Level Committee, IKS, Ministry of Education
And Chairman - Editorial Committee, Indian Historical Records Committee, National Archives
Formerly Prof Kapoor was:
Chairman - IIAS
Pro VC - JNU
Chairman, MHRD, Language Expert Committee
Professor of English in JNU and 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


Topics covered:
00:00:05 Introduction: 60 Years of Teaching Experience
00:00:48 Colonial Scholarship's Attack on Indian Self-Respect
00:02:22 Al-Biruni's Three Observations: Truth, Fearlessness, and Knowledge Pride
00:04:01 How India Lost Its Core Values Over 800 Years
00:05:39 Macaulay's Survey: 257,000 Schools Teaching Steel and Medicine
00:08:23 Why Colonial Education Destroyed Indigenous Knowledge Systems
00:11:47 The Distinction Between Information and Transformative Knowledge
00:15:30 Grand Narratives Need Grand Ideas, Not Religious Texts
00:19:42 Saraswati Civilization: Why 'Indus Valley' Is a Colonial Misnomer
00:24:18 Sanskrit as Knowledge-Carrying Language vs Communication Tool
00:28:35 Indian Epistemology: Pramanas and Ways of Knowing Truth
00:31:20 Shankaracharya's Role in Unifying India Through Advaita Philosophy
00:35:03 Bhakti Movement: Democratization of Knowledge in Vernacular Languages
00:37:00 Guru Gobind Singh's Contribution to India's Knowledge Tradition
00:39:14 Conclusion: India's Grand Narrative Is Its Knowledge Tradition


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#SaraswatiCivilization #IndianKnowledgeSystems #DecolonizeEducation #SanskritScholarship #KapilKapoor #ReclaimingHistory #IndigenousKnowledge #CivilizationalIdentity #VedicWisdom #IndianPhilosophy