Opinion | Battle for History: When Narrative Wars Are Lost Before They Begin

Last Updated:January 16, 2026, 20:40 IST

The future will not be won by those who shout the loudest but by those who build libraries, train scholars, produce credible research, and argue persuasively

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The most fundamental aspect of a liberal society is the coexistence — if not the flourishing — of diverse ideas and ideologies. At a recent literature festival in Bhopal, this principle was not merely violated, but, more disturbingly, a lie was deliberately peddled to obstruct the free exchange of ideas.

On January 10, author, historian and architect Aabhas Maldahiyar was supposed to talk on Babur, but the session was disrupted with threats of burning his book, alleging that the session would eulogise the Mughal ruler. It is sad to see a scholar working to correct the distortions of Marxist historians being at a greater threat from the so-called right wing.

This is not an isolated incident of protest culture gone wrong; it exposes the inability in the right wing to fight the battle of ideas with information and facts. Ironically, such actions only strengthen the otherwise ethically adrift Left ecosystem that the former claims to oppose.

What happened in Bhopal is unfortunate and should be condemned unequivocally. Maldahiyar was invited to speak on his latest book, Babur: The Quest for Hindustan, the second volume of his meticulously researched, source-based biography of Babur. Two days before the session, a misleading article appeared in a Hindi daily, falsely claiming that the book and the proposed session were meant to “glorify" Babur — an assertion derived from assumptions and not facts.

Maldahiyar’s work is critical, archival, and rooted in Babur’s own writings, which expose his quest for expanding Taimur’s vision of establishing jihadi supremacy. But no effort was made to read the book’s blurb, let alone the entire book.

What makes this episode particularly tragic is that Maldahiyar faces equal and vicious criticism from the Left. In fact, only weeks earlier, his work had been brutishly attacked in reviews of this very book from the opposite end of the ideological spectrum, accusing him of being “Islamophobic" and of allegedly “glorifying" practices like jauhar, claiming instead that such acts were merely products of patriarchal coercion. In short, the Left accused him of vilifying Babur; the Right accused him of glorifying Babur.

This is precisely how narrative wars are lost. For decades now, a small group of Indic scholars and thinkers have been painstakingly attempting to correct historical distortions through serious research and take on deep-rooted academic orthodoxies, whether on civilisational continuity, colonial historiography, or nationalist figures, armed with court records, archival documents and primary sources. Yet they often fight this battle alone, facing relentless ideological attacks with very little backing from the ecosystem that claims to benefit from their work.

On the other hand, the Left has long comprehended the importance of intellectual unity. When a left-wing scholar is exposed for being selective with the truth, their ecosystem of publishers and institutions treats them like a protected asset, rushing in to save them rather than holding them accountable. This support, however ethically questionable, affords the Left a decisive advantage in shaping public discourse. It is precisely this cohesion that is missing on the Right.

For decades, left-leaning historians dominated India’s historical discourse not merely because of ideology, but because they occupied universities, publishing houses, cultural bodies and state institutions. Breaking that monopoly has required years of patient, often lonely labour by independent scholars working outside academic patronage networks. Maldahiyar’s two volumes on Babur, grounded in direct engagement with the original Persian Baburnama, are part of that same corrective tradition. And yet, when such scholarship finally emerges, it is sad to see these scholars and their work being targeted, especially by those who swear by India’s civilisational history.

Not just literary festivals but also government-led institutions and trusts routinely invite writers from the Left, discounting the efforts of writers and historians trying to correct civilisational wrongs, often allowing them to use public platforms to smirk at, misrepresent, or delegitimise alternative viewpoints. The stated aim of these organisations is dialogue or accommodating divergent viewpoints, but in practice it often resembles the heads of these organisations seeking validation. Meanwhile, scholars who have endured sustained attacks from the Left receive neither institutional protection nor moral support from the Right ecosystem.

The setback is civilisational. Narratives shape generations, and books are the future documents of a civilisation’s history. The future will not be won by those who shout the loudest but by those who build libraries, train scholars, produce credible research, and argue persuasively. The episode at Bhopal was not about Babur alone. It was about whether India has the maturity to support its scholars as they embark on this war against Marxist narratives. Silencing scholars does not protect history; it impoverishes it.

(Lipika Bhushan is the founder of MarketMyBook, a leading publicity and digital marketing agency. She is also the founder of The Indic Pen, a premium speaking platform on Indic ideas, and has her roots in Uniyal Gaon, Uttarakhand. She tweets @LipikaB. Views expressed are personal and solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.)

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