Kaustubh Dudhane’s Reviews > The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History [Paperback] [Sep 20, 2017] Sanjeev Sanyal > Status Update

One can see how Indian soldiering was of such importance in world history. The British empire, in particular, was heavily dependent on it. This is why one stream of India's freedom movement would focus over several decades on undermining the loyalty of these soldiers.

This is how Elihu Yale, the Governor of Madras, amassed a large personal fortune before being removed from his post on suspicions of corruption. Part of this ill-gotten wealth was used to fund the university that bears his name. Thus, one of North America's leading universities is built on money garnered through dodgy deals in the Indian Ocean.

One of the intriguing aspects of the medieval world is the success with which the Arabs blocked information about the Indian Ocean from reaching the Europeans.

It is a testimony to the importance of ancient Muzeris that these early Jewish, Christian and Islamic sites are all located within a very short distance of each other. This is saying something at a time when the Christian community in Syria and Iraq is being systematically wiped out by the so-called Islamic State.

A few Western writers like Charles Allen have patronizingly written how ancient Indians were somehow foolish to have had little regard for a great king such as Ashoka. On a closer look, it appears that they knew what they were doing. What is more worrying is how easily modern Indians have come to accept a narrative based on such minimal evidence.

Given all this mixing, forget racial purity, it seems most of us are not even pure Homo Sapiens!