Young Scholars on the Silk Roads: An Interview Series - Shaleen Wadhwana, India

The Young Scholars on the Silk Roads interview series seeks to empower young people, by giving youth a platform from which to transmit their voices. Via this series young scholars hailing from different countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia will be interviewed to share their research and reflections on the ancient Silk Roads.

Shaleen Wadhwana, is an independent arts and heritage professional who has worked with Indian art galleries and museums. She is a Young India Fellow (Ashoka University, India), with a BA in History, an MA in Art History (SOAS, London), and an academic background in Art Appreciation (National Museum Institute, Delhi) and Cultural Heritage Law (UNESCO-University of Geneva). She is currently a visiting faculty member at the MITID Institute of Design (Pune, India).

Can you speak a little bit about what you do and how it relates to the Silk Roads?

Shaleen: Since 2018, I have been lecturing on meta-narratives of history (broad interpretations of historical processes), touching on themes such as the histories of population increase, biological evolution and food. In my lectures, we discuss the longitudinal history of trade, transport and cultural exchange, which pay the biggest tribute to the Silk Roads. The Silk Roads were rich with sources like court chronicles, traveller’s accounts and archaeological finds at port cities, all examples of archival material that enable researchers like me to discuss these important narratives in our classrooms.

What role has the Indian subcontinent played in the Silk Roads historically?

The Indian subcontinent has evolved because of its location as a crucial juncture in the movement of Homo sapiens during the Palaeolithic age. For example, Lothal, in the modern-day state of Gujarat, India, was a crucial port for maritime trade and transport during the Indus Valley Civilization.

Over the centuries, a close relationship between the Silk Roads and the many travellers it enabled to set foot in the Indian subcontinent developed. I would highly recommend reading accounts by Ptolemy from Greece, Fa Xian and Xuanzang from China, Al-Biruni from modern-day Uzbekistan and Ibn Battuta from Morocco. These varied accounts rang from the centuries following 130 CE until the 14^th century CE.

Notably, Faxian’s accounts of his travels to Pataliputra describe his visit to the birthplace of the Gautama Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal. Hence, both in geography, and in history, the Indian subcontinent played a crucial role in the development of the Silk Roads.

Are the Silk Roads important to India today? How so?

I would say so. A lot of today’s trade, transport and movement still centres on Silk Roads sites in India. Take for example the "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea", a Greco-Roman text from the 1st century CE documenting Sino-Roman trade and navigation opportunities, which mentions Muziris as a major port for the maritime trade route. Today Muziris is located in Kochi in Kerala, India, which is not only an important port town, but an international airport, spice trade hub, international harbour, and the location for India's first ever art biennale.

And what about globally, do you think the Silk Roads hold value today?

The Silk Roads are a reminder of a shared past which links to the common cultural heritage of all present-day countries participating in land and maritime trade. In my opinion, they are also a necessary reminder of the historical fact that collaboration across modern day territorial borders has been taking place throughout human history.

I completely agree with you regarding borders. Could you expand further on how you view common cultural heritage?

As a student of history and art history it is impossible to ignore the tangible and intangible imprints of shared heritage of any region. I would highlight the trade, transport and cultural exchange routes developing over the past 5500 years across the rivers Indus, Nile and Euphrates, which laid the foundations for the land and maritime routes of the Silk Roads by 200 BCE. Examples such as the bilingual rock inscriptions in 2nd Century BCE carved by the Indian Emperor Ashoka, in Aramaic and Greek, epitomize the linguistic and cultural exchanges that have left the common cultural heritage along the Silk Roads.

And what about “Intercultural dialogue”?

That it is ever present if we are to study the history of any region. For example, take the 1^st century BCE archaeological site Arikamedu near present-day Pondicherry, India. In the text I mentioned earlier, the "Periplus of the Erthyraean Sea", it was identified as a port called ‘Podokone’, a Roman trading post during the reign of Augustus Caesar, with ample evidence of amphorae, glassware and stone beads earning it the nickname ‘emporium’. In Sangam literature (literature of South India), the site is referred to as the Mound of Arakan, because a Jain avatar was found there (an ancient Indian religion). Moreover, Chinese blue and white ware have also been found at the same site.

With study of a site like this, one can see the depth of intercultural dialogue, with trading links involving the Roman Empire, China, and Jainism coexisting at one site.

And finally, how do you think young people can get more involved in activities relating to the Silk Roads?

To begin with, educating oneself on the local and global connectivity of modern-day routes, which have their predecessors in ancient ones. 

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Young Scholars on the Silk Roads: An Interview Series - Kun Liang, China

Young Scholars on the Silk Roads: An Interview Series - Susan Afgan, Afghanistan

Young Scholars on the Silk Roads: An Interview Series - Ceren Çetinkaya, Turkey

Young Scholars on the Silk Roads: An Interview Series - Moundhir Sajjad Bechari, Morocco

Young Scholars on the Silk Roads: An Interview Series - Grzegorz Stec, Poland

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Young Scholars on the Silk Roads: An Interview Series - Robin Veale, France

Young Scholars on the Silk Roads: An Interview Series