Mughal-era historian and author of the book of ‘Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India’s Most Controversial King,’ Audrey Truschke had become the talking point of Indian Twitter, again.
As the debate over renaming a Mughal-era museum in Uttar Pradesh rages in India, a video posted on Twitter by a user started doing the rounds- the video from pre-Covid times shows an Indian man arguing with Trsuchke.
The clip is from January 2019, when Truschke spoke at the Hindu Lit for Life, during her segment “The Myth and Reality of Emperor Aurangzeb - An Illustrated lecture.”
In the video, the man who was given the mask to ask a question goes off on a tirade - “You people stand on the land of Native Americans, you are responsible for genocide," he said, attributing the collective crimes of colonizers single-handedly to Truschke.
The man goes on to say that there needs to be more “scientific evidence" and that Truschke “had no right to poke her nose in Indian history."
Truschke sums it up after the man stops his tirade by repeating his question back to him, “What right do I have to comment on Indian history?" and then sums it up in four words: “I’m a historian."
Dr @AudreyTruschke swatting away an entire Bhakt rant with 4 words. And turns it right aroundBeautiful. pic.twitter.com/tDMR3Zk81a
— John DelVento (@delventotime) September 14, 2020
“I am a historian"— John DelVento (@delventotime) September 14, 2020
Some netizens were happy that her words were met with applause from the audience.
The very fact that there are auditorium full of people applauding her gives me lot of happiness and hope. That people around the globe will not succumb to a jingoistic brainwashing folks back home! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 well done Ma’am! Keep up the good work.— InertMind (@NobleAbhiyanta) September 15, 2020
21 billion people?The total human population of today is just 7 billion. Our only increased in past centuries and population density also. There is no time in history where human population had reached 21 billion. The bhakt has no education I think.— A Skeptic (@ASkeptic8) September 15, 2020
Loved the way Audrey handled the Joker.— Arindam Sen অরিন্দম সেন अरिंदम सेन 🇮🇳 (@arindamsen36) September 16, 2020
Not everyone agreed with her though, even if she clearly had the expertise.
Have I read Aurangzeb’s Farmans… people, why do you keep tossing me softballs? https://t.co/x5wG6SgP8T— Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) September 16, 2020
Should I tell her?#فارسی https://t.co/VB8kKmzgQk— Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) September 16, 2020
Dude, you ain’t God, and I don’t know about the ‘Miguel era’. But you might peruse my CV and see multiple Sanskrit texts I’ve translated in part or full, plus a whole book on Sanskrit at the Mughal court.On being a historian… I’m a tenured professor in a history department. https://t.co/hhXm4l5ejr
— Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) September 16, 2020
Truschke is currently Assistant Professor of South Asian History at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. She is the author of two award-winning books: Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court and Aurangzeb.
Also Read: An Internet Troll Tried to Mansplain ‘Aurangzeb’ to Historian Who Wrote Book on the Emperor
Earlier in February, a troll had asked her to read the book about Aurangzeb as she didn’t seem to know much about. Truschke wrote the book on Aurangzeb.