A review of the book 'A History of India as it Happened: Not as it Has Been Written' written by François Gautier.
We dig into François Gautier's "A History of India as it Happened: Not as it Has Been Written," a 2013 revisionist counter-history that puts colonial and Marxist historians on trial. Gautier, a French journalist who has lived in India since the 1970s, argues that everything from the Aryan invasion theory to accounts of Islamic conquest and British rule has been softened, distorted, or deliberately denied. We ask what he gets right about the biases in older historiography, where his own certainty runs ahead of the evidence, and why a book this short can't carry five thousand years without breaking a sweat.
Order links of the book 'A History of India as it Happened' below:
Amazon India:
Hardcover
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Hardcover
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Coming up: A review of the book 'A History of India as it Happened: Not as it Has Been Written' written by François Gautier.
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the author or publisher.
Little bit about the author:
François Gautier was born in Paris, France. He was South Asia correspondent for Le Figaro, one of France’s leading newspapers. He also wrote columns for Indian newspapers: the ‘Ferengi’s column” in the Indian Express, then the “French Connection” column in the Pioneer, as well as regular contributions for Rediff, New Indian Express, Times of India blogs, etc.
François has written several books in English and French, a few amongst them being: A New History of India (Har Anand, 2008), The Art of Healing (Harper Collins, 2011), In Defense of a Billion Hindus (Har Anand, 2018), Hindu Power in the 21st Century (Har Anand, 2019), etc.
Francois, who is married to Namrita, an Indian girl from Delhi, feels that India has given him so much, spiritually, professionally, emotionally, sentimentally, that he has to repay a little of this debt. He is building a Museum of (real) Indian History in Pune. (factmuseum.com)
Let me read a brief description of the book:
QUOTE
We see more and more today that Indian History has to be rewritten according to the latest linguistic and archaeological discoveries, if Indian children are to understand who they are and where they come from. We know now that not only the history of India's beginnings were written by European colonizers, with an intention to downsize, downgrade and postdate Indian civilization, but that, unfortunately, generation after generation of Indian historians, for their own selfish purpose, endorsed and perpetuated these wrong theories, such as the Aryan invasion, which divided India like nothing else, pitting South against North, Aryan against Dravidian, and Untouchables against Brahmins. Hence, we hope that this book will lay the foundations for the next generation of Indian historians.
UNQUOTE
François Gautier’s ‘A History of India as it Happened: Not as it Has Been Written’ is a provocative, strongly opinionated revisionist analysis aimed at challenging conventional, mainstream Indian historiography. Written from the perspective of a French journalist who has spent decades in India, the book posits that standard post-independence narratives—heavily influenced by Western Indologists and Marxist historians—have downplayed India's indigenous cultural identity and understated the destructive impacts of foreign invasions.
Reclaiming Ancient Wisdom (Chapters 1–4): Gautier frames ancient Indian civilization through a lens of spiritual and cultural primacy, referencing Vedic philosophies and arguing that India’s influence on the Western world was far deeper than standard history admits.
The Critique of Conquest Narratives (Chapters 5–8): The author sharply critiques what he calls "negationism"—the deliberate softening or denial of the destruction brought by Muslim invasions and European colonialism. He directly addresses what he views as entrenched historical "disinformations."
Post-Independence Dynamics (Chapters 9–15): Tracing the independence movement through to modern politics, Gautier critiques mid-20th-century secular statecraft as a period of "self-denial." He evaluates political shifts—including the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—while diagnosing both internal and external threats facing the nation.
Vision for the Future (Chapters 16–18 & Epilogue): Gautier closes with a visionary outlook, advocating for a federalist model, projecting India as a global spiritual leader, and paying homage to historic native leadership through a dedicated epilogue on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Final Verdict:
The greatest strength of A History of India as it Happened is its ability to provoke questions. It is an engaging, unfiltered read for those interested in contemporary cultural debates, historiographical controversies, and nationalist narratives surrounding India's past and future. It is best approached neither as an unquestionable alternative history nor dismissed simply because it challenges established interpretations.
I give this book 4/5.
The book is currently available in Hardcover and Kindle formats and is yet to be made available in Audible format. Also, the book is available only in Hardcover format on Amazon USA at the time of recording this podcast episode. I have given the respective buy links in the show notes. Please check them out for the latest prices.
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