Sai Krishna has 14 years of experience in journalism. He worked in media agencies like HMTV, 10TV and Bharat Today and led the most popular shows like Top Gear, Dharma Peetam and Time to ASK. In 2019 he started the Telugu news channel Nationalist Hub. The channel, which is the first of its kind exclusively focuses on aspects related to national integrity, internal security, and external affairs and strives to nurture nationalistic ideology. The highly viewed programs like ‘Sai Lens’ and ‘Just Asking’ are a true reflection of his love for ethical journalism

He was a guest speaker for Leadership Training hosted by My Home India Foundation in Delhi and attended the International Indian Ocean Conclave as a delegate hosted by the India Foundation.

1. “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter”. Contorted Indian history aptly reflects this scenario. But what are we doing about it?

I wouldn’t say we are seeing rapid changes, but several changes are happening while several are in various phases. It’s really difficult to undo what was done for centuries. After we got independence, the government at that time should have focused on highlighting our culture and the atrocities we faced at the hands of invaders. But instead, they focused on highlighting foreign invaders and appeasing the minorities. Even today we have a town named after Bakhtiyarpur who was responsible for the destruction of Nalanda University. We have Tughlaq Road in the national capital. These may sound small, but this shows how our governments failed to remove colonial shackles. Today we are in the process of reclaiming what is truly ours. Construction of Ram Mandir, a new parliament building and introduction of three criminal laws are some of them. We are slowly moving away from the Macaulay education system. The road is bumpy, and there are several challenges, but I am sure India will truly become Bharat in this Amrit Kaal.

2. Unshackling the colonial discourse, Latin American countries and African countries are rescripting their own narrative. Where is India positioned in this regard?

All these years, fake historians distorted our history and tried to present it as the real Indian history to the world. Be it Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib or the first education minister Abul Kalam Azad, they have not only suppressed our history but because of their work Indians didn’t know their real history. While all these nations who are the victims of European/Islamic invaders can write their own history, why can’t we? Although the pace of reclaiming our history is slow, I am happy to say at least we have started it now.

3. More than ever, why is it important for India, right now, to regain the narrative?

This isn’t the right time. The time was in 1947. It didn’t happen at that time. What is happening now is we have a leader who wants Indians to know their history, how much their ancestors suffered and what the invaders did to this nation. All these years, we relied on fake historians who distorted history. But now, an alternative to them is slowly emerging. While these fake historians distorted our history by glorifying invaders, the newly emerged have been working on not busting their lies but also showing what our nation truly is. To name a few, Vikram Sampath, Anand Ranganathan, Bhaskar Yogi, Giridhar Mamidi have been working tirelessly to highlight the real Bharat. If this continues, I can be sure that the coming generations will learn who Aurangzeb truly was? What Babar, French, Dutch, British and other invaders did to this nation.

4. People contend that Narendra Modi’s ascent to power as Prime Minister in 2014 has been the turning point. Do you agree, if yes, in what way is the post-2014 era different?

Undoubtedly and undeniably the history of India has to be written pre-Modi era and after Modi era. Who thought India would become the fifth largest economy in the world? Who thought India would stand against the US, Europe and would forge her own path? Who thought India would become the nation in the world that shows China who the boss is? You name it anything, India has changed after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister.

5. Along with the hard power, strong nations have invested heavily in subtly constructing and building narratives. Are Indian political efforts commensurate with its diplomatic efforts to reshape perceptions? 

This is something where we are lagging. But we have to understand this is not something that happens overnight. All these years, India followed the so-called Big Brother or the Red Dragon. It never truly stood on its own. But after 2014, India has started to forge her own path. Obviously, this didn’t go well with the so-called big powers. Truth is no power in the world really wanted Modi to become PM. Who can forget the smear campaign they ran against him? This didn’t stop even today.  We can still see articles showing Hindus and Modi in a bad light. Fortunately, in the era of social media, the lies peddled against Bharat and Modi are not setting the narrative, but instead, they are exposing them. Of course, we have a strong EAM Dr S Jaishankar who knows how to give a taste of their own medicine. But still, a lot needs to be done. It isn’t just the job of the government or some random youtuber or some influencer to bust these lies. It is the responsibility of every citizen. Even Indian media has a huge role to play in busting the narrative of foreign establishments against India.