Historian Michael Wood interview on BBC Documentry THE STORY OF INDIA

[rreku2]

ALL OF YOU GOOGLE "Lord Macaulay said the following about India in 1835 in British Parliament."

[MrSeekerofjustice]

"We ruled there for so long" - It was 65 years of direct administration over just 60% of India! the Britishers never ruled the whole of India!! They controlled the remaining 40% by proxy!

[rzayas100]

this guy dont tell the hole truth of history of past Civilizations just the convinient one,spreding half truth to ignorants

[MrSeekerofjustice]

@rzayas100

Shut your trap man!! Americans know jack shit about history!! For all your talk about "history", you probably think that the US is the greatest civilization in history!

[hargun09]

Story of india was great..thanks for your time:)

[massagecalcutta]

This man is wonderful, love his documentary.

[118hamiltonst]

The English language is just another way of colonizing. Show me one one country that progressed on another language. How come the Germans, French, Japanese etc became great without knowing english? The language of thinking is your motner tongue. We think in the language of our childhood. New ideas come in our tongue. Our brains think and work for the anglo.. we r still slaves.

[BrownIdol]

I have studied (and also practice) the ancient Indian culture, and it amazes me how people here are being proud of the Indian culture and hating on Brits and Muslims. India was the region known for her rich culture and hospitality; a culture that welcomed everyone, and as the ancient Sanskrit saying goes, "Atithi devoh bhavah", treated all foreigners with love. God dwells in everyone's hearts. This is what the ancient Indians believed. And now modern Indians are treating everyone unequally. (:

[madhurpatel]

@BrownIdol - An average Indian is always very welcoming towards outsiders. It is a peaceful country and the feeling of hatred towards the Muslims and Brits has almost vanished. Yes, there are some people who still hold on to some hatred in their heart but that is quite understandable because rulers like Mahmud Ghazni, Mahmud Ghori demolished many places of historic and spiritual importance, and the Brits took away a lot of wealth while they ruled India for over 200 years.

[ponnu1984]

@BrownIdol thAT is bound to happen when your warmth,openness,innocence is taken for granted and abused .when outsiders come and plunder ...when they are no gentlemen but thieves and crooks! the brits gave india english... brits divided india with religions, the sacred place of our ancestors ...the indus valley civilization...harappa and mohanjadaro are no longer ours but foreign place...a nation called Pakistan!

[ponnu1984]

@BrownIdol atithi devoh bhavah also doesnt mean when u give respect to every1 ..it should not be given back!

[BrownIdol]

@ponnu1984 Give respect and don't expect anything back. That's what a person's duty is. (:

[ponnu1984]

@BrownIdol go timetravel..... to 18thcentury and say what u said now....

[rockkingraz]

kevin7dave thanks for your brotherly response.In fact you are the first indian i met so far who knows to respect others.I m not a racist but as you see,in general Indian person are so ignorant that they believe they are superior above than all Nepalese and their belongings .It is pretty funny that they supress Nepalese but take their valueables.More precisely,they think they own Nepal which im not agree with.A race for display of power is there.

[ADMJCXNK97fan]

i;m indian, and we LOVED the story of india!!! this guy is GREAT!!! such a great episode!!!

[MrMahajana]

The host was subtly (but not so subtly) racist.

[andrew50444]

it was good that india was ruled by british .this rule unified every indian into a common history and gave indians a proper hunger for money and every thing.

if india was not ruled by british than we would also remain same as the arabs who never care about the money they have and just waste it(in terms of gold india was the richest)

[akrishani]

@andrew50444 This is not really true, the unification of India as a Union of States, as it is today, was achieved during the Greek invasion and the formation of the Maurya empire. India, as a land mass has always been under invasion and resulting disarray from external forces, the problem with the European occupation was that they did not come to settle, but to rob. While the others before them came and enriched Indian culture the European occupation left us impoverished. This is just my opinion

[rockkingraz]

THe Biggest mistake in Story of India is that he mentioned Lord Buddha as he is Indian philosopher but i fact he is not. Hi is from Lumbini district of Nepal. and I want to remind you that you need a proper research on Nepal on its own its rich ancient history so you dont make some documenty that is not true.

[andrew50444]

@rockkingraz i am with your statement but all over this documentry is good and little mistakes are fine ,but thanks for informing.

[kevin7dave]

@rockkingraz mate....its true Lord Buddha is totally from Nepal but in those times , in th BC days, we were all one, its now that we are all different but before we all belonged to different kingdoms, there was no map that sketched Nepal seperate from India. Maybe today , we would be called Indians n Nepalis but at the end we have the same rich routes mate frm a brotherly indian friend ;)

[waspnag]

British empire unified India under one rule,gave india our technology (railways), protected india from far more evil empires (france, russia, japan, dutch), gave india an efficient administration system, gave it a unified language, gave it a system of government, a code of law, created a global market for indian made goods, basically set up the foundations for india to prosper and its a fact. we brits took the world and gave it a big kick up the backside into modernity.

[udennyn]

@waspnag I am an Indian hindu and totally agree with that but many people in our country think otherwise.Also your biggest gift was sepration of Pakistan but still some muslims left in India..Anyways thanks to your white civilisation who ruled us.Where there are whites there is developmnt in world, be it UK,USA,Canada or Australia..long live white civilisation

[Bisw25]

@waspnag why u built in India is 4 ur own benefit so that u british can loot more our wealth nd wen u saw that there was nothing left in India 2 loot u guys left u in perish. India was in th top position in terms of ecpnomy nd wealth wen british came nd wen british left India was in last postion in terms of economy , education nd everything u guys jst destrpyed our kntry but we r again komng up nd we r now buying ur companies nd those days r not far behind wen, we Indians wil rule ur kntry.

[rishiroy]

THANKS A LOT MR MICHAEL FOR YOUR GREAT EFFORTS AND YOUR TIME. I LOVE THIS DOCUMENTARY VERY MUCH. AS A PROUD INDIAN AND ALSO EVERY TRUE INDIAN WOULD BE GRATEFUL TO YOU AND AS MANY OF US THOUGHT YOU SHOULD BE HONORED BY PADMASRI AWARD FROM INDIAN GOVERNMENT, I WOULD SAY YOU HAVE ALREADY GOT ONE FROM ALL INDIANS. THANKS A LOT ONCE AGAIN AND GOD BLESS YOU

[devkhiriya]

thnx mike for ur lovely interview

[indianspartacus]

Thanks for projecting us in positive light.

[sindhu13]

my India is great!!!

infact greatest of all...

proud to be an indian :-)

[kuwupu]

U all pride indians need to clam down! One thing i would say to all Pride indian include myself...What you speaking is left over of British. So wake up. You should respect what they have done. Learn from your past, and make sure that history does not repeat by same actions our grandfathers have done, and not charged over or show anger over who is respecting and respecting your culture

[hanros98]

@kuwupu we are proud of india, not of the massacres committed by the british

[EternalIndia]

@kuwupu really,we don't respect what the british have done to India.They have plunderers been and pillagers.Don't tell me they gave us English.Its not an asset to us .China has done better than us without english and without those call center jobs.The Idea of India is thrust on peace and yes religion.Neither the occident,nor the Mughal Islamic rulers have ruled India with virtue and we will not mince words in telling we don't cherish their legacy if they even had one

[smoochym]

@EternalIndia Ghandi, Nehru, Bose all studied at the top British universities. We gave you schools, railways, telegraphs, secularism. Even outlawed some of your more primitive customs like Sati.

Doesn't really do much to prove your rape and pillage mythology though , especially considering Indians have always treated their own people worse than the British have. See Caste System.

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym So some people misusing the Sati or the Caste System does not make the people of India culpable.As to your love for the British,let me tell you, that you condone the Bengal famine of 1943 where 3 million Indians died.You condone the famine in Bengal of 1770 where 10 million people died.you then call the plunder and pillage a myth.WHAT A SHAME.We could have got the trains and telegraphs a decade late without the BRITISH LOOTING INDIA.and we had school and maths before the British

[EternalIndia]

@smoochy Nehru and Gandhi studying in British universities does not make the fact that British LOOTED India.It did not turn its colony of India into a Hong Kong.In fact Gandhi and Nehru stood for an Independent India as they knew that BRITISH were the PARASITE sucking India's blood.One of your foolish and arrogant, ignorant Viceroys called the entire Sanskrit literature having no value than one literary book of European Arts.Face it,BRITISH have not done INDIA any good.

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym I now see why you and your ilk, sitting abroad only get a tunnel view of this magnificent country.You probably read 'around the world in 80 days'.so you got sati from there.then you get 'caste system' from the western media.Your subliminal influences make you think only these two.let me clarify,Hinduism or Sanatana Dharama does not force Sati.The Caste system is valid and divine because it is based on Rebirth and Karma.It also asks to treat every person with respect.

[smoochym]

"The Caste system is valid and divine because it is based on Rebirth and Karma"

just highlights how completely irrational your thought process is.

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym Its not irrational.You have FAILED TO UNDERSTAND.Our present situation in life is decided by paste Karma(previous lives) and presnt Karma(our present actions).IF god CREATED EVERY ONE EQUAL THEN WHY IS ONE CHILD BORN IN A RICH FAMILY,RICH OVERNIGHT,similarly why is a child born in poor family poor.sO CASTE SYSTEM is justified by rebirth and you will not fathom more as you have a bigoted view of this country and I WILL NOT START A METAPHYSICS CLASS FOR YOU IN YOUTUBE

[smoochym]

@EternalIndia bigoted would be dividing your society on absurd mythological beliefs. It's no different from Nazi racial theory.

Ps, Britain is not to blame for the weather, there have been famines in Bengal before and after the British left.

Please do continue to humor me with your "metaphysics".

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym You are a bigot,thats why you take no british responsibility for the famine.you say its the weather.ya thats why you a got a world war where you went bankrupt.and now you beg developing countries for investments.we humor at your state now.The sun has set and its an eclipse in the so called empire

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym your loveLy brits started an opium trade in china,thats is not a myth.You looted your colonies,that is not a myth.You got chafed by the Germans in the BlitzKreig.You slaughtered people in colonies that is not a myth.If you were in a famine and you did not have anything to eat for 5 days,YOU WILL NOT SAY ITS THE WEATHER.You have the RACIAL THEORY.ITS AKIN TO NAZI THEORY.YOU(your lovely brits) WERE RUNNING THE SLAVE TRADE hence BRITISH EMPIRE IS/was EVIL,so are you,you little dunce

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym And lastly,since you told SATI ,let me remind you .The british killed hundreds of people in JALAIYAWALA Bagh masscre(see wiki).They cut off the thumbs of our weavers as their hand woven silk was much superior in quality to the British looms.BRITAIN should pay reparations to INDIA as GERMANY pays ISRAEL for the holocaust.YOU will love to watch SLAVE TRADE started by the BRITISH in your Sunday afternoons.HOW DIABOLICAL OF YOU.

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym YOUR FORMAL EDUCATION IN THE "SCHOOLS" BRITISH started has made you BIGOTED and blind towards the British atrocities in India.If you have grit,why don't you come and answer about the Bengal famines in 1943 and 1770 where the British let 13 million people die in India.What is your answer to the British LOOTING?British had a good acquiescence with slave trade AND SO DO NOT LECTURE US ON CASTE,CLEAN UP YOUR HOUSE FIRST YOU HYPOCRITE

[smoochym]

@EternalIndia Ask yourself; if you had a good point, would you really need to emphasise your words with capital letters?

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym I NEED THE CAPITAL LETTERS TO NAIL THE POINT TO A DUNCE LIKE YOU.I do not need Capitals if the person was sensitive( and not a dunce,yokel,a bumpkin like you) and accepted the famine was exacerbated by the British as they piled their profits.You are getting a mouthful now for your insolence.

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym :) Looks like I touched a soft spot with SLAVE TRADE and you justify it for the BRITISH as all EUROPEANS did it.Learn to accept History my friend.

[EternalIndia]

@smoochy Caste system is not evil,but people who misuse it are.Religion is not evil,but people who misuse it are.Non believers are not evil,but people atheists who insult the believers are(LIKE YOU).You are worse than the dogmatists of biblical times as you have the same traits in a different release of non-belief.We will hold on to our religion and Caste system and our values are pacifist unlike yours(without the caste system).what an IRONY

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym So if they indulged in it,does it make BRITISH indulgence in slave trade right.Many robbers mugging people,does not absolve them of a FELONY.should we TEACH you even this???

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym British Empire was a VISITATION (1.disaster or catastrophe,2. An annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event ) on India like a disease or Plague.If BRITISH did not start opium trade,they ran a huge opium racket in China.IS IT OK FOR ANYONE, NOT TO BE FIRST ONE TO RAPE AND THE 2ND PERSON ONWARDS THE RAPE CRIME WAS OK???? You can cherish the History you were taught in your "SCHOOL".We despise it,BRITISH empire was EVIL,the worst thing that happened on India.period

[EternalIndia]

@smoochym THERE YOU ARE,so now you are a true NAZI unmasked.You JUSTIFY SLAVE TRADE BY THE BRITISH as "it was suitable for plantation economies I suppose" according to you.So we can ship you to a banana republic in Africa and make you a SLAVE in those plantations.Only then you would fathom the vice,diabolatry of slavery.You do not have a CASTE SYSTEM in your religion.This proves CASTE SYSTEM IS NOT EVIL,some people are like you.I HAVE EXPOSED YOU NOW.

[Bisw25]

@smoochym wen british came India was at its best but wen those fuking brits left our great Mother India was left wit nothing it was suked by those fukng brits i am very happy that 2day england is facing severe recession we hate Britain nd its fukng ppl nd its fukng queen who r still shamelessly holding our wealth return our wealth u nfukng brits, or else we wil take all ur jobs nd business.

[cleverandrew123]

@Bisw25 - You basic historical knowledge of your own country. You seem to forget that The British just replaced the previous colonial rulers. It wasn't India before the British came, it was a just collection of states ruled by the foreign Mughal invaders.

If everyone in India felt the same way as you (which I doubt) the country would get nowhere. It's time to move on and stop this hatred of people who are long dead.

[cleverandrew123]

@cleverandrew123 - *lack

[Bisw25]

@cleverandrew123 abe chutie mother fucker u dont tel wat th fuking brits had done 2 our kntry i know 1000 times more than u as India is my kntry not urs, we Indias all hate u nd wil hate u brits until we take our revenge by taking al ur jobs nd businesses, and its already happening.

[byomjan]

@Bisw25 - That s not right .. u dont represent india...

[byomjan]

@Bisw25 Muslims did more damage than brits. They never destroyed our heritage.. They preserved it and saved in museums.. They gave us Postal system , railways system , education system in early 1900s..Compare it with rules from mamud to Aurangzeb.. they only detrsoyed and destroyed and destroyed..

[statickk14]

@byomjan I absolutely agree. Brits saved us from the Muslims.

[parshiwal887]

@byomjan what about sher shah suri's 5 years rule.... roads, transport, post, govt system, GT road... he has contributed lots n lots in shaping modren country

[ampallang7]

no nationalism, it breeds crap like some of these comments, uneducate yaself a bit and be cool huny buny, this enlightens people not from there about the basics which we are often denied here, you expect him to cover alllll history when people can't agree often even about whether to eat fish or chips, please, thanks.

[legitfreek]

The biggest problem with Indians is that they have lost their fucking identity.The moment you see a British or a American product you lap it up like dogs.That product may be a piece of news,propoganda or pepsi. Indians will be the first in line. Hell i feel more Indian sitting outside India than most Indians sitting in India. Fucking ironic isnt it?

[legitfreek]

Michael Wood is a fucking choot. He has absolutely no idea what INDIA is about. This chutiya makes up his own concocted stories based on assumptions. The worst documentary on India is by him. Imagine..this cunt trying to show the real history of India when even HE doesn't know where his asshole is.

[pavancreddy]

@legitfreek r u talking shit abt M wood.. dude, u got a big mouth back there. clear ur hypocritic mind before u comment about somebody much wiser than u .. He is the who worked so much to show the west what India is .

his research is enormous and Indian History is ambiguous and immense . one cannot make any kind of conclusion about Indian aspects. it is more complex. but he managed to do something. and it is just awesome. U r a loser

[legitfreek]

@pavancreddy Fuck off. Michael Wood is crap he will always remain crap. If you want to learn Indian History do your own research you moron. The biggest mistake of learning Indian History is to learn it from foreigners who think they know more about us than Indians themselves.Who is the loser here now Pavan Reddy? YOU are a fucking LOSER.Now go sit the fuck down before i kick your ass again.

[pavancreddy]

@legitfreek dude. i guess u just woke up after a long sleep that began 100 years. hello.. things have changed. aight.. u fukers use number system, that was invented by indians. why cant u guys have own system and use it. its thesame, wood spent time on learning history. he did research in it. he has validation for his research. so we learn from him. the same happens in everything. anyone can learn from a researcher .. asshole. bigtime stupid

[TheGreatHind]

@legitfreek you must be a pakistani?

[legitfreek]

@TheGreatHind No you moron I am a Indian and a proud maratha and I dont need fucking Michael Woods and BBC to tell me what my history is.

[shaileshsonde]

Looks like you are a Pakistani. Because such words can come only from the Madarchod Pakistanis. Khud ki gand thik se dhak nahi sakte aur chale INDIA ke bare main batane. You Paki bullshits

[AFGRULZ26]

plz daal and curry can never rule its again the game the west playin on fool indians look they made u lost ur culture ur language and ur everything go speak to a indian he will be ashamed of his indian language and culture DONT FORGET THE SAME BRITISHERS RULED U 200 YR HELLO and u think now u guys gonna rule plz go watch SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE again a UK director took indians to oscars LMAO makin movie abt there corruption and slums its a slap on indias face sorry its a FACT.

[independence8]

this guy is very nice and understanding.......very heartful

[Tony007ist]

he is trying to show 10,000 year of history of India in a 70 minute documentary which is impossible . this doc is hardly 1 percent of the story of India .

[clod8]

@Tony007ist Actually, it's in a 6 part documentary, lasting a total of 6 hours, I believe, and it is really amazing, tastefully done, honest, he's done his homework and yet there is a feeling of naturalness and spontaneity in the filming (most scenes have every day life happening in the back/foreground. You can find almost any epoc in history alive in India today. What a gift to the world!

[RosaLui]

Michael Wood is awesome. :) He is like Indiana Jones, except he doesn't destroy the stratigraphy. :)

[statickk14]

Population explosion is the biggest threat to India...unfortunately, one Dalit leader won't reflect the mentality of majority of the upper castes towards the so called lower castes. Things have changed but they need to change faster. Unless proper respect are shown to the the lower castes, women and dignity of labor is given, India will not prosper as a Nation.

[partyhat3]

Interesting. I have no views on those who are unhappy about this, because I don't know enough. But still an interesting view.

[kit007yes]

Why does Michael Wood not state that the official langauge of India for 500 years was Persian which was banned when the British colonized India? Why does he omit Iranian legacy in India?

[subroto81]

@kit007yes urdu has many persian and arabic words in it, it is spoken in pakistan as well.

[ashmax28]

@kit007yes I don't think you are accurate. if you are then prove it! To date back in the farthest past i see sanskrit brought by Aryans.

[legitfreek]

@kit007yes Because BBC will only show you what they want you to see. And here we have Indian kids on this video lapping up whatever bullshit the BBC has to say about India. Just because its BBC these idiots are kneeling before another wave of British propganda with their tongues out. "If its BBC it HAS to be good!!" WRONG!

Do your own research morons. Dont make the same mistakes your forefathers did.

[kit007yes]

why does he mention that Persian was the official language of India for 500 years and that the Briitsh banned Persian. Indians are proud of their Persian heritage.

[akashs55555]

india is the gr8 est

[OttokarsSceptre]

A typical british lass.

(1) English with the telemarketers - a comment borne out of total ignorance. Ask how many languages can she speak?

(2) A hand for your daughter - aww c'mon now that's just nasty. Has she even traveled there?

[vamsyraju]

Michael wood is my fav Britain

[theindialink]

Second largest investor in the UK is India yes that's right it's India that is the 2nd largest investor in the UK (after the US).