Idea of India gets damaged if we fiddle with founding principles: Sunil Khilnani

Academic and historian Sunil Khilnani coined the term, 'The idea of India' in his book by the same name. Khilnani will be delivering a keynote address at Times Lit Fest-Delhi this weekend. He tells Sagarika Ghose how happy he is to return to Delhi and how he believes the idea of India is jeopardized if as a country we begin to overturn our founding principles.
Tell us a little bit about your latest work, which you will be talking to us about at the Lit Fest?
Its called Incarnations: India in 50 Lives.It will be published by Penguin in February, to coincide with a 50-part BBC radio and podcast series. Through the lives of 50 remarkable people, I tell India's history from era of the Buddha to Dhirubhai Ambani and our own times. I also show how that history is still very much alive and contested in contemporary India. I use each historical life to illuminate some facet of India today — some conflict, some possibility still to be developed. Thinking about our history — and how it's made us what we are — isn't only a backward-looking exercise. I hope it's also a way to move us forward, toward what we want to be.

Why did you feel motivated to chronicle 50 great Indians through the ages?
The lives of individuals offer a way to explore the maze of Indian history, and at a time when I felt both that history is being used in very fast and loose ways in our public life, and is also poorly taught to the younger generation, I hope my book might prompt a more serious engagement with our past, allowing us to see how much it matters to how we shape our future.
The Idea of India has become almost a generic phrase...is the idea of India changing?
As it was originally conceived, the idea of India was never a static one: it was designed to enable change, on the basis of firm principles — enshrined in our Constitution . The problems arise when we start to fiddle with and beat up on our founding principles.
Our Fest is in Delhi and is a celebration of Delhi. Tell us a bit about your relationship with Delhi.
Delhi is the city I grew up in, and I think it's always appreciated books — I became a reader in this city, and can remember the excitement of book fairs at Pragati Maidan, as well as the calm havens of places like The Bookshop in Jor Bagh. So I'm very glad it now has a full-fledged Literary Festival — much looking forward to it!
What do you feel about writers returning their awards? Do you endorse it?
Lets discuss this at my session at the Fest!