Takshashila was in Bihar
| Takshashila was in Bihar | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "Narendra Modi told a rally in Patna that the ancient university of Takshashila was part of Bihar's heritage, and that Bihar's people defeated Alexander the Great's army." | |
| Domain | History |
| Tactic | Fabrication |
| Era | Current |
| First seen | 2013 |
| Origin | Narendra Modi's "Hunkaar" rally speech in Patna, Bihar, October 27, 2013 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-30 |
| Further reading: books on History | |
Speaking at a large rally in Patna on October 27, 2013, as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi praised Bihar's history. He listed Takshashila among the state's glories and said Alexander the Great's army had been defeated by Biharis.
Both statements were historically wrong, and the speech drew wide ridicule.
What the evidence shows
- Takshashila. The ancient center of learning known as Takshashila, or Taxila, was near present-day Rawalpindi in Pakistan, more than 1,500 kilometers from Bihar. Bihar's famous ancient university was Nalanda.
- Alexander. Alexander's army never reached the Ganges plain or Bihar. His troops refused to go further east at the Hyphasis River, now the Beas, in Punjab in 326 BCE, and he turned back.
- Bihar's real history. The region was the heart of the Maurya Empire, whose capital Pataliputra stood where Patna is today, which gave the speech plenty of accurate material.
Why it matters
Small historical errors become large ones when repeated to huge audiences. Bihar's genuine history did not need the embellishment.
Sources
- The Times of India, coverage of the Patna Hunkaar rally speech, October 28, 2013.
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre, "Taxila," site description.
- Romila Thapar, Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300, University of California Press, 2002.