A talk at the SAFIC Special Lecture Programme on Oct 7, 2017. Society House, Sri Aurobindo Society, Puducherry.
Prof Ashok Aklujkar begins with a brief introduction to how the chronology of Indian history given by Williams Jones may not be as accurate as has been widely accepted by scholars and historians. In this regard, he speaks on how the books written on history by K.D. Sethna—‘Ancient India in a New Light’ and ‘Problems of Ancient India’ gave a different chronology of ancient India with remarkable insights into the specific topic of the dating of the Ashokan edicts. Going into the specific details of his own research, Professor Aklujkar touches upon the subject of the Ashokan major and minor edicts, trying to narrow down the age of these inscriptions by means of the information provided in the edicts as well based on the geographical location of these edicts.