Emperor Ashoka's legendary conversion to non-violence was likely a 'moral alibi' to mask a 20% demographic collapse of the people he conquered.
The historical narrative of the 'remorseful conqueror' has replaced the reality of the victims for millennia. This study argues that the monarch’s proclaimed epiphany functioned as a strategic pivot to redirect historical attention away from a massive humanitarian catastrophe and toward his own psychological state.
The Kalinga Silence: Demographic Collapse, Epigraphic Omission, and the Moral Alibi of Ashoka's Remorse
SSRN · 6234738
The Maurya-Kalinga War (c. 261 BCE) is traditionally framed as the moral turning point in the reign of Emperor Ashoka. However, this study identifies a profound structural distortion in Indian historiography: the conscience of the conqueror has effectively replaced the lived experience of the conquered. Despite the war's canonical status, there is a near-total vacuum of research regarding its impact on the Kalinga people-their collective trauma, hurt pride, and socioeconomic collapse. This study