India, Aug. 23 -- In India, the possession of power has never implied an abandonment of the life of the mind. Indeed, some of the most remarkable rulers in Indian history regarded intellectual curiosity, patronage of the arts, engagement with philosophy and the cultivation of knowledge not as ornamental pursuits, but as integral to the responsibilities of sovereignty. The Indian tradition produced scholar-kings and philosopher-statesmen with astonishing frequency. They ruled, but they also read; they conquered, but they also contemplated; they administered kingdoms, but understood that a civilisation is sustained as much by its ideas as by its armies.

Consider Samudragupta (335-375 CE). The Gupta emperor was not merely a formidable conqu...