Make a well researched TV show on Chanakya, Ashoka the Great and the Mauryans to make amends for the distortion of ancient Indian History done by ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat' followed by ChandraNandini on Star Plus

This petition is being created as a humble effort to try undo the damage done to History by the TV series Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat and a hope that it will be rectified.

It is unfair to malign revered Indian historical figures, send across a wrong message to society and mislead uninformed viewers.

The TV series- Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat was meant to be about the life of Emperor Ashoka (lived from 304 to 232 BCE) who is regarded by many as the greatest Emperor of India. He ruled from about 272 or 268 BCE to 232 BCE and became a model of kingship in the Buddhist tradition.
( http://www.ancient.eu/Ashoka/ ). 
The series was a prime time show telecast on Colors channel at 9.00 pm (Monday to Friday), from 2nd February, 2015. Produced by Contiloe Entertainment, which has its head office in Mumbai, India, the serial was conceptualized and written by eminent writer, Mr. Ashok Banker.

Arya Vishnugupta Chanakya also known as Kautilya(Born 371 BC, India Died: 275 BC, some records say 283 BC) is regarded as a great thinker and diplomat in India. He was the mentor of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan dynasty

( http://www.ancient.eu/Chandragupta_Maurya/  ). 
In History, Chanakya also served as adviser to Chandragupta Maurya’s son Bindusara and was alive until Bindusara’s son Ashoka reached his 20s(most sources say Chanakya lived till the year 275 BC)

https://books.google.tt/books?id=OFFWNqHeu6UC&pg=PT79&lpg=PT79&dq=chanakya+subandhu&source=bl&ots=z1HM6oxb6Q&sig=RmH4tlj06b5oaVORKufvO9HjJxQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjitPD3tcHJAhUBViYKHfs9BzQ4ChDoAQglMAM#v=onepage&q=chanakya%20subandhu&f=false  
http://www.freeindia.org/biographies/greatpersonalities/chanakya/page18.htm 

All authorities agree that it was mainly because of Chanakya or Kautilya that the Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta and later under Ashoka became a model of efficient government. Many Indian nationalists regard him as one of the earliest people who envisaged the united India spanning the entire subcontinent.

Chanakya's Arthashastra has been praised widely all over the world for its clear and precise rules which apply even today. The diplomatic enclave in New Delhi, India’s capital is named Chanakyapuri in honour of Chanakya. The Training Ship Chanakya, ChanakyaNationalLawUniversity and Chanakya Institute of Public Leadership are named after him. Chanakya circle in Mysore has been also named after him. He is a personality of global importance

It has been understood that the TV show Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat can be called a historical fiction series and the show also has a declaimer which says that it is meant for entertainment and it has recreated Ashoka’s history with the help of hear-say stories, folk tales and so on.

But a thoughtless twist in the TV series, not mentioned in any text or historical record, has caused distress to numerous viewers and many have made posts on social media condemning the same. In the episode 218 of CAS aired on 27th November 2015, Chanakya is shown to be murdered by five characters: Helena, Charumitra, Khallatak, Sushim and Siamak. They are seen trapping the insightful (and not easy to be ensnared) Chankaya and then stabbing him with knives. After that, they were shown burning his body. This kind of ending of such an epic character has not been documented in any historical record. It does not have any historical evidence.

Some lesser known debatable characters of History and some fictional characters have been shown as murderers of the respected Chanakya in the show. Two people who are portrayed as grandsons of Chandragupta Maurya whom Chanakya mentored and helped to create the Mauryan dynasty, the emperor’s widow, a daughter-in-law and a corrupt minister of the Mauryas are shown to be involved in the despicable act and none of the same has been mentioned anywhere in history.

The CAS team is misleading people by showing something of this sort. They should not show such inaccuracy. They should not forget that this is a history based series and not a fantasy drama like Game of Thrones which seems to have inspired the makers of CAS greatly (among other things, GOT character Khal Drogo’s look was copied for a former character of CAS- Dastaan ~ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/Ashoka-Samrat-has-a-villain-who-looks-just-like-Khal-Drogo-from-GoT/articleshow/49831221.cms and the fabricated stabbing of Chanakya is very similar to GOT character Jon Snow’s group stabbing scene in the series~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6DmWeJtKKs ).  We agree the serial makers can add some fiction. For example characters like Mir Khorason , Noor Khorasan, Dastaan, Justin and some others who were not there in history had been seen as characters in the series. There is no problem if the makers are adding some amount of fiction in the story, because they are trying to recreate history which occurred about 2300 years back. Some liberties and some fictional elements have been tolerated and accepted by viewers. But, the way they have ended the character of Chanakya, an esteemed historical figure in the serial is not correct. It contradicts the historical fact. One can’t kill a historical character which is so central to the story, that too by less eminent and fictional characters, just for the sake of drama. By doing this, they are disrespecting the great Indian ancient scholar Chanakya and his personality.

Most of the concerned and disappointed viewers are now saying that merely by giving a disclaimer does not give freedom to the makers of the TV series to distort history. They are not supposed to behave irresponsibly about Emperor Ashoka’s life story whose Ashoka Chakra (the most visible use today is at the centre of the Flag of India) and Ashoka Stamb( the national emblem of India) are of such great significance. Apart from that, there are other elements associated with his glorious life which are subjects of golden history.

The following are the historical facts collected from various sources:

History says that according to a legend, Chanakya retired to the jungle and starved himself to death.

( https://books.google.tt/books?id=9PdzBZegtvMC&redir_esc=y )

According to another legend mentioned by the Jain writer Hemachandra (https://books.google.tt/books?id=uI0ALSCLb24C&pg=PT87&redir_esc=y )
Chanakya died as a result of a conspiracy by Subandhu, one of Bindusara's ministers. Subandhu, who did not like Chanakya, told Bindusara that Chanakya was responsible for the murder of his mother Durdhara. Bindusara asked the nurses, who confirmed the story of his birth. Bindusara was horrified and enraged. When Chanakya, who was an old man by this time, learned that the King was angry with him, he decided to end his life. In accordance with the Jain tradition, he decided to starve himself to death. By this time, the King had found out the full story which was that Chanakya was not responsible for his mother's death, which was an accident. He asked Subandhu to convince Chanakya to give up his plan to kill himself. However, Subandhu instead conducted a ceremony for Chanakya only to burn him alive

(Reference:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanakya ).

In the serial, it was unethical to kill Chanakya so early and in a humiliating way. In CAS, Chanakya had been killed in 289 BC .Ashoka is shown to be a 14 -15 years old in the serial when Chanakya died. This information is totally wrong.

According to most historical records, if Chanakya died in the year 275 BC, Ashoka would have been 29 years old then. Some records say Chanakya died in 283 BC. At that time Ashoka would have been 21. The Subandhu character who according to many records was responsible for Chanakya’s death was not incorporated in CAS.

If Contiloe Entertainment who produces the show for Colors was having any kind of disagreement with veteran actor Manoj Joshi who played the role of Chanakya in the series (as alleged by some media reports), there were other means and ways to tackle the situation. One option which is closer to History could have been minimizing Acharya Chanakya's role by showing something on the lines of him heading towards the forest to choose an ascetic kind of life after being hurt by Bindusara's suspicion. Later ‘Subandhu’ could have been incorporated as a negative character. 

That should also have ideally happened when Ashoka reaches his 20s on the show, but some liberties were/can be tolerated( just like how the viewers accepted fictional characters and many twists and turns filling in the gaps in the historical records). Everything could have been sorted out amicably for the sake of respect towards History and viewer sentiments.
And that was not all.Colors posted the shocking video of Chanakya’s fabricated murder as ‘scene of the week’ on their FB page and the fictional murderers have been shown saying numerous derogatory words about the prominent historical figure in the series. The negative characters continuing to malign and belittle Acharya Chanakya by making jokes about his fictitious death and using many derogatory statements even going to extent of calling the scholar and the author of Arthashastra, Nitishastra (also known as Chanakya Niti) a fool, is very, very tragic and unethical. 
 A dark twist was brought in to avenge the deaths of fictional characters and Prince Siamak as a young boy transformed into a murderer. We do not like to see children become violent and evil, even if it is for the screen. This world already has many issues with violence amongst and against children and this show which has taught some ethics, culture and values and can continue doing the same now has sent across a very wrong message with this twist. Some sections of Indian culture have equated/ continue to equate a Guru, a teacher with The Almighty and what they have shown being done to a Guru is almost unforgivable. It makes a mockery of History and the achievements and heritage of a historical figure. The makers have hurt many sentiments by disrespecting a great personality of History by showing his end this way.
Every day millions of viewers from India and abroad were watching this serial. Colors channel and the CAS team have a huge social responsibility. People who do not know better and don't read much might think this is real history and that's very, very bad. The subject History is a part of academic curriculum of many different levels. The makers are supposed to know that the audio-visual medium can have long lasting impact on many minds and therefore they need to act responsibly.

Emperor Bindusara had been shown to be imprudent, oblivious to almost everything while historical records don't say he was like that, even though he was not as mighty as his father, Chandragupta Maurya or his son, Ashoka.  An important historical character, Radhagupta's personality was not developing strongly. Radhagupta’s characterisation was still weak down till the end and historically he was an eminent character with whose help Emperor Ashoka is able to create his successful and vast empire.  The fictional characters can be there, but not at the expense of historical characters or to make up for the absence of an important personality of history such as Chanakya.

Young Ashoka, in the show was played very well by the talented teen actor Siddharth Nigam and the series reached great heights of popularity owing to his outstanding portrayal. His proper character development was very important. His character should not  have appeared erratic or lose focus and appear too emotional when he was actually such a mighty Indian national hero. Therefore, he needs to look strong at all times. Most of all, the makers faltered by portraying Chanakya's death in a wrongful manner.

It is difficult to make a daily series based around History. Another option was to have a weekend show on Ashoka the great(of 2 hours or thereabouts). The makers needed to make a good authentic story and not commercialize and massacre History.They needed to keep it as close to History as possible( with some fiction and fictional characters added to fill in gaps in historical records). A recent series based on Buddha (2013 -2014) was a much appreciated historical weekend series. There have been many examples of shows from the not too recent past on Indian TV, which were very well-made such as the 1990s TV series on Chanakya, on Tipu Sultan (The Sword of Tipu Sultan) and on Jhansi’s Rani Laxmi Bai which had been made after years of painstaking research.

In this regard, the original writer of CAS, Mr. Ashok Banker had been contacted. Mr. Banker said that he is not associated with the show anymore, and that “there are major errors in the show and it is not in keeping with his original story or concept”. It is now evident that Colors channel and CAS team has been making some major mistakes in the serial which should be rectified as soon as possible. The damage has been done but something needs to be done quickly to make up for the blunder.
Bringing back much loved actor Manoj Joshi (his performance was highly appreciated by a majority of the viewers) as Acharya Chanakya to the series and showing something on the lines of his on -screen death being a case of mistaken identify, a part of a clever plan synonymous to Kautilya and then ending the character at the right time and the right way, was an option to rectify this major blunder, which the channel and the makers never considered.

To make matters worse, the makers continued to show many more wrongful events.

The makers are crossing way too many limits and are allegedly doing so for commercial and personal benefits. 

The script and screenplay of the show are full of loopholes. Teen Ashoka was shown going to Taxila from Pataliputra (modern day Patna) by sea. Taxila is in modern day Pakistan and it is known that there is no sea between India and Pakistan. The surface route is faster and the one that is preferred.

 Other erroneous events are the portrayal of Chandragupta Maurya's Greek wife Helena as a villain when in reality she was not like that and had a memorable lovestory with the first Mauryan emperor, attack of Kalinga by a teen Ashoka, and the wrong persecution of a Kalinga king  and his daughter- the teen Kaurwaki ( who later became one of Ashoka's queens) in Taxila owing to which a legal notice was issued against the show from the state of Odisha. A news report clearly identified the blunders  made by the series:(http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/niranjan-slaps-legal-notice-on-colors-channel.html

“There is no basis, research, source for such scurrilous misrepresentation except the desire to make commercial gains and in the process unnecessarily insult the sensibilities and pride of the people of Odisha by distorting what is accepted by the entire world as history,” said Patnaik. )

The series also showed the killing of a child prince and added a few  child killing scenes to the script, which were not necessary, just to add shock value.

One more great blunder shown by the series was the  death of Seleucus Nicator at the hands of Sushim (the  elder brother of Ashoka) in April 2016. The serial had Seleucus attacking Bindusara, the son of Chandragupta, making him and his family a prisoner, and so on.

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Seleucus-I-Nicator

Seleucus, for those who know, was an emperor equally powerful, if not more than Ashoka himself; the founder of the Seleucid empire extending from the banks of the Indus to the banks of the Black Sea and Mediterranian Sea, as far as Constantinople. We are talking about the 2nd-3rd Century B.C. and most history of those days is 'fuzzy' but still some stories are undisputed. It is well established that: Seleucus lost a war with Chandragupta and had a subsequent peace treaty with Chandragupta Maurya, following which they never fought each other, each to his own. Seleucus thereafter spent most of his energy strengthening his empire up to Europe and Mauryans spent their energy in conquering Indian sub-continent. Seleucus did not die at the hands of the Mauryans.

We demand an enquiry into this matter and stop Colors channel and CAS production team from tampering with History. After they were allowed to get away with this ‘wrong Chanakya death chapter’, they did it again and again. It has sent across a wrong message to those who are unaware, more so the ones from the younger generation who are supposed to and have the right to know and learn correct History. The mockery of History and Culture is not to be encouraged. It can't be considered and remembered as a good memorable show in the history of Television because of the blunders.

Post the leap, the actor who was chosen to play adult Ashoka has not been liked by majority of the viewers as he looks too mature to play Ashoka in his mid 20s( despite being a good actor who suited other roles), his physical dissimilarities with teen Ashoka, Siddharth Nigam and there is lack of continuity in the mannerisms, dialogue delivery and look of the main lead character, on the whole.Considering the track record of Chakravartin Ashoka samrat, it seemed like they wouldn't portray Emperor's Ashoka's five queens, his children - most importantly Mahindra and Sanghamitra who spread Buddhism and also Ashoka's complex relationship with his son Kunal who was considered his successor, but was blinded later, and the story that unfolded and most importantly the Kalinga war, a very important chapter in his life in a proper manner. So said so done...After making all these major blunders, disappointing viewers and going downhill with TRPs(the channel and the makers cared about the most) especially because of the pathetic storyline and the casting of older Ashoka who was not accepted by many, the series was abruptly ended on October 7th,2016 making it one of the most poorly made shows with History as a base. There should be responsibility associated with the portrayal of History and culture on TV and these makers failed fully in that regard.

Finally a general request: We also appeal for the setting up of a panel of researchers in Ancient Indian History to discuss more about this topic and to find the truth about Chanakya’s death. 
History channel should be requested to make a well-researched documentary series on Ashoka the Great, and the subsequent spread of Buddhism outside of India.It can also have more information about the Mauryan dynasty, and about Chanakya, his Nitishastra and Arthashastra which are subjects with global appeal. Many

It is also important to make another series on Chankaya and the Mauryans( particularly #ChandraguptaMaurya and #Ashokathegreat which also focuses on Acharya Chanakya's contributions) which stays very true to history, is well written and well researched( even if it is a weekly which is easier to control and can be more research based) and has efficient cast members from CAS ,who left good impressions on viewers such as #ManojJoshi ji , #SiddharthNigam( who is an unanimous favourite, many feel he should play Ashoka again as he shone so bright and by the grace of God will have a long career and a bright future ahead of him ), Jitendra Bohara , the spy Ishwari who looked good in a small role, #SachinVerma who played Akramak,, Ayaan Zubair Rahmani,Monica Sehgal who played a cameo and some other efficient and charismatic ones, from the outside ( adult and child) such as Aham Sharma #AbhishekNigam, Heena Parmar Preetika Rao, Jannat Zubair Rahmani, Ashnoor Kaur,Himanshu Soni, #NaviBhangu, #SaurabhPandey, Gautam Rode #BasantBhatt, Vishesh Bansal, #GracyGoswami and other efficient actors.

Many misconceptions which CAS has created can be cleared that way, which is very important.