Vikram Sampath

{{Infobox person

| name = Vikram Sampath

| image = Vikram Sampath.jpg

| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|FRHistS|size=100%}}

| caption =

| birth_place = Bangalore, Karnataka, India

| alma_mater = *BITS Pilani (BE Electrical, MSc Mathematics)

SP Jain (MBA)
University of Queensland (PhD Ethnomusicology and History)

| occupation = Popular historian, columnist, former financial analyst

| notable_works = Savarkar

| awards = Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2011

}}

Vikram Sampath {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRHistS|}} is an Indian popular historian and columnist, who is noted for writing biographies of Gauhar Jaan, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Mysore Kings. He is Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, an Eisenhower and Aspen Global Fellow and Senior Research Fellow of Prime Ministers' Museum and Library Society. He is also a columnist for The Print. He is also the founder of the Bangalore Literature Festival.

Sampath was born in Karnataka. After academic training in engineering, mathematics, and finance, he worked in banking. In 2008, he published a history of the Wadiyar Dynasty of Mysore—a childhood fascination. In 2012, he published a biography of Gauhar Jaan, which received critical acclaim and won the Yuva Puraskar in English literature from Sahitya Akademi. The next year, Sampath published a biography of S. Balachander, which also garnered positive reviews.

In 2013, Sampath left his job at Hewlett-Packard to begin a PhD in ethnomusicology and history at the University of Queensland, Australia. In 2019 and 2021, he wrote a two-part biography of Savarkar that received praise for its thorough detail but was criticised for its uncritical treatment of the subject. In September 2021, Sampath was selected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

In February 2022, multiple academics accused Sampath of plagiarism, providing examples of near-identical reproduction of other authors' works in his corpus; Sampath denied the allegations and initiated a lawsuit.

Early life and education

Vikram Sampath's father Sampath Srinivasan was a Tamil banker; his mother Nagamani Sampath was a Marathi housewife.{{Cite news |date=5 April 2008 |title=Telling the untold story of Wadiyars |work=Deccan Herald |url=http://vikramsampath.com/files/DH20080405.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615161602/http://vikramsampath.com/files/DH20080405.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2021}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20110717203814/http://www.vikramsampath.com/files/JM20100601.pdf The skeptics called me a royalist] - Kumar, Smita Balram. Jade.{{Cite book |last=Sampath |first=Vikram |title=Indian Classical Music and the Gramophone, 1900–1930 |publisher=Routledge |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-367-42132-8 |series=SEMPRE Studies in The Psychology of Music |pages=xiii |language=en |chapter=Acknowledgements |doi=10.4324/9780367822026|s2cid=249139177 }} He was raised in Bangalore, and completed his schooling at Sri Aurobindo Memorial School and Bishop Cotton Boys' School.

Sampath was trained in Carnatic music since the age of five; among his teachers were Jayanthi Kumaresh and Bombay Jayashri.{{Cite web |first=Savitha |last=Gautam|date=19 January 2012 |title=A wizard and his veena |url=https://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/article2814150.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122142524/https://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/article2814150.ece |archive-date=22 January 2012 |access-date=2022-03-05 |work=The Hindu}}{{Cite web |date=25 February 2012 |title='When I look at excel sheets, a thumri plays in my head' |work=Tehelka|url=http://tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=hub250212Vikram.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527081505/http://tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=hub250212Vikram.asp |archive-date=27 May 2012 |access-date=2022-03-05}} Sampath graduated from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) with a dual degree in electronics engineering and a master's degree in mathematics.{{Cite news |date=2019-11-26 |title=Dr. Vikram Sampath |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/times-litfest-kolkata-2019/speakers/dr-vikram-sampath/articleshow/72240817.cms |access-date=2024-04-27 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}} Against the wishes of his professors, who wanted Sampath to pursue a PhD in topology, he shifted to finance and obtained an MBA from S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research. In October 2017, Sampath received a doctorate in ethnomusicology and history from the School of Music at University of Queensland, Australia.{{efn|The thesis is titled "Indian classical music and the gramophone (c. 1900-1930): A socio-cultural, historical, and musical analysis of the Gramophone Company's Indian recording expeditions".}}

Career

Sampath worked at GE Capital in Gurgaon for about eight months until December 2005, then switched to Citibank's Global Decision Management Team at Bangalore, where he worked until March 2008.{{Cite web |last=Sampath |first=Vikram |title=LinkedIn CV |url=https://in.linkedin.com/in/dr-vikram-sampath-frhists-056910 |access-date=30 March 2022 |website=LinkedIn}} He went on to join Hewlett-Packard, where he stayed until July 2013.

Sampath is a senior fellow at Nehru Memorial Museum & Library,{{Cite web|title=Vikram Sampath|url=https://penguin.co.in/book_author/vikram-sampath/|access-date=1 August 2021|website=Penguin Random House India|language=en-US|archive-date=1 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801073525/https://penguin.co.in/book_author/vikram-sampath/|url-status=live}} and is the founder and director of Bangalore Lit Fest and ZEE Group's ARTH: A Culture Fest. In February 2014, Sampath was appointed for a three-year tenure as the Executive Director of the Bangalore regional center of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, from which he resigned in August 2015 for personal reasons.{{Cite web |date=9 August 2015 |title=All for a sign |url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/opinion/the-informer/gangarams-book-bureau-vikram-sampath-tapasije-mishra-salman-khan/articleshow/48414387.cms |access-date=2022-03-30 |work=Bangalore Mirror |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331170830/https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/opinion/the-informer/gangarams-book-bureau-vikram-sampath-tapasije-mishra-salman-khan/articleshow/48414387.cms |url-status=live }} The same year, he also resigned from Bangalore Lit Fest after invited authors disagreed with his characterization of the Indian writers protest against government silence on violence and declined to take part in the festival.{{Cite web |last=Mallya |first=Vinutha |title=How Vikram Sampath Played Victim to the "Tolerance Mafia" at the BLF This Year |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/how-vikram-sampath-played-victim-to-the-tolerance-mafia-at-the-blf-this-year |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=The Caravan |language=en |archive-date=25 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225105738/https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/how-vikram-sampath-played-victim-to-the-tolerance-mafia-at-the-blf-this-year |url-status=live }} President Pranab Mukherjee selected Sampath as a writer-in-residence at Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2015.{{cite news |title=This is the next generation of intellectuals in India |url=https://theprint.in/features/this-is-the-next-generation-of-indian-intellectuals/168750/ |access-date=6 September 2022 |work=ThePrint |date=27 December 2018}}

Works and reception

= Wadiyar dynasty =

Vikram Sampath's first book, a history of the Wadiyar dynasty of Mysore, was published in 2008 by Rupa Publications, a topic that had captivated him since reading the "humiliating portrayal" of Wadiyars in The Sword of Tipu Sultan, and a "television show's misrepresentation of a particular era of the dynasty" provided the impetus to explore the subject.{{Cite web |date=7 March 2008 |title=History retold |work=Deccan Herald |url=http://archive.deccanherald.com/Content/Mar72008/metro2008030655910.asp |access-date=2022-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401070406/http://archive.deccanherald.com/Content/Mar72008/metro2008030655910.asp |archive-date=1 April 2010 }} Sampath was inspired by the works of Arun Shourie and Ramachandra Guha but said his work is not a "historian's point-of-view"; the lack of an academic training coupled with a disinclination to either Marxism or Hindu Nationalism benefitted him.{{Cite news |last=Murthy |first=Neeraja |date=12 July 2008 |title=Spinning a Royal Tale |work=The Hindu |url=http://vikramsampath.com/files/TH20080712.pdf |url-status=dead |access-date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615150707/http://vikramsampath.com/files/TH20080712.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2021}}{{Cite web |date=31 March 2008 |title=The facts of fiction |work=The Hindu |url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/03/31/stories/2008033151100100.htm |access-date=2022-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401061707/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/03/31/stories/2008033151100100.htm |archive-date=1 April 2010 }}{{Cite news |last=Chandra |first=Vaishalli |date=12 March 2008 |title=Reclaiming the Heirloom |work=Bangalore Mirror |url=http://vikramsampath.com/files/BM20080312.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615165626/http://vikramsampath.com/files/BM20080312.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2021}} Suryanath U. Kamath proof-read the work.

A review in The Hindu Literary Review noted the work to be unprecedented for the span of time it chronicles; the reviewer, however, said they found Sampath's "keenness on chronicling details rather than harnessing them for a rigorous academic engagement with forces that shape history" disappointing.{{Cite web |last=Bageshree |first=S. |date=2009-06-01 |title=A balanced reading |url=http://www.hindu.com/lr/2008/06/01/stories/2008060150300600.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601162543/http://www.hindu.com/lr/2008/06/01/stories/2008060150300600.htm |archive-date=1 June 2009 |website=The Hindu : Literary Review}} His methodology—mundane documentation of all sides to a story absent any historical analysis—was criticized as were his "totally inane" observations. Pavitra Jayaraman's review in Mint found the work to be a "page-turner" that attests to the years of work Sampath had put in the project.{{Cite web |last=Jayaraman |first=Pavitra |date=2008-03-29 |title=Beautiful south |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/NfF6mLrpcMmXnXF3nIhYQO/Beautiful-south.html |access-date=2022-03-05 |work=Mint |language=en |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305110829/https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/NfF6mLrpcMmXnXF3nIhYQO/Beautiful-south.html |url-status=live }} Another review in the Business Standard found Sampath to have surpassed all other works produced on similar themes in a non-academic context; he made excellent use of the archives to draft a "riveting" narrative.{{Cite web |last=Sankar |first=Anand |date=2010-04-01 |title=Off with his nose |url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=320582 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401210900/http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=320582 |archive-date=1 April 2010 |access-date= |work=Business Standard}}

= Gauhar Jaan =

In 2012, Sampath published a biography of Gauhar Jaan, who was India's first classical musician to record on the gramophone. He had chanced upon Jaan in the Royal Archives of Mysore while researching for the previous book.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-05 |title=Cascade Of Silk |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/cascade-of-silk/266254 |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=outlookindia.com/ |language=en |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305112016/https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/cascade-of-silk/266254 |url-status=live }}{{subscription required}}{{Efn|Sampath spotted some letters from Jaan, addressed to the Mysore Government with pleas to not slash her salary.}}

All reviewers commended Sampath's meticulous archival work despite the scarcity of sources on figures like Jaan. Ethnomusicologist Peter Manuel found Sampath to have had sketched an "informative and evocative portrait" of Jaan and her politico-cultural milieu despite a non-scholarly approach that lacks citations; his work was hailed as a groundbreaking contribution to studies of Hindustani music.{{Cite journal |last=Manuel |first=Peter |date=2012 |title=Review of "My Name is Gauhar Jan!": The Life and Times of a Musician |journal=Ethnomusicology |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=146–150 |doi=10.5406/ethnomusicology.56.1.0146 |issn=0014-1836 |jstor=10.5406/ethnomusicology.56.1.0146 |doi-access=free }} Partha Chatterjee, reviewing for Frontline, found his portrayal of Jaan "an unusual and beautiful book".{{Cite web |last=Chatterjee |first=Partha |title=Poignant notes |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30180732.ece |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=Frontline |date=17 June 2010 |language=en |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305112015/https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30180732.ece |url-status=live }}

Harbans Singh, reviewing for The Tribune, praised Sampath's non-judgmental scholarship and forceful recreation of the cultural world inhabited by Jaan.{{Cite web |title=The Sunday Tribune - Spectrum |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100509/spectrum/book2.htm |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=www.tribuneindia.com |archive-date=16 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616171712/https://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100509/spectrum/book2.htm |url-status=live }} The Hindu Literary Review admired Sampath's nuanced chronicling of the dichotomies that arose with regimes of princely modernity.{{Cite web |date=2011-08-05 |title=Of a woman, her music, and her times |work=The Hindu: Book Review |url=http://www.hindu.com/br/2010/06/22/stories/2010062254081400.htm |access-date=2022-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805025339/http://www.hindu.com/br/2010/06/22/stories/2010062254081400.htm |archive-date=5 August 2011 |url-status=dead}} Sadanand Menon, reviewing for Outlook, found the book be filled with a "glut of [pedantic and tiresome] detail"; the work was held to be "at times tiresome, at others ingenuous in its amateurish attempts at reconstructing history".

The book has been translated into Hindi{{cite news |date=29 March 2022 |title=Hindi translation of 'Mera Naam Gauhar Jaan Hai' launched |language=en |work=Lokmat Times |agency=Indo-Asian News Service |url=https://www.lokmattimes.com/national/hindi-translation-of-mera-naam-gauhar-jaan-hai-launched/ |access-date=4 December 2022 |archive-date=4 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204035027/https://www.lokmattimes.com/national/hindi-translation-of-mera-naam-gauhar-jaan-hai-launched/ |url-status=live }} and Marathi.{{cite news |last1=Bari |first1=Prachi |date=22 December 2017 |title=Pune's Sujata Deshmukh bags Sahitya Akademi award for best translation |language=en |work=Hindustan Times |agency=Pune News |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/pune-s-sujata-deshmukh-bags-sahitya-akademi-award-for-best-translation/story-U38BGxVIMeRTQFjut5mIpN.html |access-date=4 December 2022 |archive-date=4 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204035018/https://www.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/pune-s-sujata-deshmukh-bags-sahitya-akademi-award-for-best-translation/story-U38BGxVIMeRTQFjut5mIpN.html |url-status=live }} It has also been adapted into an eponymous play by Lillette Dubey and Mahesh Dattani.{{cite news |date=12 November 2016 |title=Gauhar, the fall of a star |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Gauhar-the-fall-of-a-star/article16443687.ece |access-date=4 December 2022 |archive-date=4 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204042114/https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Gauhar-the-fall-of-a-star/article16443687.ece |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Govind |first1=Ranjani |date=16 March 2016 |title=A woman of her times |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-woman-of-her-times/article8360788.ece |access-date=4 December 2022 |archive-date=4 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204040958/https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-woman-of-her-times/article8360788.ece |url-status=live }} Ashutosh Gowarikar acquired film rights for the book in 2017.{{cite news |last1=Govind |first1=Ranjani |date=4 April 2017 |title=Gauhar Jaan to be brought to life on celluloid |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/gauhar-jaan-to-be-brought-to-life-on-celluloid/article17815313.ece |access-date=4 December 2022 |archive-date=4 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204042451/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/gauhar-jaan-to-be-brought-to-life-on-celluloid/article17815313.ece |url-status=live }}

== Digital music archive ==

While working on the book, Sampath set up a private, non-profit trust in collaboration with Manipal University to digitize vintage gramophone recordings and make them freely accessible to the public, with funding from T. V. Mohandas Pai.{{Cite web |title=Afternoon raga |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/afternoon-raga/cid/181003 |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=www.telegraphindia.com |archive-date=30 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330131551/https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/afternoon-raga/cid/181003 |url-status=live }} In 2015, Sampath donated the collection to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.{{cite news |last1=Kumar |first1=Shyama Krishna |date=8 April 2015 |title=Library with Rare Records a Hit |work=The New Indian Express |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2015/apr/08/library-with-rare-records-a-hit-739460.html |access-date=8 May 2022 |archive-date=8 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508233150/https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2015/apr/08/Library-with-Rare-Records-a-Hit-739460.html |url-status=live }} Since 2013,{{cite news |last1=Nair |first1=Malini |date=1 August 2013 |title=Vikram Sampath: Indian music archive goes online |language=en |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/indian-music-archive-goes-online/articleshow/21521392.cms |access-date=8 May 2022 |archive-date=8 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508222641/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/indian-music-archive-goes-online/articleshow/21521392.cms |url-status=live }} much of the archive has been accessible for free on SoundCloud.{{cite news |last1=Mavad |first1=Asra |date=14 July 2021 |title=Wondering what to do with old gramophone records? |language=en |work=Deccan Herald |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/metrolife-your-bond-with-bengaluru/wondering-what-to-do-with-old-gramophone-records-1008322.html |access-date=8 May 2022 |archive-date=8 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508214431/https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/metrolife-your-bond-with-bengaluru/wondering-what-to-do-with-old-gramophone-records-1008322.html |url-status=live }} As of 2021, the archive includes almost 15,000 records, 7,000 of which had been digitized.

= S. Balachander =

Sampath's third book, which was published in 2013, narrates the life of Veena maestro S. Balachander.{{Cite news |last=Ganesh |first=Deepa |date=5 March 2012 |title=It's more than the melody |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/its-more-than-the-melody/article2961608.ece |access-date=21 October 2021 |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=21 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021070044/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/its-more-than-the-melody/article2961608.ece |url-status=live }} Balachander was a controversial figure; Sampath received hate mail{{Cite news |last=Aravind |first=Indulekha |date=2012-03-10 |title='Biographies can really drain you' |work=Business Standard India |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/-biographies-can-really-drain-you-112031000017_1.html |access-date=2022-03-05 |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305185555/https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/-biographies-can-really-drain-you-112031000017_1.html |url-status=live }} but he was extensively helped by Balachander's widow and family during his research. Overall, Sampath found Balachander to be a much-misunderstood and maligned genius.

T. M. Krishna found Sampath's work to be "engaging" and provides "a rare insight into one of the most enigmatic figures in Indian performing art". According to Krishna, "the author has tried to create a social and musical context for the reader, sometimes this intrudes into Balachander's story". Krishna also noted errors on the musical history of South India.{{Cite web |first=T. M. |last=Krishna |title=A rare insight into the life and art of a musical maestro |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/leisure/story/20120430-voice-of-the-veena-s-balachander-a-biography-by-vikram-sampath-758112-2012-04-20 |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=India Today |date=20 April 2012 |language=en |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305112015/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/leisure/story/20120430-voice-of-the-veena-s-balachander-a-biography-by-vikram-sampath-758112-2012-04-20 |url-status=live }} A review in Frontline commended Sampath for situating a well-researched, detailed and objective biography of an enigmatic figure within the broader interplays of Carnatic music.{{Cite web |last=Chatterjee |first=Partha |title=Versatile genius |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30165220.ece |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=Frontline |date=19 April 2012 |language=en |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305112017/https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30165220.ece |url-status=live }} The book has been translated into Tamil.{{cite news |last1=Balasubramanian |first1=V. |date=11 April 2013 |title=The wizard of the veena |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/the-wizard-of-the-veena/article4605885.ece?homepage=true |access-date=4 December 2022 |archive-date=4 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204035444/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/the-wizard-of-the-veena/article4605885.ece?homepage=true |url-status=live }}

= V. D. Savarkar =

Sampath's fourth book is a biography of V. D. Savarkar that was published by Penguin Books in two parts in 2019 and 2021.{{cite news |last1=Parashar |first1=Swati |title='Savarkar: A Contested Legacy, 1924–1966' review: Hindutva's biggest ideologue |url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/savarkar-a-contested-legacy-1924-1966-review-hindutvas-biggest-ideologue/article36135057.ece |work=The Hindu |date=28 August 2021 |language=en-IN |access-date=18 September 2021 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918135239/https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/savarkar-a-contested-legacy-1924-1966-review-hindutvas-biggest-ideologue/article36135057.ece |url-status=live }} He stated he was motivated by the lack of a comprehensive biography of Savarkar despite his strong presence in the Indian political discourse for decades.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

Janaki Bakhle, an associate professor of Indian history at University of California, Berkeley who reviewed the volumes for India Today, noted despite meticulous and thorough research, Sampath's contribution is wholly uncritical, and he accepts every primary source at face value; Bakhle criticised Sampath's interpretation of concurrent historical events as non-objective and lacking in updates from relevant scholarship.{{Cite web |last=Bakhle |first=Janaki |date=26 September 2019 |title=The missing pieces {{!}} Books |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/up-front/story/20191007-the-missing-pieces-books-1603478-2019-09-26 |access-date=2020-01-04 |website=India Today |archive-date=13 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213163414/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/up-front/story/20191007-the-missing-pieces-books-1603478-2019-09-26 |url-status=live }} Vikram Visana, a Lecturer in Political Theory at the University of Leicester criticises him for failing to put Savarkar's "rhetorical historywriting" that makes use of "epic heroism and myth-making" to incite "revolutionary violence" into context with his narrative. He also criticises him for taking Savarkar's allegations of abuse by Muslim prison wardens in Savarkar's My transportation for life at face value. {{cite journal | last=Visana | first=Vikram | title=Glory and Humiliation in the Making of V. D. Savarkar's Hindu Nationalism | journal=The Historical Journal | volume=66 | issue=1 | date=2023 | issn=0018-246X | doi=10.1017/S0018246X22000255 | doi-access=free | pages=165–185 | url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/B196AD5F952FF78DF066CC25E0D058E8/S0018246X22000255a.pdf/div-class-title-glory-and-humiliation-in-the-making-of-v-d-savarkar-s-hindu-nationalism-div.pdf | access-date=18 February 2025}} Reviewing for Open, popular historian Manu S. Pillai voiced similar concerns; he praised Sampath's meticulous research and his persuasive case of Savarkar as a martyr who had sacrificed his youth for the cause of nation but criticised his methodologies, especially the uncritical acceptance of Savarkar's self-laudatory memoirs, and Sampath was held to be an unobjective biographer.{{Cite web |last=Pillai |first=Manu S |date=27 September 2019 |title=In search of the real Savarkar |url=https://openthemagazine.com/lounge/books/in-search-of-the-real-savarkar/ |access-date=2020-01-04 |website=Open The Magazine |archive-date=19 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219191543/https://openthemagazine.com/lounge/books/in-search-of-the-real-savarkar/ |url-status=live }}

Madhav Khosla, professor of Political Science at Columbia Law School who reviewed the work for Hindustan Times, commended the detailed narrative but found Sampath's treatment of Savarkar's extremist views and his relationship with the British government less "thoughtful" when compared to another contemporary biography by Vaibhav Purandare.{{Cite web |last=Khosla |first=Madhav |date=2019-11-29 |title=Review: Books on VD Savarkar by Vikram Sampath and Vaibhav Purandare |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/review-books-on-vd-savarkar-by-vikram-sampath-and-vaibhav-purandare/story-mpBCS5DSKVsZPCOWPFA9EI.html |url-status=live |access-date=2020-01-09 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en |archive-date=11 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511163758/https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/review-books-on-vd-savarkar-by-vikram-sampath-and-vaibhav-purandare/story-mpBCS5DSKVsZPCOWPFA9EI.html }} P. A. Krishnan, reviewing for Outlook, found the work to be an elaborate but sympathetic biography.{{Cite web |last=Krishnan |first=P.A. |date=4 November 2019 |title=Pro Patria Mori Meets Fire-And-Brimstone |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/books-pro-patria-mori-meets-fire-and-brimstone/302276 |access-date=2020-01-04 |website=Outlook India |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305143224/https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/books-pro-patria-mori-meets-fire-and-brimstone/302276 |url-status=live }}{{subscription required}} Salil Tripathi, reviewing for Mint, found Sampath's choice of language and analyses to "give away" his obvious bias despite the façade of neutrality; particular attention was drawn to the cavalier descriptions of any massacre perpetrated by Muslims as "genocides".{{Cite web |date=2021-09-30 |title=Savarkar, the patriot with tunnel vision |url=https://lifestyle.livemint.com//news/big-story/savarkar-the-patriot-with-a-tunnel-vision-111632972367273.html |access-date=2022-03-06 |website=Mintlounge |language=en |archive-date=6 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306171738/https://lifestyle.livemint.com//news/big-story/savarkar-the-patriot-with-a-tunnel-vision-111632972367273.html |url-status=live }}

In contrast, Swati Parashar, a professor at the University of Gothenburg who reviewed the volumes for The Hindu, called the comprehensive treatment of Savarkar a "must-read", admiring how he brought out "the contradictions, complexities and complicities" that made Savarkar.{{Cite news |last=Parashar |first=Swati |date=2021-08-28 |title='Savarkar: A Contested Legacy, 1924-1966' review: Hindutva's biggest ideologue |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/savarkar-a-contested-legacy-1924-1966-review-hindutvas-biggest-ideologue/article36135057.ece |access-date=2021-10-15 |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918135239/https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/savarkar-a-contested-legacy-1924-1966-review-hindutvas-biggest-ideologue/article36135057.ece |url-status=live }} Reviewing for The Telegraph, TCA Raghavan described the book as "a straightforward, no-fuss narrative without hyperbole and hero worship".{{cite news |last1=Raghavan |first1=TCA Srinivasa |date=30 September 2019 |title=The Savarkar revival |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/books/the-savarkar-revival/cid/1708584 |access-date=29 April 2022 |archive-date=9 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509160645/https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/books/the-savarkar-revival/cid/1708584 |url-status=live }}

= Baul =

In 2022, Sampath, composer Ricky Kej and scholar Rajib Sarma produced a documentary film titled Who is Baul about the mystical Baul tradition of Bengal; it was directed by Sairam Sagiraju.{{cite news |last1=Prasad |first1=Sanath |date=16 March 2021 |title='Baul'ed over |work=The New Indian Express |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2021/mar/16/bauled-over-2277002.html |access-date=8 May 2022 |archive-date=8 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508234037/https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2021/mar/16/bauled-over-2277002.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Sudevan |first1=Praveen |date=19 April 2021 |title='Who is Baul?' delves into the philosophy of Bengal's musical mystics |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/ricky-kej-who-is-baul-documentary/article34359867.ece |access-date=8 May 2022 |archive-date=8 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508234037/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/ricky-kej-who-is-baul-documentary/article34359867.ece |url-status=live }}

= Bravehearts of Bharat =

Sampath's Bravehearts of Bharat: Vignettes from Indian History, published in 2022, is an anthology of 15 biographies of "under-appreciated civilisational warriors".{{cite news |date=25 October 2022 |title=New book challenges 'mainstream' Indian history, brings to fore stories of 15 unsung heroes |work=ThePrint |url=https://theprint.in/softcover/new-book-challenges-mainstream-indian-history-brings-to-fore-stories-of-15-unsung-heroes/1173960/ |access-date=7 December 2022}} He intended to shift the "Delhi-centric" perspective of Indian historiography and among those included were Lachit Barphukan, Chand Bibi, and Lalitaditya Muktapida.{{cite news |last1=Biswas |first1=Tunir |date=15 November 2022 |title=Documenting the undocumented |language=en |work=Indulge |publisher=The New Indian Express |url=https://www.indulgexpress.com/culture/books/2022/nov/15/documenting-the-undocumented-45450.html |access-date=7 December 2022}} Shashi Warrier, reviewing the work for The Asian Age, praised the author's selection of figures from a millennia-long span cutting across religion, profession, and gender and found his narration commendable; however, he took issue with the word "civilization", and further found Sampath's presentation of Lalitaditya non-critical and unconvincing.{{Cite web |date=2022-12-11 |title=Book Review {{!}} Folk heroes take precedence over icons, wording of title still curious |url=https://www.asianage.com/books/111222/book-review-folk-heroes-take-precedence-over-icons-wording-of-title-still-curious.html |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=The Asian Age}}

= Waiting for Shiva: Unearthing the Truth of Kashi’s Gyan Vapi =

In 2024, the book Waiting for Shiva: Unearthing the Truth of Kashi’s Gyan Vapi by him was launched by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at Pradhan Mantri Museum and Library auditorium. The book is a comprehensive work that combines historical, religious, archaeological, and legal perspectives on the Hindu reclamation efforts in Varanasi. Sampath draws parallels between Hindu devotion to Shiva and the Nandi bull's anticipation of darshan in temples. He criticizes historians for ignoring India's deep cultural connection.{{Cite web |last=Kissu |first=Sagrika |date=2024-03-05 |title=Vikram Sampath book launch ticked many boxes: Shiva, Aurangzeb, Hindu resilience, bias, Nehru |url=https://theprint.in/feature/around-town/vikram-sampath-book-launch-ticked-many-boxes-shiva-aurangzeb-hindu-resilience-bias-nehru/1989481/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}

=Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore's Interregnum (1760–1799)=

In 2024, his new book "Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore's Interregnum (1760–1799)" was released. {{cite web | last=Balachandran | first=P. K. | title=Tipu Sultan: An Indian Freedom Fighter Reviled By Both British Rulers And Hindu Nationalists – OpEd | website=Eurasia Review | date=3 December 2024 | url=https://www.eurasiareview.com/03122024-tipu-sultan-an-indian-freedom-fighter-reviled-by-both-british-rulers-and-hindu-nationalists-oped/ | access-date=18 February 2025}}

Reception

= Honors =

For his book on Gauhar Jaan, Sampath was awarded the first Yuva Puraskar in English literature by Sahitya Akademi, India,{{Cite web|first=Shrabonti|last=Bagchi|date=15 February 2012|title=Yuva Puraskar for Bangalore author|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/yuva-puraskar-for-bangalore-author/articleshow/11894120.cms|access-date=21 October 2021|work=The Times of India|language=en|archive-date=21 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021070044/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/yuva-puraskar-for-bangalore-author/articleshow/11894120.cms|url-status=live}} and the Excellence in Historical Research Award by Association for Recorded Sound Collections.{{Cite web|title=Vikram Sampath|url=https://penguin.co.in/book_author/vikram-sampath/|access-date=1 August 2021|website=Penguin Random House India|language=en-US|archive-date=1 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801073525/https://penguin.co.in/book_author/vikram-sampath/|url-status=live}} Sampath was also accorded with a visiting fellowship by Berlin Institute for Advanced Study. In September 2021, he was selected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.{{Cite web|title=281 new Fellows & Members elected to the Society {{!}} RHS|url=https://royalhistsoc.org/281-new-fellows-members-elected-to-the-society/|access-date=18 October 2021|website=royalhistsoc.org|archive-date=18 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018200817/https://royalhistsoc.org/281-new-fellows-members-elected-to-the-society/|url-status=live}}{{efn|Apart from historians in academia, members include "government historians, broadcasters, film-makers, creative writers, biographers, public historians, curators, publishers, journalists and editors, and academic librarians." They must have made an "original contribution to historical scholarship, typically through the authorship of a book, a body of scholarly work similar in scale and impact to a book, the organisation of exhibitions and conferences, the editing of journals, and other works of diffusion and dissemination grounded in historical research".}}

= Critics and allegations =

In a letter to the president of the Royal Historical Society dated 11 February 2022, Audrey Truschke, Rohit Chopra,{{Efn|Chopra is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Santa Clara University. He has published on the intersections of Hindu nationalism and media.}} and Ananya Chakravarti{{Efn|Chakravarti is an Associate Professor of History at Georgetown University. She has published on the histories of religion in South Asia.}} accused Sampath of plagiarism and requested Sampath's membership be reviewed and his scholarship be thoroughly examined.{{Cite web |date=14 February 2022 |title=Savarkar Biographer Vikram Sampath Accused of Plagiarism, Historians Say Others' Work Not Cited Fairly |url=https://thewire.in/history/vikram-sampath-savarkar-accused-plagiarism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218202359/https://thewire.in/history/vikram-sampath-savarkar-accused-plagiarism |archive-date=18 February 2022 |access-date=18 February 2022 |work=The Wire}}{{Cite web |date=27 February 2022 |title=Vikram Sampath: The literary start of the right-wing |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/vikram-sampath-the-literary-start-of-the-right-wing-1085544.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226222409/https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/vikram-sampath-the-literary-start-of-the-right-wing-1085544.html |archive-date=26 February 2022 |access-date=27 February 2022 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}

The letter includes as examples sections from a 2017 publication by Sampath, which lacked explicit attribution and were copied with minimal paraphrasing from works of Vinayak Chaturvedi and Janaki Bakhle. They also cited an example from his biography of Savarkar, in which a paragraph was nearly identical to one in an undergraduate student thesis. It was later supplemented with more examples of identical reproduction from the works of Chaturvedi and R.C. Majumdar. According to the letter, plagiarism detection software had found about 50% of the text in the 2017 publication was plagiarised.{{efn|They also claimed to have come across other similar instances in Sampath's corpus of work. Chaturvedi expressed his disappointment at Sampath's lack of ethical standards;{{Cite web |last=Chaturvedi |first=Vinayak |date=24 February 2022 |title=Would VD Savarkar have condoned plagiarism? |url=https://scroll.in/article/1018067/would-vd-savarkar-have-condoned-plagiarism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224033607/https://scroll.in/article/1018067/would-vd-savarkar-have-condoned-plagiarism |archive-date=24 February 2022 |access-date=24 February 2022 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}} Bakhle requested Sampath offer a public apology for unequivocal plagiarism and retract the publication.{{Cite web |title='Vikram Sampath Is Claiming My Ideas, Words as His Own': Historian Janaki Bakhle on Savarkar Author |url=https://thewire.in/books/vikram-sampath-is-claiming-my-ideas-words-as-his-own-historian-janaki-bakhle-on-savarkar-author |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222120232/https://thewire.in/books/vikram-sampath-is-claiming-my-ideas-words-as-his-own-historian-janaki-bakhle-on-savarkar-author |archive-date=22 February 2022 |access-date=22 February 2022 |website=The Wire}}{{Efn|Bakhle's support came about a week after the publication of the accusations. Sampath had argued, including in his representation to the Delhi High Court, Bakhle had reviewed his biography of Savarkar without any adverse comments about plagiarism, and she thus did not share the concerns of the letter.}}

Sampath rejected the allegations and filed a defamation suit in Delhi High Court seeking costs of {{INR|two crore}} ({{Formatnum:{{Convert currency|20000000|IND|year=2021|r=-3}}}} USD). He stated the 2017 publication is the transcript of a speech in which he had properly included appropriate attribution, and that the sources remain cited in the bibliography section. The biography paragraph is similar due to dependence on a common source. In response, the complaining authors said referencing a publication is not a free pass to reproduce content; Bakhle also noted the implausibility of numerous footnotes in any speech. None of the complainants except Chakravarti submitted to the jurisdiction of the Court. On the first hearing, an interim order was passed restraining Truschke and others from publishing the letter or any other defamatory material;{{Cite web |last=Thapliyal |first=Nupur |date=18 February 2022 |title=Delhi High Court Restrains Historian Audrey Truschke & Others From Publishing Defamatory Material Against Vikram Sampath |url=https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/delhi-high-court-restrain-historian-audrey-truschke-defamation-vikram-sampath-192240 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218062340/https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/delhi-high-court-restrain-historian-audrey-truschke-defamation-vikram-sampath-192240 |archive-date=18 February 2022 |access-date=18 February 2022 |website=www.livelaw.in |language=en}} a week later and again in May, the court ordered Twitter to remove multiple tweets to such effect Truschke had published despite the order.{{Cite web |last=Jha |first=Prashant |date=24 February 2022 |title=Delhi High Court directs Twitter to take down five tweets of Audrey Truschke against Vikram Sampath |url=https://www.barandbench.com/news/delhi-high-court-directs-twitter-take-down-five-tweets-audrey-truschke-against-vikram-sampath |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316211803/https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=Prashant%20Jha&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1636230359812804608&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.barandbench.com%2Fnews%2Fdelhi-high-court-directs-twitter-take-down-five-tweets-audrey-truschke-against-vikram-sampath&sessionId=9f5844d7eeb498d53056dd6d3e3b4e72cabcbaa9&siteScreenName=barandbench&theme=light&widgetsVersion=aaf4084522e3a%3A1674595607486&width=550px |archive-date=16 March 2023 |access-date=24 February 2022 |website=Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Thapliyal |first=Nupur |date=2022-05-04 |title="Defamatory": Delhi High Court Directs Twitter To Take Down 5 More Tweets Posted By Historian Audrey Truschke Against Vikram Sampath |url=https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/delhi-high-court-twitter-tweets-audrey-truschke-vikram-sampath-198245 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504090227/https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/delhi-high-court-twitter-tweets-audrey-truschke-vikram-sampath-198245 |archive-date=4 May 2022 |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=www.livelaw.in |language=en}}

Sampath has also faced criticisms of using the decolonisation platform to justify Hindu domination. {{cite journal | last=Hew | first=Wai Weng | last2=Chan | first2=Nicholas | title=Idealized Past, Exclusivist Present: Right-wing Appropriation of the Decolonial Rhetoric in Malaysia | journal=Critical Asian Studies | volume=56 | issue=4 | date=2024 | issn=1467-2715 | doi=10.1080/14672715.2024.2400219 | pages=625–651}} Describing Muslim rulers such as Tipu Sultan as "barbarians", he claims that colonial mindset has taken from India its "civilizational greatness" by downplaying "bloody Islamic conquests".{{cite journal | last=Ahmad | first=Irfan | title=Recognizing Hindu Orientalism | journal=Journal of Political Ideologies | volume=30 | issue=1 | date=2 January 2025 | issn=1356-9317 | doi=10.1080/13569317.2023.2196244 | doi-access=free | pages=285–305 | url=https://openaccess.ihu.edu.tr/bitstreams/f74e24dc-11f9-436a-a423-e795eda124be/download | access-date=18 February 2025| hdl=20.500.12154/2249 | hdl-access=free }}