As we know, India was a pluralistic economy in ancient times and spread the message of peace throughout Asia and parts of Africa. While India was the most developed and technologically advanced economy, investments in military technology declined, and we could not defend against external aggressions. India lost not only its economic wealth but also its technological wealth, medicinal wealth, religious wealth, and literature. In the case of Bharat, that is, India, initiatives were on the spread of knowledge, e.g., the spread of Buddhism, while the emphasis of invaders in India -starting with the Mughal invasions and then the European invasion – was on destruction, be it of physical assets or the knowledgebase. Colonizing countries used strategies of convincing individuals in communities they colonized that they were inferior to the colonizers. Over time, due to the looting of resources and exploitative strategies that favored the colonizer, individuals in colonized communities became poorer and poorer. Those who wanted favors from the colonizer started looking from the colonizer’s perspective and promoting their viewpoint. Some individuals in these communities adopted the philosophy of the ruler and started to feel inferior. Over time, they started believing that their knowledge base – which was superior, to begin with – was also inferior. While the focus of this presentation is on India, the experience of several other countries that were colonized is very similar. The objective of this presentation, thus, is to analyze why we should learn about our ancient past and what lessons can be learned as we put it in the current context.