Temple Traditions of North-East | Pankaj Saxena | #ICF2026

Indraprastha Cultural Festival, 2026 - Inaugural Season Pankaj Saxena reveals the hidden world of Hindu temples scattered across Northeast India's eight states, from Assam's ancient Shaktipithas to Tripura's rock-cut sculptures. Discover how Christian missionary strategy reshaped entire communities and learn why mainland India forgot its own northeastern family for 75 years. Saxena documents 14 years of temple research across Assam, Arunachal, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya while exposing the conversion methods that swept millions and the quiet revivals now fighting back. Essential viewing for students of Indian civilization, Sanatana Dharma, and Northeast history seeking to understand a region most Indians have never truly seen. Key Points: • Explore Kamakhya, Sankardev's Satras, and Ahom-era temples across Assam • Idu Mishmi tribe's unbroken bond with Mahabharata through Rukmini's lineage • Revival of indigenous Mizo religion to 1,000 followers About the Speaker: Pankaj Saxena is an author who writes on Hindu temples, Indian art, literature, history and culture. He is also deeply interested in cultural anthropology, evolutionary biology and ecology. He has visited more than 600 ancient Hindu temples on his temple trails. He writes for Indiafacts, Indic Today, Pragyata, Swarajya, Sirf News, Vijayvaani etc. He has authored three books so far. He has worked at Rashtram School of Public Leadership, Sonipat as an Associate Professor. He Co-founded Brhat - A culture engine and has recently founded his own effort - Bodha - which is a think tank and research group, focused on contemporary issues of cultural concern, to inform core areas of policy with wisdom drawn from Hindu traditions. It aims to advance intellectual churn within the Hindu renaissance, and curate cultural experiences of core Hindu institutions such as the temple. Topics Covered: 00:00 Introduction - Sanatana Dharma's Unity amid Northeast's diversity 01:18 "Northeastern Temples" – Is it Really a Contradiction 04:13 Have Mainland Indiand Forgotten the North East 07:43 Assam – Understanding the Geography 09:46 Ma Kamakhya temple and Assam's unique sparsha darshan ritual 12:09 Sankardev's Namghars and Majuli's bamboo Satras built against floods 15:45 Arunachal Pradesh – The Origin of Brahmaputra 17:40 The Idu Mishmi tribe's unbroken Mahabharata lineage through Rukmini 19:05 Northeast's Christian-majority and the stopping conversion 20:05 The Swayambhu Shivling & Shiva Worship 22:03 Nagaland's Sacred Trees – Link to Sanatan Dharma 29:07 Conversion of Wakching and Wanching Tribes 30:22 Manipur - Sanamahi Separatist Movement and 9 Sacred Hills 34:12 Mizoram’s 100% Conversion and the Revival of Sanatan Dharma 37:14 Tripura as a "Hindu refuge island" & The Temples there 40:32 Meghalaya's sacred Shakti Peeth & Mawphlang forests - worship tradition 42:15 Northeast's religious map: 1,200km of Christian villages at India's border #NortheastIndia #HinduTemples #SanatanaDharma #PankajSaxena #SangamTalks #ChristianConversion #Assam #Manipur #Tripura #Mizoram #Nagaland #Meghalaya #ArunachalPradesh #Kamakhya #IndianCivilization Join our sister YouTube channel to get updated on new video releases: SangamTalks :    / @sangamtalks   SangamTalks Hindi :    / @sangamtalkshindi   SangamTalks Shorts :    / @sangamtalksshorts   Garuda Books :    / @garudabooks   For updates you may follow us on: Instagram :   / indraprasthaculturalfestival   Twitter/ X : https://x.com/IPCFestival Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/company/indr... Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... Website : https://www.indraprasthafestival.com/#/