Cover Story | Jan 2026
Anoshka Jain doesn’t describe Enroute as a startup. She calls it her child.As the founder of Enroute Indian History and an author deeply rooted incultural storytelling, Anoshka represents a new generation women founders—those who choose depth over disruption and meaning over momentum.
“I DIDN’T BUILD ENROUTE TO IMPRESS THE MARKET. I BUILT IT TO PRESERVE MEANING.”
WE Today: You’ve resurrected the stories of women who wielded power in eras that denied them legitimacy. In 2026, do you think modern women are still borrowing power—or finally owning it outright? What has truly changed, and what hasn’t?
Anoshka: Women’s relationship with power hasn’t changed much even in the modern world. Women have an awkward, uncomfortable relationship with power and rights and often perceive it as ‘privilege’ or ‘liberty’. We are still hesitant to claim basic legal rights and powerful positions without feeling constantly guilty. Women have been conditioned to believe they need to be perfect wives, daughters, mothers and then they can be good at their job. Excellence at a job is not expected and is often resented by society and colleagues. What has changed is the number of women who are now reclaiming their space in society. The statistics have increased but still not at the speed we would want.
WE Today: History often glorifies conquest, aggression, and domination as symbols of power. The Begums you write about exercised influence through diplomacy, intellect, and resilience. Has history misunderstood what real power looks like—especially when it belongs to women?
Anoshka: I don’t think history has forgotten what ‘real’ power looks like. Women had to negotiate their ways of asserting power through using very different skill sets and tools. Any woman who tried to use aggression and domination was publicly humiliated and ostracised by the society as evil and as a fallen woman. History has not forgotten but rather society has failed women in giving their due to her.
WE Today: ‘Badass Begums’ challenges the idea that women in history were exceptions rather than system- shapers. Why do you think women’s authority is still framed as ‘rare’ instead of ‘structural’—even in modern narratives?
Anoshka: I think that women operate in such silent ways that often her contribution to the society and to the organization is mistaken as duty rather than efficiency and ambition. An ambitious woman is not honored by a society, a dutiful daughter that helps running the machinery of the society is seen as normalcy.
WE Today: As a founder and author, you operate in a digital economy obsessed with visibility. Do you believe power today is louder—or are the most powerful women still the ones moving quietly, strategically, and without spectacle?
Anoshka: You are right in saying that in today’s age the visual language of power is given more prominence and it is all about how you market yourself to the world and make them perceive you and your brands. But I still believe a woman who shows aggression will be ridiculed and dismissed by society. A woman can now be publicly visible but she still has to be very strategic in how she wants to be perceived.
WE Today: You’ve built Enroute Indian History as a counter-narrative platform. Was that an act of rebellion against mainstream storytelling—or a conscious attempt to redistribute intellectual power?
Anoshka: My company has always been a trendsetter when it comes to shaking things up in society. I was perhaps the first woman to start conducting heritage walks after dark in Delhi. Similarly we started digital walks and ladies night walks during pandemic. And not just that we remain the only heritage company that employs women only. This has been purposeful to create a niche in a society that has long been unfair to women and their role in history.
WE Today: In an age of performative feminism and viral activism, what worries you more: women being denied power, or women being offered symbolic power without real authority?
Anoshka: I think women getting token power and being selected only for the sake of symbolism is truly scary and I don’t see it changing even in the near future.
WE Today: If the Begums you write about were alive in 2026—running governments,companies, or cultural institutions—what would they challenge us about the way we define leadership, success, and ambition today?
Anoshka: I don’t think they would challenge it as such- the norms of the society and how power politics work has not changed in the centuries of civilization. Diplomacy and strategy still works over aggression and being pushy.