Typical of the ineptitude, double-standards, and a shameless vulgarity that characterizes it, the UPA government has done a volte face within 24 hours. As this superb piece elucidates, the UPA had no business to speculate on the historicity of Rama in an affidavit purported to defend its position on constructing the Sethu canal.
Having said this, the Sonia Maino-led administration’s efforts to challenge the Ramayana and the historicity of Rama to counter the VHP-led agitation needs to be condemned. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI), under instruction from the political leadership in New Delhi, filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court yesterday claiming that there was no historical evidence that Rama or other individuals in the Ramayana ever existed. The debate is no longer about the Sethusamudram but is now about the civilizational contours of India.
No secular Government has the prerogative to pontificate on religion unless the public good is adversely impacted. Rama and the Ramayana transcend history. They belong to the realm of religion and assume an importance independent of historical empiricism. While the ASI had the undeniable right to challenge the VHP’s position on the Sethusamudram canal, it had no authority to question the historicity of Rama.
Something needs to be said urgently about the stubbornness of the UPA to insist on being foolish–it’s almost timeless. The spurious brand of secularism that the Congress-Left combine imposed on the country for more than four decades ultimately culminated in Ayodhya, 1992. A political leadership that says it owes its election to secularism and the aam aadmi has used its machinery to interfere in a purely religious domain.
We might reasonably say that we are more or less witnessing the same phenomenon as the events leading up to Ayodhya 1992. An unholy nexus of the establishment, academia and media teaming up together to deny, distort and deceive a nation of its own priceless, timeless heritage. There’s a crucial difference though. During the Ayodhya episode, the government merely acted as a facilitator, and Rajiv Gandhi ultimately gave in due to the pressure mounted on him by Hindus. During the evidence-gathering phase, the government was–very broadly speaking–a scared spectator watching which way the scale turned. This time however, with lunatics like Karunanidhi in the UPA, the government has become the official spokesperson to pontificate on religious matters.
In the midst of a political controversy over the Sethusamudram project, the Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that there was no historical evidence to establish the existence of Lord Rama or the other characters in Ramayana.
As Jaffna rightly says,
I level a broader critique of the Congress administration. It would not have dared question the historicity of the Bible or Quran. But it sure feels empowered to dismiss Hindu literature through a Supreme Court affidavit. It would have been one thing to challenge the VHP’s position on the Sethusamudram, quite another to conveniently extend the attack on the Ramayana itself.
Perhaps, the UPA has quickly realized the stupidity of opening its mouth too quickly. Later in the day, it has "assured" the people that Rama did indeed exist!
The Centre will withdraw “offending remarks” from an affidavit which said there is no scientific or historical evidence to prove the existence of Lord Ram…. “Lord Ram is an integral part of Hindu faith” and his existence can never be doubted, said Union Law Minister H R Bharadwaj. He announced the Government would on Friday file a supplementary affidavit on the Sethusamudram canal project before the Supreme Court and the Archaeological Survey of India’s affidavit will be cleansed of offending remarks.
But the damage has been done. The perception of Hinduism and Hindu philosophy, Gods, symbols, and icons today is not the same as it was in 1992. Considering this issue in purely partisan political terms, the relative significance of Ayodhya and the Ram Sethu differ in their ability to rouse passions among Hindus. I seriously don’t know how many people had even heard about a Ram Sethu before the project to destroy it was announced. The UPA, by questioning Rama’s existence has thrown the boulder on its own foot.
PS: A few months ago, India Reacts had published a six-part series on the Sethusamudram project. It is a must-read. Start here.
Tags: Commentary, History, Indian Politics, Media Watch, Pseudo Secularism Hall of Shame, Society & Culture, War on Communism, Weblogs
On 09.13.07 rc says:
A quiz for your readers :
Who said this recently about Salman Khan:
“Salman Khan is unfortunate, Lord Ram also hunted a deer called Marichan but he is a God but Salman has to do jail time”
It is hard to explain this brazenness to people from outside Tamilnadu.
Interesting to note that the same ASI said that there was evidence of a “temple-like” structure beneath the Babri Masjid !!
On 09.13.07 Karthik says:
Well I am from TN and I can relate to what do you feel about the TN people and polticians. It is very sad that Ramasamy Nayakar(Periyar) and his ilk destroyed any kind of pride people had about their religion. They brianwashed and entire generation by demonising the Brahmins for all the ills of the society. That caused the Tamil society to disrespect anything that is even remotely identified with Brahminism. It was their slogan “If you see a Brahmin and a snake beat the Brahimn first”. This kind of hatred is very hard to get rid of. It is amazing that MK can attend Ifthar party but spit on anything related to Hindus. The amazing thing is that I am a non Brahmin and never realized anything like this and supported these morons in the first 25 years of my life when I was in TN. But now I am out of TN for the last 7 years I can clearly see the humiliation Hindu culture is subject to by TN politicans. My point the whole thing is institutionalized and the students are brainwashed so much they don’t even they are insulting their own history and religion. I am just not sure how to cure this sort of massive right wing revolution.
P.S Honestly I don’t believe in Ram setu either but the Govt has no right to hurt other peoples sentiment if a lot of people beleive in that. Can this govt declare Kuran is a fiction?.
On 09.14.07 Mayura says:
Sandeep,
There is a deeper consipary than meets the eye in this whole thing. Kalaignar Karunanidhi is a hardcore anti-hindu and anti-hindi. To him Ram and Ramayana are some thing imposed by the northies and he openly claims that his hero is Ravana and not Rama. I think by intiating to build the sethusamudram through his henchman T R Baalu,a central minister, he wants to wipe out the last of the remnants of Ramayana, viz. the Bridge built by Rama to vanquish the dravidian Ravana. This would in one sweep do away with the collective humiliation being suffered by Karunanidhi like people. This would also earn handsome electoral benefits in the local politics, for standing for dravidian cause. And also by going ahead with the project, it would ensure the next tsunami originating in and around indonesia, would travel all the way to the Kerala coast and wipe out the beaches rich in thorium deposits which is vital to our indigenous fast breeder reactors.
Mayura.
On 09.14.07 Shankar.R says:
Sandeep,
As you have rightly pointed, both Rama and Ramayana transcend time. For us Hindus, Ram is but an earthly manifestation of Brahman, the Supreme Soul existing beyond time and space. How can anyone date the undatable? How can anyone localize the all-pervading? But these commies and their band of fools cannot conceive of such an entity, Krupanas (”narrow-minded”) as they are. They seem to think that by denying historicity to Hinduism, they can give an inferiority complex to Hindus, without realizing the fact that Hinduism’s greatness does not stand on artificial concepts such as time and space.
On 07.06.08 Vamanan says:
It is great reading you…Rather than waste time on a distempered politicker with a questionable past, let us go to Rajaji…(who did not make a pie from public life unlike Karunanidhi who has amassed an astronomical fortune for his offspring…)
Rajaji, scarcely the one to grow sentimental would plead for Rama (and the Ramayana) in his Tamil rendering of Valmiki’s Ramayana…like this…
O…ye Tamil people..The Tamilian Kamban has answered the question whether any benefit comes out of reading the Ramayana or listening to discourses on it…We cannot find a greater intellect or truer fried than Kamban…
We do not possess a greater wealth or greater happiness than Sita, Rama, Hanuman and Bharata. Till the ganga and the cauvery flow, the story of Rama and Sita will protect the children of India like a loving mother…”
I retire with Rajaji arms on my shoulders…I have no time for men without values or virtues…
Keep it up Sandeep…