By Roo
Hey there, this is the fifteenth article of ‘A Column by Roo.’ I hope you liked the previous one. It’s been a while around here, and I hope it gives you a better perspective.
This month the subject is “Ram ke naam”, This is a national award and filmfare award-winning work. Anand Patwardhan collected footage following the L K Advani Rath yatra for 2 years. He interviewed people on the way and in Ayodhya. Compiling all of that came out as a documentary Ram ke Naam (In the name of God).
Let’s do a critical analysis of this documentary. With absolutely unbiased thoughts, relying only on facts, and not disrespecting any person, group of people, or their faith, let’s begin the surgery!
Assuming you have watched the documentary (available on YouTube), I won’t get into the story but directly start with the facts.
The narrator sets a chronology saying Babri Masjid was built in 1528, in Ayodhya. After about 50 years, Saint Tulsidas wrote Ramacharitramanas and popularized the story of Shri Rama. By the 19th century Ayodhya was filled with temples of Shri Rama. Several of these claimed that Shri Ram was born in Ayodhya.
There are a few questions here. Until Tulsidas’s Ramacharitramanas was there no temple in Ayodhya or for that matter in India?
The reality might be different.
Shri Ranganatha Ramayanam by Gona Budda Reddy, the Telugu version of Ramayana written in 1310 CE (268 years before Ramacharitramanas). Sapthakanda Ramayana by Kaviraja Madhava Kandali, is an Assamese version of Ramayana written in the 14th century (278 years before Ramacharitramanas). Krittivasi Ramayan by Mahakavi Krittibas Ojha is the Bengali version of Ramayana written in the 15th century (almost 100 years before Ramacharitramanas). Ramayanu by Krishnadasa Shama is the Konkani version of Ramayana written in the 15th century (again about 100 years before Ramacharithramanas. Kumudendu Ramayana by Kumudendu is a Jain version of Ramayana in Kannada in the 13th century (300 years before Ramacharitramanas). Ramachandra Charitra Purana by Nagachandra is another Kannada version of Ramayana (written about 430 years before Ramacharitramanas). Ramacharitam by Cheeraman, is a Malayalam version of Ramayana written in the 12th century (400 years before Ramacharitramanas). Kannassa Ramayanam by Niranam Rama Panicker is another Malayalam version of Ramayana written in the 14th century (about 200 years before Ramacharitramanas). Vilanka Ramayana by Sarala Das, is an Odia version of Ramayana written in the 15th century (about 100 years before Ramacharitramanas) Kamba Ramayana written by Kavichakravarthi Kamban is a Tamil version of Ramayan written in the 12th century (about 400 years before Ramacharitramanas).
Ramayana was popular among people even before Ramacharitramanas. There was no Instagram, YouTube, or X to set trends on stories. Postal services and pigeons were restricted only to the royal family. For a story to seep into such far-off places might have taken not less than centuries. Chronologically Ramacharitramanas wasn’t the first version of Ramayana.
Next, temples. (Other than the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple) The Kanak Bhawan temple of Ayodhya was built in 387 AD (about 1200 years before Ramacharitramanas). The Ammapalli Sita Rama Chandra Swami Temple in Shamshabad, Telangana has stood upright since the 12th century (400 years before Ramacharitramanas). The Kalaram Temple in Nashik, Maharashtra, was built between the 7th and 11th centuries (500 years before Ramacharitramanas). These are just the temples with their construction being recorded and matched with the modern calendar. There are thousands of temples in the sub-continent commonly in southern India dedicated to Shri Ram and surviving invasions and destructions. It is now very clear that temples dedicated to Shri Ram were prevalent in India even before the birth of Saint Tulsidas or Babur (for that matter). Ramacharitramanas is an excellent poetry. It is still being chanted in various temples all over the world. People draw inspiration from this poetry. Though it never claims that Shri Ram never existed before Saint Tulsidas.
The narrator also says the British were quite unhappy seeing the brotherhood between Hindus and Muslims. British started spreading the rumor that a Mughal ruler named, Babur destroyed Ram Janmabhoomi Temple to build a mosque. There is a saying in Forensics, “No evidence doesn’t mean no crime.” There might be a lack of evidence at the time when the documentary was filmed or the makers might have been ignorant of the facts. Presently, there is ample evidence to state that Babur destroyed the temple and built a mosque on the same site. There is literary evidence, there is archeological evidence, and cultural evidence for the fact. Honorable Supreme Court of India in its landmark judgment also clearly stated the fact of Babur destroying the temple and building a mosque.
The documentary continues to show the Rath yatra, how it was used by a political party to increase the share of votes in their favor, and how uneducated, illiterate, and uncivilized a particular religion is. Addressing each issue, 1) Political parties increasing their share of votes by various means is common in India. From reducing fuel prices during elections, giving away freebies, distributing alcohol, or even direct money, appeasing a particular group in a society by approving their illegal demands, indulging in various scams to leech out money, to spreading hatred among people by creating tensions among people. Very few political parties have clean chit for these. Normalizing this during elections is not good. Picking up instances and separated from their context makes little sense.
2) how uneducated Hindus are? The literacy rate of Hindus in India is 63.60% according to the Census report of 2011. If you randomly pick 100 people in a room, ~64 people will be literate. What if you pick, 100 illiterate people, and say that, since these are illiterate the whole Hindu community is illiterate? This is the same as you go to an engineering college and find no medical students, therefore conclude the city/country has no medical students.
No religion in the world is deprived of blind beliefs. Some say dipping in holy waters makes one sacred, others say bathing in a holy river makes us sacred. One says to worship in temples, other says God is everywhere. Religion is purely based on faith and fear. A person has faith in God that he will get help from God when in trouble and fears god when committing sins. No religion is superior or inferior to each other. The number of people following that is surely not an indicator of superiority. Portraying some beliefs of the religion to be unscientific doesn’t make it inferior at all.
Does wearing a dhoti on the streets make us uncivilized? Most Indians think it is yes. People are never seen in Dhotis in elite malls, theatres, car showrooms, or restaurants. Does being Indian mean being uncivilized? Why does complying with Western outfits make us civilized? We are among the ancient civilizations. Much earlier than the Europeans dotted Europe. Being dressed in Indian outfits makes us more civilized, we become part of a 100 to 1000-year legacy of the art of sewing and stitching clothes. India after the British rule has forgotten its roots, The British were successful in their conquest, I can say. We believe in Western products than ours. Imported products have overhead prices not because they have to be transported from a distance, but because there is increased demand. I am not an economist, but surely can understand importing a lot is bad for the country.
I feel some parts of this documentary are trying to spread a specific propaganda. This contains twisted truths, baseless historical facts, and masked stories. It served the purpose of the people who wanted to spread this propaganda. It is incorrect to malign the country, its history, or its people.
Hope you got the feather,
See you in the next column,
-Roo
Liber 