India Tomorrow

NEW DELHI, JULY 14—In a sweeping statement that is bound to shake the very edifice of Hindutva politics assiduously built around the symbol of Lord Ram by RSS/BJP in India, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Monday claimed that the “real” Ayodhya, the place where the Hindu deity was born, is in Nepal.

The Nepali PM’s claim has far-reaching implications for India’s ruling dispensation as it contradicts their oft-repeated claim that Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya located in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.  By claiming that Thori in southern Nepal is the place where the Hindu icon was born, he sought to deprive the BJP the very base on which it built its political fortunes since 1990s. It is another matter that Oli himself is currently fighting for his political survival at home with growing dissidence in his party.

As expected, the BJP was quick to condemn Oli for his remarks. Party’s spokesperson Bizay Sonkar Shastri saw in Oli’s statement a Leftist conspiracy against the Hindus. Drawing a parallel between Leftists in India and Nepal, he said the Communists in Nepal would be rejected by the masses the way they have been rejected here for playing with people's faith.

He asserted, "Lord Ram is a matter of faith for us, and people will not allow anybody, be it the prime minister of Nepal or anyone, to play with this."

Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, heading the trust to build Ram Temple in Ayodhya, asked Nepal PM to keep Lord Ram out of his politics. “PM Oli must know that Lord Ram was a ‘chakravarti’ emperor and Nepal was also a part of his kingdom. Ties between India and Nepal are even older than history,” he said.

Taking a dig at Nepal PM, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (Ayodhya unit) spokesperson Sharad Sharma suspected that communist China appeared to be prompting PM Oli to make the “absurd” claim. “All religious scriptures prove that Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya in India,” he said.

Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that Oli seemed to have lost his mental balance. In a tweet, the congress leader said, “#Oli#Nepal PM seems 2hv lost his mental balanceor is puppet&parrot like mouthing lines scripted by desperate #Chinese. 1st he claimed territories never earlier claimed by #Nepal. Now he relocates #Ram#sita#Ayodhya & #RamRajya a few hundred miles away from Ayodhya inside Nepal!”

In Kathmandu, former PM Baburam Bhattarai also took a swipe at PM Oli. He described Oli’s statements as “unhealthy”. He said  it is “dangerous” to leave Oli without barricades”. 

Oli made the “controversial” statement at an event held at his residence in Kathmandu to commemorate the birth anniversary of Nepalese poet Bhanubhakta. He said that Nepal "has become a victim of cultural encroachment and its history has been manipulated."

Bhanubhakta was born in 1814 in Tanhu of western Nepal and is credited for translating Valmiki's Ramayan into the Nepali language. He died in 1868.

Regretting the BJP claim over the birthplace of Lord Ram, Oli said, "Although the real Ayodhya lies at Thori in the west of Birgunj, India has claimed the Indian site as the birthplace of Lord Ram.”

While conceding that Sita was married to Ram, Oli said that Sita, who also came from Nepal, was not given in marriage to an Indian prince. He said there was no possibility of Ram coming all the way from the present-day Ayodhya to Nepal for his marriage when there was no communication and transportation system.

"The place called Thori, near Birgunj is the real Ayodhya, where Lord Ram was born. In India, there is a great dispute on Ayodhya. But, there is no dispute in our Ayodhya," Prime Minister Oli was quoted as saying by his press advisor Surya Thapa.

The Nepalese PM further said that the ashram of Valmiki, the poet who authored epic Ramayana is also in Nepal as also the holy place where King Dasharath, Ram’s father, had executed the rites (putresti yagna) to get the son, is in Nepal’s Ridi.

Since Dashrath was the ruler of Nepal, Oli argued it is natural that his son Ram was also born in Nepal. Hence the real Ayodhya lies in Nepal, he declared.

Prime Minister Oli came at a time when he is fighting his political battle for survival with his back to the wall. Demand for his resignation is picking up momentum with each passing day in the wake of a rift in the ruling Nepal Communist Party over his style of functioning. Some ruling party leaders are aligning with the southern neighbour to remove him from power after his government issued a new political map incorporating three Indian territories of Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura.

(The story has been written by Delhi-based freelance journalist Rasheeduddin Khaja).