Ankit Mayank is an entrepreneur, powerful youth leader, motivator and developer. He shared powerful insights that led to the current times in India, today under the Bharatiya Janata Party. This is a guest post by Ankit Mayank. Thank you Ankit.
The telecast of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan on Doordarshan in 1987 was a turning point in the revival of RSS’s political dreams and the rise of extremist Hindu Nationalism. It can be also rightly attributed as the beginning of the decline of India as a secular state. Ramanand Sagar was politically involved with RSS and thus silently but smartly he incorporated RSS propaganda while writing the show. He even went on to write few scenes that were not a part of any version of Ramayana but aimed at spreading RSS propaganda. Ramanand Sagar also successfully planted the idea of “Ram Janmabhoomi” into the mind of every other Indian.
Ram Janmabhoomi was merely a political movement by RSS before 1987 but after Ramayan went on air, it slowly turned it into a social extremist militant movement. The concept of “Ram Rajya” was also introduced as a desirable but very distant utopia. For RSS & militant organisation like VHP, it proved to be a perfect catalyst to their mission. It also inspired many young recruits to join the movement to form the Bajrang Dal. Unsurprisingly, Ramanand Sagar was also present at the ‘Virat Hindu Sammelan’ held in UK in August, 1989, organised by few rich RSS members. A call for Hindus to “awaken” and the Babri Masjid demolition were discussed with references to take up “Shastra” or weapons. Finally in 1989, BJP formally announced its key political agenda — construction of a Ram Mandir on Ram Janmabhoomi where Babri Masjid had stood for over 400 years.
In 1990, LK Advani launched the Rathyatra from the “secular India” to the “burning India” over dead bodies. 33 years have passed but the truth remains— India wasn’t just watching Ramayan, but was taking part in RSS propaganda.
A “Holy” propaganda which transformed Ram into a symbol of militant campaign of RSS’s political dreams while also turned crores of humans into “Hindus”.
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