No historical proof of Ram: Centre

NEW DELHI: The Ramayana may have moved millions since civilisation took root, but for the Centre, Valmiki’s immortal tale of Lord Ram lacks scientific and historical veracity.

"Valmiki Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas admittedly form an important part of ancient Indian literature, but these cannot be said to be historical records to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the characters and occurrences of events depicted therein," the government said in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, instantly setting the stage for a political showdown with the Sangh Parivar.

The contention, which BJP attacked as blasphemy, forms part of the government’s opposition to the demand to stop the Sethusamudram project on the ground that it would destroy part of Adam’s Bridge.

BJP and the larger Sangh Parivar have justified the resistance to the project by claiming that Adam’s Bridge is, in fact, Ram Setu, built by Lord Ram to get his army across to Lanka to rescue Sita from Ravana’s captivity. To buttress their point, they have quoted Valmiki Ramayana, which mentions the Ram Setu.