If you want to talk about peace and harmony in this sub-continent, perhaps we must begin with a question how and why peaceful people in this country started worshiping war stories. Both Ramayana and Mahabharata are exemplary works. The variations of the stories as per diverse cultures and regions can also be intellectually analysed. Mahabharata is more complexly crafted than Ramayana, including hundreds of characters and hundreds of sub stories. It is not a linear work. The inclusion of Dalit characters and women characters are also filled with complexities in many of these stories. At one level, we can even think whether they are the real heroes. But, ultimately, the main thread of both the stories are oriented towards war. Therefore, how and why the war stories became a topic for worship in this subcontinent would be the real question. And when Gandhi died with three bullets, he uttered the words `Hey Ram'. Ram is portrayed as a war hero in Ramayana. But Gandhi’s ideology was based on non-violence. How could non-violence and war go together? Interestingly, the bullets came from an RSS activist as per the historical reports and RSS was banned in those days after the murder of Gandhi. But RSS also stood by Ram. That is certainly understandable given the history of the politics of hatred, aggression and violence initiated especially after the Babari Masjid demolition. But what was the attraction towards a war hero from a non-violent ideologist? This may explain many things about the character of Indian psyche today. Perhaps Sunil P. Ilayidam may be able to answer this question more clearly.
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