Can we accept "300 Ramayanas"?
By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 25 October 2011, 22:19 IST   |    9 Comments
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Bangalore: Is it blasphemous to have many versions of Ramayana? Should there be only one reading of the Ramayana? Is it appropriate to teach a sensitive topic like "300 Ramayanas" to our university students? The current debate has been triggered by an unprecedented storm at Delhi University (DU) over the DU academic council's decision to remove Ramanujam's Ramayana essay from history syllabus. Students, teachers and historians are infuriated as they feel this is the work of saffron groups, who have forced the council to remove the essay which "represented the cultural diversity of India". Many Hindutva groups on the other hand have shown their displeasure for the essay, long since its introduction in 2006, as a history subject at DU. A CNN IBN poll showed mixed reactions on the issue. While 51 percent felt there could be many readings of Ramayana, 49 percent were against it.

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