By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS
New Delhi : Putting to rest a nationwide political debate whether Lord Ram has any historicity or not, hundreds of historians said that he is “not a part of history” but “certainly lives in mind and soul”.
“Ram is not a historical figure. We don’t find proof of his existence in the pages of history. But let me clarify, he is in the minds and souls of millions of people,” said eminent historian Ram Sharan Sharma.
Sharma, who has written 115 books, said: “Let’s not fight in the name of Lord Ram. He is simply beyond history.”
Over 1,000 historians are in the national capital participating in the three-day Indian History Congress that ends Monday.
Baba Mishra, a leading historian from Orissa, said that not only the pages of history but recent archaeological excavation in several places have not found traces of Lord Ram.
“No, We don’t find any historicity of Ram. As a Hindu, I will continue to worship Lord Ram but when it comes to finding his historical existence, I will go by fact,” Mishra, a professor at Sambalpur University, told IANS.
“Excavation in Ayodhya, Nadigram and Shrungabirpur (all in Uttar Pradesh) has not found any trace of Lord Ram’s existence. As historians, we should not be biased – let’s keep our personal belief and fact separate,” he added.
Many historians at the congress said that Ram Setu controversy has its root in vote bank politics. They believe that like Ram, Ram Setu is not a man made structure.
G.J. Sudhakar, a historian from Chennai said: “Neither was Ram a human being nor was Ram Setu man made. Let’s not debate the historicity of Ram. I believe in Ram, and millions believe in him. Let Ram remain our faith and belief.”
“I think, Hindus will continue to worship him but he will not find a place in the pages of history,” said Sudhakar, a history professor at Loyola College, Chennai.
D.N. Roy, a professor of history at Bhagalpur University in Bihar, said politicians remember Lord Ram only before election.
“Opposing or favouring Lord Ram is a political move of all politicians. All political parties have been successful in politicising our belief and thus want to get political mileage out of it,” Roy said.
“It’s unfortunate that our politicians are dragging our belief, faith in the name of history. Let’s keep both things separate for the betterment of our younger children and next generation,” he said.
N.R. Jena, another historian from Orissa and Ashok Kumar Singh from Uttar Pradesh believe that government may evaluate environmental impact before dredging Ram Setu.
“If it will bring more economic benefit then government may go for it but they should not do this without assessing other things like historical and religious impacts,” Singh said.