Nepal’s Ramayanas
O pundit, your hairsplitting's
So much bullshit. I'm surprised
You still get away with it.
If parroting the name
Of Rama brought salvation,
Then saying sugarcane
Should sweeten the mouth
– Kabir, translated by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra
In mid-July 2020, an obscure Nepali village called Thori, west of Birgunj, joined the ranks of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, Banawali in Haryana, Herat in western Afghanistan, and Rehman Dheri of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, all of which are claimed to be the birthplace of the Hindu god Ram. The evidence may come later; there may not even be any to begin with. But that does not matter for Nepal's Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, who has claimed Ram as Nepal's own, and accused India of cultural appropriation for calling the modern-day city of Ayodhya Ram's birthplace. Now, Nepali archaeologists will start excavations near Thori looking for signs of Ram, while the prime minister has instructed local officials to erect 'massive' statues of Ram, Sita and Lakshman by next Ram Nawami, the god's festival in March.