Patna: Former Bihar Chief Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) president Jitan Ram Manjhi yet again hogged the limelight for the wrong reasons. Speaking about mythological characters of the Ramayana such as Lord Sri Ram and demon king Ravan, Manjhi said, "Ravan was more hard working and diligent compared to Lord Ram. Ravan was an erudite Sanskrit scholar. But, he (Ravan) was kept at the lower pedestal compared to Lord Ram. Both the characters were fictitious. But, Lord Ram was worshipped and put on a high esteem in comparison to Ravan."
Elaborating further, Manjhi said, "Lord Ram and Ravan were both imaginary figures. But, Ravan was projected in a poor light compared to Lord Ram. The mythological story in Ramayan is a fictional piece of writing. We were told to accept it that way. No one questions the loopholes (what was written in Ramcharitmanas). We should also speak about uplift of the poor. The Manuvadi mindset compelled us to believe what was written in the fictional mythological stories. We are not supposed to raise a pointing finger."
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"We worship holy book Ramcharitmanas authored by Goswami Tulsidas. People don't worship Ramayan written by poet Valimiki. Several stanzas in Ramcharitmanas put women, Dalits and others in a low esteem. Such offensive lines must be removed from Ramcharitmanas. In the books authored by Rahul Sankrityayan, Lokmanya Tilak, Lord Ram was mentioned as an imaginary character. But, when we were questioning or raising voice, then it is taken otherwise," Manjhi added.
