Ram and Sita were siblings? Linguist Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyay proved through evidence
Even decades before the present BJP-led India is over-zealous to attain Ram Rajya, there was a renowned Bengali linguist Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyay who actually defined the word ‘Ram Rajya’ and fell in the line of fire of many around. Often there is a belief Ram-Rajya is an ideal state where Ram, the exemplary ruler, is a righteous man, a protector, a respectable and adorable king who wields the hands of justice. So, any utterance against Ram is sacrilegious and Ram-bhakts will bay for blood to set things right. But five decades ago, a Bengali intellectual and academician dared to question and change the very relationship between Ram and Sita in his analytical study of the Ramayan and as was expected, he invited the ire of hardcore Hindus and devotees of Ram.
It was way back in 1968 when Suniti Kumar presented his findings in seminars held in Calcutta and Delhi on the ancient source of Ram-Katha. Controversy started as soon as he led bare his findings in his study papers. The first controversy started when he claimed that Ramayan is not just a Hindu scripture and as proof, he reminded the learned audience about Buddhism and the existence of 13 Dashrath-Jatak stories in Pali language. Chattopadhyay also claimed that Ramayan was not authored by Valmiki alone but many other hermits and ancient poets also contributed to the writing of the epic. He proved his point with evidences. This was enough to cause a furor among radical Hindus.
Things took a turn for the worse when Chattopadhyay dropped a bombshell and insisted that in the Ramayan, Ram and Sita were siblings! In other words, the protagonists of the great epic were involved in an incestuous relationship – something that is unacceptable to society even to this day. Naturally, 50 years ago there was an uproar and people reacted vehemently to his findings. A scathing attack was launched against Chattopadhyay. He was insulted, threatened with dire consequences, anonymous letters with death threats were dropped at his residence. It created a huge controversy in the country.
But nothing could deter Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyay. The reactions only cemented his hypothesis and he insisted that there must be truth in the findings or else why would people oppose the very idea so rigidly instead of trying to think it from another point of view and draw conclusions based on research and analysis. Chattopadhyay researched diligently for evidences and presented them publicly to establish his findings.
