Lord Ram is not an Indian, he’s a Nepali, says Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli

Amid ongoing diplomatic scuffle with India, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday claimed that the Hindu idol Lord Ram was actually born in Ayodhya village of Nepal and not in India as alleged. This has come after Nepal staked a claim to Indian territories of Lipulekh-Kalapani about a month ago when its lower house parliament gave a green flag to a new controversial map that showed these as Nepalese territories.

“Although real Ayodhya lies at Thori, a city in the west of Birgunj, India has claimed that Lord Rama was born there. Due to these continuous claims even we have believed that deity Sita got married to Prince Rama of India. However, in reality, Ayodhya is a village lying west of Birgunj in Nepal,” the Prime Minister was quoted saying during a program at his official residence in Kathmandu.

Oli further advocated his argument by stating that it was impossible for Lord Ram to know about Janakpur or to travel there to get married in the absence of quick means of communication as the distance between Ayodhya and Janakpur is far too vast. “Janakpur lies here and Ayodhya there and there is talk of marriage. There was neither telephone nor mobile then how could he know about Janakpur.” He said.

As per reports, Oli also expressed that Nepal is culturally oppressed and went ahead to accuse India of encroaching the facts. “Till now we have remained under the belief that Ram, the man Sita married, was an Indian…he was not, he was a Nepali” PM KP Oli added. 

Real Ayodhya lies in Nepal, not in India. Lord Ram is Nepali not Indian: Nepali media quotes Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli (file pic) pic.twitter.com/k3CcN8jjGV

— ANI (@ANI) July 13, 2020

A statement of this sort on such a sensitive issue is sure to spark reactions as Lord Ram is one of the most significant Hindu deities. 

Earlier in 2018, Indian PM Narendra Modi had visited Janakpur in Nepal and had inaugurated a direct bus service to Ayodhya as part of a ‘Ramayan Circuit’ to promote religious tourism. Modi had also announced a Rs 100 crore package to develop Janakpur. In recent Prime Minister Modi had a conversation with Nepali PM through video conference during reviving SAARC to fight against Covid19 pandemic.

Recommended Read: Biden to raise Kashmir issue with India