‘Ramayana Trail’ in focus again

The Royal Asiatic Society is inviting the public to participate in a symposium at the Mahaweli Centre, Colombo 07 on July 17 on the negative impact on Sri Lanka by promoting the Ramayana legend for tourism purposes.

Leading academics, scholars and intellectuals will be among the speakers. They include Professor Tissa Kariyawasam (Ramayana in Sinhalese literature), Prof, Oliver Abeynaike (Indian Tourist Authorities’ “Buddhist Circuit” but no Indian “Ramayana Circuit”), Dr. Hema Goonatilake (Marketing Thailand for a mythical Ramayana instead of historical Buddhist sites), Dr. Nihal Perera (The factual pre-history of Sri Lanka), Dr. Malini Dias (Distortions of archaeological evidence) former Ambassador Bandu de Silva (Foreign policy implications of the "Ramayana Trail") and the Venerable Hegoda Vipassi (My travails in refuting the Ramayana Trail).

Presentations will be delivered both in English and Sinhala.

The irony of this whole issue is that Sri Lanka which is historically recognized as the most important seat of Theravada Buddhism is promoting a Hindu fiction while India - the birth place of the Ramayana legend is popularizing the Buddhist circuit instead of Ramayana which is not supported by any historical or scientific evidence, according to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) which earlier filed an affidavit in the Indian Supreme Court to that effect.

Despite all this however ‘Ramayana’ continues to feed the egos of Indian Hindu zealots, especially the Shiv Sena and RSS (Raashtriya Svyam Seva) types. The fiction belittles Sri Lanka although it is apparently no cause for concern to the country’s tourism authorities. (The only aspect favourable to Sri Lanka here was that call emanating from Hindus for the protection and preservation of Ram Sethu or the so-called Rama’s Bridge – the historical rock bridge linking the island with India, delayed the Sethusamundram Shipping Channel Project)

According to the legend Indian Prince Rama defeats Sri Lankan King Ravana who is betrayed by his own younger brother Vibhishana. The latter’s knowledge about the kingdom’s secrets of Lanka proves invaluable to Rama. Vibhishana freely divulges many secrets that become keys to the success of Rama's attack. The latter rewards Vibhishana for his treachery by crowning him king of Lanka after Ravana’s defeat.

Ravana supposedly is a demon king and Rama is a god. And today it is this Indian god who is important to Sri Lankan Tourism Authorities and not Ravana since there is no money in promoting the legend from the Sri Lankan angle. Today the Indian god want us to implement the 13th Amendment and perhaps listen to the modern Vibhishanas who have been justifying Indian, Western and UN interference in Sri Lankan affairs since the outbreak of LTTE terrorism.

As Attorney Gomin Dayasiri noted in the Daily Mirror of July 12 “India’s enigmatic diplomacy in furtherance of sub continent dominance is to contain its neighbours with fractured societies. India suffers from internal divisions and pathologically desires those on the borders must endure the same fate. In the neighbourhood of malevolent supremacy; LTTE tuned by India was to keep Lanka on a checkmate position.”


Source:http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/07/13/%E2%80%98ramayana-trail%E2%80%99-focus-again