Meenakshi Jain’s Book Rama & Ayodhya

Left academics and journalists have been trying to propagate the idea that Lord Rama became a deity for the Hindus in the sixteenth century, after Goswami Tulsidas composed his Ramcharitmanas. They assert that Rama’s divinity was never recognized by the Buddhists and the Jains. Meenakshi Jain has refuted their assertions in her book, Rama & Ayodhya. 

Three lengthy chapters in her book are devoted to proving that since ancient times the tradition of worshiping Rama was an important characteristic of the culture of the Indian subcontinent. She has cited from not just ancient Hindu texts but also Buddhist texts, including Dashratha Kathanam, which has been dated to the first century CE, and early Jain literature to establish that Rama was a deity for all Indians since ancient times. 

She covers the importance of Ayodhya as a sacred place for Hindus in ten chapters, citing from Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain texts, and from Islamic chroniclers, and European administrators and travelers. Her analysis of the evidence unearthed by the Archeological Survey Of India (ASI) makes it absolutely clear that a Rama temple existed at the disputed site since ancient times. 

The British era land revenue records and reports that she has cited in her book reveal that the British administrators recognized that Ayodhya was a Hindu holy place and that the Babri Masjid was built on the orders of the Mughal Sultan after pulling down a Rama temple, which marked the exact spot where Rama was born. 

She examines the legal issues, including the pronouncements of the Allahabad High Court, to establish that no Waqf land has ever been associated with the disputed site because the land grant had been made by the British government, a non-Islamic entity. 

Jain writes, “The belligerence of Left academics was at odds with their inability to validate and authenticate their assertions in court.” Irfan Habib and Romila Thapar are among the left academics whose views Jain has examined and countered. The book contains interesting pictures of excavated areas in Ayodhya, ancient coins, idols, stone pillars, seals, and maps. I have found Jain’s book very informative, scholarly, and well-argued.