Tuesday
The readings for Tuesday illuminate how the Ramayana has been used in the political arena. The Reuters article talks about the efforts by Hindu Nationalist Prime Minister Modi to rewrite the history of India. Their goal was to establish that "ancient Hindu scriptures are fact not myth." 1/5 of the population is not Hindu. If the history is successfully rewritten then the multiculturalism of the country will be lost.
In the other reading, "The Rama Temple Incident," the power that the figure of Rama has and how it is manipulated are shown. Like the "History, Myth, Indian and Hinduism" article it shows how aspects of Hinduism, Rama in particular are used to place Hinduism above other religions. The piece says " "Rama legend represents the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism (23)." This is a problem because it claims that Hinduism is better than the other religions.
Thursday
This reading shows the similarities and the ways that Hindus and Muslims can come together. It shows how Muslims have contributed to the scholarly work of the Ramayana. Justice Ismail is one such scholar. He has "been recognized and decorated for his scholarship by many Hindu groups (277)." I think that the fact that the scholarship crosses over the boundaries of religion would cause people who are attempting to establish the Hindu legends as fact second thought. By demoting people such as Ismail they are hindering the knowledge of their own religion.