Friday 19th April 2024
Following the PM Oli’s controversial statements on Ayodhya, the Department of Archaeology (DOA) has come forward to begin archaeological studies on the possibility of Lord Ram’s birthplace being in Nepal.
The DOA is set to conduct archaeological studies Madi Ayodhyapuri of Chitwan district to trace out evidence regarding the birthplace of Lord Ram.
“As a responsible body to undergo archaeological excavation, research and study about cultural and religious sites in the country, we can’t refrain from our duty, especially after the statement made by our PM,” said Damodar Gautam, Director General at DoA.
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“DoA would hold an interdisciplinary knowledge sharing program of historians, cultural experts, religious leaders, professors, and researchers. We will then finalize on where our major excavation will be conducted,” he added.
Meanwhile, locals at Chitwan expressed that the presence of 900 years old architectural materials in the Madi area might shed light on the birthplace of Lord Ram.
“Pieces of old bricks, stones and mud will be shown to the study team,” said local Shree Prasad Dawadi.
Likewise, Thakur Prasad Dhakal, Mayor of Madi Municipality, said that the evidence received at Madi-1 regarding horse stable and playgrounds of Luv and Kush matched with the religious texts relating to Lord Ram.
“The Sanskrit experts said that the Ayodhya present in India is also debatable. But this is not enough to prove that Lord Ram was born here in Nepal,” said Mayor Thakur.
The DoA has undertaken many archaeological excavations on various river banks across Dhanusa, Bara and Chitwan districts in the past couple of years.
“We have enough evidence that ancient civilization existed in those areas. But we don’t yet have any evidence suggesting that real Ayodhya as claimed by the PM existed in any of those districts,” said Director Gautam.
