Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
For centuries, the Ramayana has been retold, questioned and transformed by poets, performers, Dalit and Adivasi communities, Buddhists, Jains, and cultures across South and Southeast Asia.
This plurality carries political power - hundreds of Ramayanas mean hundreds of communities with the authority to interpret the past.
So when a new mega-budget Bollywood film presents the epic as “Our Truth. Our History,” we must ask: Who is included within that “our”? Who gets to transform mythology into national history? And whose versions must disappear for one story to become sacred, final and uncontested?
The battle over the Ramayana is ultimately a battle over who possesses the authority to narrate India.
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For centuries, the Ramayana has been retold, questioned and transformed by poets, performers, Dalit and Adivasi communities, Buddhists, Jains, and cultures across South and Southeast Asia.
This plurality carries political power - hundreds of Ramayanas mean hundreds of communities with the authority to interpret the past.
So when a new mega-budget Bollywood film presents the epic as “Our Truth. Our History,” we must ask: Who is included within that “our”? Who gets to transform mythology into national history? And whose versions must disappear for one story to become sacred, final and uncontested?
The battle over the Ramayana is ultimately a battle over who possesses the authority to narrate India.
Subscribe for more videos: ajplus.co/subscribe
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/ajplus
Follow us on TikTok: tiktok.com/@ajplus
Follow us on X: https://x.com/ajplus
