Yechury should desist from making half-baked comments

Politics is hard business we understand, and politicians can go to any extent to gather votes. Sitaram Yechury, raised a polemic that Mahabharata and Ramayana are full of violence, in a desperate attempt to seek votes.

Western Indology, emanating from the likes of Wendy Doniger and Sheldon Pollock, has its own 'scholarly' interpretations of our scriptures as basically full of violence and sexual innuendos. Ganesha's trunk becomes a limp phallus, Mahabharata becomes a violent story, and so on.

Eager Indian sepoys unfortunately use these sordid and distorted interpretations which have no bearing on our traditional and respectful commentarial approach.

Our traditional commentators believed that the author always knew more than the reader, which is not the way of foreign academics. Some Indians here and abroad have no problem in using these vicious theories to cause fissures in an already fragmented Indian society.

Similarly, Communists, having no hesitation to bend to foreign think-tanks, also use this strategy to apply vicious narratives to our traditions.

Their ingrained philosophy of the exploiter and the exploited colours their every image and hearing. This is very sad and unfortunate.

Mahabharata and Ramayana are the greatest scriptures belonging to the land, belonging to the country, and belonging to Sanatana Dharma. The religions, including Hinduism, came much later.

Showing disrespect to Mahabharata (which is also the fifth Veda), and the Ramayana is akin to disrespecting one's own mother.

A reading of these scriptures has no other connotation except belonging to the great land or philosophy of Sanatana Dharma irrespective of religion, caste, sect, and language.

In fact, they belong unequivocally to all humankind. People have gained Moksha after their readings.

If at all these scriptures unite India into one cultural-social unit, irrespective of any affiliations; and this should be the only understanding.

Half-baked ideas and political ideologies while commenting on the Ramayana and Mahabharata are truly condemnable acts.

Dr Pingali Gopal, Warangal