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‘Ramayan’ was watched by both Hindus and non-Hindus alike, but Hindu viewers had a deeper relationship with the television series. Most Hindu viewers claimed that they experienced bhakti, a personal connection between them and their worship, while watching ‘Ramayan’. Hindus also believed that it contained important lessons of morality, politics, ideal manhood and womanhood that could be easily incorporated in everyday life. Non-Hindu populations—particularly Muslims and Sikhs—that par took in the viewing of ‘Ramayan’ disagreed with this belief. When interviewed by the author of this article, non-Hindus claimed that they did not believe that ‘Ramayan’ conveyed important moral lessons. However, non-Hindus approved of the depiction of the ideal relationship between Sita and Rama, and many non-Hindu women even emphasized with Sita and her misfortunes. It was aired in an attempt to promote non-tolerance of non-Hindus, but was disguised as a television series that reinforced religious tolerance of Hindus. The author of this article is biased against the acceptance of non-Hindus; she supports the idea of a pure, Hindu nation. In both the epic and the television series, non-Hindus are depicted as evil, particularly Ravan when he captures Sita. This depiction of non-Hindus provided a boost in support of Hindu nationalism. The Ramayana and “Ramayan” also portray Hinduism as India’s national culture, and caused readers and viewers (and the author of this article) to become nostalgic for what they believe is their nation’s past—a pure, utopian Hindu kingdom, untainted by non-Hindus.
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ISBN : 9788121245111
Pages : 82
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