Silchar: Talk on ‘Negotiating the Concept of Ramrajya in the Ramayana’

SILCHAR: There is immense potential for new research on the ideals of kingship, duty, governance, and social responsibility in the Ramayana. This was stated by Prof. Bishnu Charan Dash, Professor of English, Assam University, Diphu Campus, in the course of his talk on “Negotiating the Concept of Ramrajya in the Ramayana,” delivered under the auspices of the South-East Asia Ramayana Research Centre recently.

Convened under the directorship of Dr. Sabita Sarma, the programme began with an auspicious mangalacharan by Dr. Nandita Bhattacharya who also recited hymns extolling the divine virtues of Goddess Saraswati. In her opening remarks, Dr. Sabita Sarma welcomed the audience and outlined the objectives of the centre towards preserving the valuable works of Dr. Indira Goswami and also carrying forth her dream of encouraging research on the Ramayana.

Speaking as the chairperson of the talk, Dr. Nandita Bhattacharya emphasised upon the importance of understanding the relevance and significance of the epics in the present time, and appreciated the Centre for its continued activities in this direction. During his lecture, Prof. Bishnu Charan Dash expressed his sense of tremendous gratitude towards Indira Goswami for having been a constant source of support and inspiration for him during her lifetime.

Appreciating her position as a “feminist humanist,” he spoke at length about her contribution towards the comparative study of the Ramayana. Speaking in this vein, he moved on to discuss the varied dynamics of the concept of Ramrajya and showed how the said concept could be analyzed in the light of both Eastern and Western ideals of kingship and governance. He particularly referred to the idea of the Republic as formulated by Plato and drew possibilities of comparative research with the concept of Ramrajya in Valmiki’s epic poem. He cited multiple references from the classical and vernacular works belonging to the Sanskrit and European traditions of literary criticism and philosophy.

Responding to his lecture, Dr. Dhurjjati Sarma raised a point regarding the fashioning of the Ramayana as a “text” and the contribution of the latter-day retellings towards constructing a vibrant genre of Ramkatha in Indian languages, including Assamese and Karbi. The talk was attended by quite a few distinguished academics from Guwahati, most notably, by Prof. Robin Goswami and Dr. Gautam Sarma, who enriched the ensuing discussion with their insightful comments and observations, stated a press release.

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