New Delhi: Citing the Hindu epic Ramayana, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said if a war is necessary to protect a woman’s honour, it must be fought, even though war can be devastating.
At the fifth International Ramayana Festival in New Delhi Tuesday, Shah said: “How is a woman’s honour protected… Those who understand the horrors of war and its devastating consequences also say that when a woman’s honour is lost, the state is lost, culture is lost. That’s why if a war is necessary to protect a woman’s honour, it must be fought.”
Shah also said the Hindu epic has the solutions to all the world’s problems.
“I would like to tell everyone to read the Ramayana once. If they do, they can find solutions to their personal, social and national problems. The solutions to all worldly problems can be found in this epic,” he said.
“The Ramayana is not only a poem to explain ideal life, but it contains a number of dialogues which helps us understand ethics, good governance, knowledge, art of war, science and technology.”
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Ambassador to the world
Speaking about the fact that numerous countries have participated in the Ramayana Festival over its five editions, Shah said the Ramayana has played the role of India’s cultural ambassador before the world, and there was hardly any language into which it hadn’t been translated.
The three-day festival has been organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations under the Ministry for External Affairs. Shah explained that the aim of ICCR is to popularise Indian culture in the world, and the Ramayana Festival is the best way to achieve that.
Groups from eight countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, are participating in this edition of the festival, and will also travel to Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram.
The festival is also set to be organised in Pune on 21 September, and in Lucknow between 20 and 22 September.
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