“Ravana had ten heads but expansionist thinking led to his destruction.”: Uttarakhand minister sends Ramayana copy to Xi Jinping

Uttarakhand tourism minister Satpal Maharaj has reportedly sent a copy of the Ramayana to Xi Jinping. In a statement made in Dehradun, Maharaj has said that Jinping must draw lessons from the Ramayana at a time when China is making moves towards expansionism in the region.

Maharaj has said that Jinping must draw lessons from the great epic and know that expansionism was the reason for the downfall of Dashanan. He said, “Ravana is said to have ten heads which means he was as intelligent and powerful as 10 men but his end was unfortunate due to his expansionist thinking.”

Maharaj, representing the Chaubattakhal assembly constituency of Pauri Garhwal district, has said that this stance from China under Jinping will lead to destruction and consequences that were faced by Ravana.

Maharaj, who lives in Dehradun and has recently recovered from Covid-19, said, “I am sending this scripture to Honorable President of China Xi Jingping. I would request him to study the Ramayana and see what happened to Ravana who has intelligence and power second to none (sic).”

He added that China must help nations in their fight against Covid-19. Instead, the country under Jinping as its head is thinking of expansionism.

“The COVID-19 virus which originated in Wuhan of China has spread to almost every corner of the world. I wish he would have helped everybody instead of getting involved in border disputes,” he added.

Maharaj stressed on the contrasting stance of India towards other nations. He said that India’s attitude is not of expansionism, and that India did not approach Bangladesh with the attitude of expansionism even after emerging victorious.

He pointed out that on the other hand, China has shown its expansionist attitude towards Tibet, and he hopes that the reading of Ramayana would help the Chinese president get “sadbuddhi” (wisdom).

Maharaj had made a statement last week about rethinking tourism related projects in Uttarakhand that involve the role of Chinese companies for considering a ban following PM Narendra Modi’s announcement of banning Chinese apps.