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Kathmandu, 8 July 2025. Prime Minister of Nepal and senior leader of the CPN-UML, KP Sharma Oli, has once again stirred the Ram Janmabhoomi debate by asserting that Lord Ram was born in Nepal. Speaking at a program organized by the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department of the CPN-UML in Kathmandu yesterday, Oli boldly stated, \u201cLord Ram was born in Nepal, and there is no reason to fear promoting this fact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oli emphasized that this is not just a personal belief, but a historical truth based on the Valmiki Ramayan. He identified the Thori region in the Madi area of Chitwan as the actual birthplace of Lord Ram. Oli has made similar claims in the past, but this time he stated more explicitly, \u201cTruth should not be hidden just because someone might get offended.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShiva and Vishwamitra Belong to This Land Too\u201d \u2014 Oli<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Referring to episodes from the Indian epic Ramayan, Oli claimed that Sage Vishwamitra hailed from Chatara in Nepal and crossed the Koshi River to impart knowledge to Ram and Lakshman. \u201cI did not write this, Valmiki did,\u201d he said. Oli questioned why Nepal should shy away from cultural pride when India celebrates Lord Ram with such reverence.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Linking Culture with Tourism<\/strong><\/p>\n Oli criticized the Nepal Tourism Board, saying, \u201cWe don\u2019t need to travel abroad for promotion. We need to recognize our roots and promote them accordingly.\u201d He encouraged the use of online platforms to inform the world that Ram was born in Nepal, arguing that cultural heritage should be central to tourism strategies.<\/p>\n Why Is the Statement Controversial?<\/strong><\/p>\n Such assertions by Oli have previously created ripples in India-Nepal relations. In India, Ayodhya is regarded as the birthplace of Lord Ram, and a grand temple has recently been completed there. Oli\u2019s claim challenges deeply held religious and historical beliefs in India. However, he insists his intention is not to hurt anyone\u2019s sentiments but to reinforce Nepal\u2019s cultural identity.<\/p>\n A Strategic Cultural Assertion<\/strong><\/p>\n Observers believe Oli\u2019s statement is not merely religious or cultural\u2014it\u2019s tied to Nepal\u2019s identity, tourism potential, and nationalist rhetoric. Tying Lord Ram to Nepal could be a strategic move to place Nepal\u2019s ancient heritage on the global map. Oli has often made such statements, prompting widespread media coverage and public debate<\/p>\n Oli\u2019s remarks have once again reignited the debate over Lord Ram\u2019s birthplace. While the statement is being embraced by some as a celebration of Nepal\u2019s cultural pride, others fear it could impact diplomatic relations with India. Still, Oli remains unwavering: \u201cRam was born in Nepal. What is there to fear in saying that?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kathmandu, 8 July 2025. Prime Minister of Nepal and senior leader of the CPN-UML, KP Sharma Oli, has once again stirred the Ram Janmabhoomi debate by asserting that Lord Ram was born in Nepal. Speaking at a program organized by the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department of the CPN-UML in Kathmandu yesterday, Oli boldly stated, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,18,13,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india","category-international","category-nepal","category-top-stories-of-madhesh"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot_20250707_194512_Samsung-Internet-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1415&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paS11m-1pK","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}