Joining the group of politicians who have made bizarre claims about advancement in ancient India, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday claimed flying objects existed during the period of Ramayana and the arrows of Arjuna of Mahabharata had atomic power.
“It is not in the 20th century, but it was during the period of Ramayana, we had flying objects (Uran Khatola). Sanjay narrated the entire war of Mahabharata (to Dhitarasthra) not from TV. The arrows of Arjuna in Mahabharata had atomic power in it,” Dhankhar said while addressing a programme in Kolkata.
In Mahabharata, it is said that Sanjay, even after staying away from the battle had narrated what was happening in the battlefield to Dhritarashtra, who was blind.
Dhankar’s comments come after multiple bizarre comments made by BJP leaders have dismissed modern science in order to praise the ancient “science”. BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Thakur had claimed that cow’s urine can cure cancer.
In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a gathering of doctors and medical staff at a Mumbai hospital that the story of the Hindu god Ganesha showed cosmetic surgery existed in ancient India.
“We worship Lord Ganesha. There must have been some plastic surgeon at that time who got an elephant’s head on the body of a human being and began the practice of plastic surgery,” he said.
In August 2017 the chief minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, made a speech at the Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management where he praised the “engineering skills” of Lord Ram.