Days after a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked senior lawyer K Parasaran, who is representing Hindu deity Ram in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case, if anyone from Raghuvansha – descendants of Ram – was still residing in Ayodhya, three people have claimed that their families descended from the Hindu deity.
Lakshyaraj Singh of the erstwhile Mewar royal family on Monday claimed that his family descended from Ram’s son Luv, Hindustan Times reported. He said Luv established Luvkote, or present day Lahore, and then his descendants moved to Ahad, which is now Mewar, to establish the Sisodia dynasty.
The Mewar royal family’s traditions prove that they are Ram’s descendants, Singh added, citing historians and experts. His uncle Mahendra Singh Mewar said the family had history dating back 76 generations, and claimed that the Jaipur royal family had provided these records to the court 25 years ago.
On Sunday, Rajasthan Congress leader Satyendra Singh Raghav claimed that the Raghav Rajputs had descended from Luv.
The day before, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Divya Kumari had claimed that her family descended from Ram’s other son Kush.
“Yes, descendants of Lord Ram are all over the world, including our family who descended from his son Kush,” Kumari, who represents Rajsamand in Parliament and is a member of the former Jaipur royal family, tweeted on August 10. She also called for quick resolution of the case.
The judges had asked Parasaran the question out of curiosity when he was arguing that the deity and the birthplace were “juristic entities” and capable of holding properties and initiating lawsuits. Parasaran said the presence of an idol was not the only test for determination of a legal person. He pointed out that rivers were also worshipped in India.
On August 7, the counsel for Ram Lalla had told the bench that the faith of the devotees was evidence that the disputed site was the birthplace of the deity. However, the court asked them if they had revenue records and oral evidence to establish possession of the land. “How can we prove after so many centuries that Lord Ram took birth at the place?” Parasaran had asked.
Last week, the court started daily hearings of petitions challenging the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 judgement dividing the disputed land after a mediation panel set up in March failed to resolve the dispute. The litigants in the case claim ownership over the entire 2.77 acres of disputed land. The Babri Masjid stood there before it was demolished in 1992 by Hindutva activists.
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