Reg No. - CHHBIL/2010/41479ISSN - 2582-919X
Ramayana, Culture and Hinduism: Why did the President of Indonesia say that he has Indian DNA, know the truth
PM Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo-Photo -Channel24india.com
How far back does the scope of relations between India and Indonesia go before the modern era? Where do we find the influence of Indian culture in Indonesia? Apart from this, why did the Indonesian President mention Sanskrit? Let’s find out…
New Delhi : President Prabowo Subianto, who was the chief guest of India on Republic Day, said during a meeting in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he has the DNA of India inside him. After this statement, PM Modi and Vice President Dhankar, who were present in the meeting, burst out laughing. This statement of Prabowo Subianto is being discussed all over the country.
While talking about the relations between India and Indonesia, Subianto did not stop here. He said, “The history of the mutual relations between India and Indonesia is very old. There has been a connection between the civilizations of both the countries, even many important words of our language are from Sanskrit language. Many of our names are also from Sanskrit language. There is an influence of ancient Indian civilization in our daily life. Even our genes are similar. The Indonesian President said that “A few weeks ago, I got my genetics sequencing and DNA test done. I was told that my DNA is Indian. Everyone knows that as soon as I hear Indian music, I start dancing.”
After this statement of Subianto, it is important to know how far back the scope of relations between India and Indonesia is established in the modern era? Where do we find the imprint of Indian culture in Indonesia? Apart from this, why has the Indonesian President mentioned Sanskrit? Let’s know…
What is the history of India-Indonesia relations?
The history of relations between India and Indonesia is more than two centuries old. According to the website of the Indian Embassy in Indonesia, these relations are from the times of Ramayana and Mahabharata. Just like India, in Indonesia, events related to these two texts are mentioned in folk arts and dramas. Not only this, Hinduism, Buddhism and later Islam also came to Indonesia from India. A large population of Indonesia once believed in Hindu-Buddhist religion. However, with time Islam spread throughout Indonesia.
Which Indian texts are mentioned in Indonesia?
In Indonesia’s government university – Universitas Negeri Semarang According to a research published in 2018, there is a lot of evidence that India and Indonesia’s relationship is related to the Ramayana and Mahabharata period. Especially the artifacts and architecture present in Indonesia, which mention the history of India’s mythological period.
It is said that Java is mentioned in the Treta Yuga text popular in India – Ramayana. In Ramayana, this place is known as Yavadweep. Here, Sugriva, the chief of Lord Rama’s army, sent a troop of his troops to search for Mother Sita.
India’s imprint in the name Indonesia
This research says that Hinduism and Buddhism spread from India to Indonesia. Through them, Sanskrit and Brahmi scripts, which were an important part of Indian culture, also found a place in Indonesia. Even today, glimpses of Indian words from Sanskrit to Tamil can be seen in the languages spoken in Indonesia.
The extent of India’s influence in this country can be gauged from the fact that foreign travellers identified Indonesia with the name India. The name Indonesia was formed by combining the Latin word Indus (ie India) and the Greek word Nesos (ie island). The name Indonesia has been in use all over the world since the 18th century.
Glimpse of Indian culture in Indonesia’s temples, arts and dramas
Ancient Indians took Sanskrit and Brahmi inscriptions to Indonesia. Through this, texts like Ramayana and Mahabharata got popular in Indonesia. Even today, many open theatres have been built in Java, Indonesia, where people from Indonesia’s Muslim community participate in dances related to Ramayana on the full moon day. Apart from this, there are many temples in Indonesia, whose artifacts clearly reflect the Indian culture.
When India celebrated its first Republic Day on 26 January 1950, the newly sworn-in Government of India, led by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, invited President Sukarno of Indonesia.
People from Indonesia used to come to study at Nalanda University
According to another study, when Hindu-Buddhism was fully spread in Indonesia, many Indonesian citizens used to come to India to study at Nalanda University. During this time, India’s influence also increased rapidly on Indonesia. It is said that Hinduism spread rapidly in Indonesia in ancient times, Buddhism in the medieval period and Islam spread rapidly after the 12th century.
Islam reached Sumatra in Indonesia from Gujarat in India. By the 15th century, this religion spread throughout Java. However, this connection between India and Indonesia was not limited to the field of religion and art only. Both countries continued contact in terms of trade as well. After this, the period from the 15th century to the 20th century was such, when the relations between the two countries came to a standstill. During this time, the contacts remained intact, but they were stable.
Rabindranath Tagore praised the culture and then the caravan of close relations started moving forward
In the 20th century, once again the relations between India and Indonesia started improving. This was the time when Rabindranath Tagore visited Bali and he praised the Indian culture after seeing it.
After India’s independence, the relations between the two countries grew rapidly and on the first Republic Day, India invited the then President of Indonesia Sukarno as the chief guest. In 1951, India and Indonesia signed a treaty of friendship.
In 1955, Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Indonesia Sukarno were among the five founders of the Non-Aligned Movement.
In 2011, President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was invited as the chief guest of India on Republic Day.