Eight claims on Lord Ram’s legacy have been filed in the form of affidavits in the apex court, even as the top court continues to hear the matter in the Ayodhya land dispute.
Rajendra Singh
President of the All India Kshatriya Mahasabha
Connection: In an affidavit, Singh who is from Rae Bareli, has claimed to be a Raja and a descendant of King Ramachandra. Evidence: He claims to have documents to prove his links to Lord Ram.
Lokendra Singh Kalvi
Karni Sena chief
Connection: Kalvi, also filed an affidavit to claim his right over the disputed land, states that he is a member of the Sisodiya clan, which had the Udaipur royal family under its fold.
Evidence: According to an affidavit, Sisodias are Chattari Rajputs of the Suryavanshi lineage (that of Ram). Kalvi has attempted to suggest that Lord Ram really lived, stating that the clans of Sisodiya and others would not have existed without the presence of the sons of Ram and thus the temple be built as soon as possible.
Pratap Singh Khachariyawas
Rajasthan Cabinet minister
Connection: He also claimed that his lineage can be traced back to Lord Ram’s son Kush. Khachariyawas has claimed that his family belonged to the Kachhawa clan.
Evidence: He stated that the descendants of Lord Ram are spread everywhere and that the Suryavanshi Rajput were known by the name of Kachhawa. Rajawat, Shekhawat, Nathawat all share a family tree with Lord Ram.
Satendra Raghav
Rajasthan Congress spokesperson
Connection: He stated that the Raghav Rajputs are direct descendants of Lord Ram.
Evidence: Raghav claimed that his family was from Alwar ‘thikana (royalty)’, and were of Badgurjar Gotra that originated from the third generation of Luv. He said Luv established Luvkote, or present-day Lahore, and then his descendants moved to Ahad, which is now Mewar, to establish Sisodia dynasty. Kush was anointed in South Kosal region and Luv in North Kosal. This is mentioned on page 1,671 of Valmiki Ramayana. The lineage (Vanshawali) of Lord Ram is mentioned.
Arvind Singh Mewar, Owner of HRH group of hotels
Evidence: Mewar claims that genealogists have traced the lineage of the House of Mewar from Lord Brahma, Manu and Ishkvaku from whom the Suryavansh or the Sun Dynasty draws its origins.
Connection: Arvind Singh Mewar stakes claim as descendants of Ram. He tweeted he didn’t want any claim on Ram Janam Bhoomi but is of the firm belief that temple must be built in Ayodhya.
Diya Kumari
BJP MP from Rajsamand in Rajasthan
Connection: My father was the 309th descendant of Lord Rama. We have documents that show that we descended from Kush, Lord Rama’s son. We belong to the Kushwaha or the Kachhawa clan. Her father had even produced documents in the Allahabad High Court to declare that the family was direct descendants of Kush.
Evidence: The daughter of the Maharaja of Jaipur, Sawai Bhawani Singh, and Padmini Devi, Kumari has claimed that she has manuscripts to prove her claim and can produce the documents if needed.
Hanuman Prasad Agarwal
Advocate, Chhattisgarh High Court
Connection: In an affidavit, he claimed himself to be Lord Ram’s descendant and stated Agar Bhagwat that Maharaja Agrasen, the ancestral man of the Agrawal community, is 34th generation of Kush.
Evidence: All Agarwals, who are sons and grandsons of Maharaj Agrasen are Lord Rama’s descendants.
Vishvaraj Singh, Mewar scion
Connection: Arvind Singh’s nephew and Mewar scion Vishvaraj Singh claims that his family actually owned Ayodhya. In an affidavit, Vishvaraj, the oldest son of Mahendra Singh Mewar, has claimed that the late Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh of Jaipur had already declared the family ancestry documents in public several decades ago and expressed surprise that the apex court had never taken note of these documents.
Evidence: Singh has a record of the genealogy of Kachhawas (descendants of Kush) to prove his claim.
Did you know?
Historian R Nath has claimed that the birthplace of Ram is in Jaisinghpur. The land was acquired in 1727 after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. Jai Singh was allowed to build on the land. After Aurangzeb’s death, Sawai Jai Singh II bought large tracts of land in Hindu religious areas.
In 1717 to 1725, Ram Janmabhoomi Temple was built in Ayodhya. The fort is built at a height of about 40 feet off the coast of Ramchandrapura Saryu. Sawai Jai Singh got Ram’s birthplace renovated. The work was done according to Hindu scriptures.
Days after the apex court posed a query asking if the descendants of Lord Ram exist, eight people have come forward staking a claim.
The Ayodhya hearing, which completed 11 days by the five-judge constitution bench, saw people from all walks of life approaching it and showing how they are Ram’s descendants filing affidavits.