"The rise of Hindutva politics is also often tied to the airing of Ramayana , which has apparently helped the BJP become a major political player on the national stage. It is believed that the proposal of the serial had to face resistance from some ideologically committed bureaucrats, who claimed that the public broadcaster of a secular state shouldn’t air anything remotely religious (when it comes to Hinduism, the definition of secularism suddenly adopts its western form). While I do find some merit in the argument that Ramayana played a part in the socio-political history of India, I think the claimed ideological or political effects of the serial are exaggerated. I am more inclined to believe that since the Left was dumbfounded by the success of Advani’s Ram Rath Yatra, they somehow blamed it on a TV serial..."