The left has been carrying out an unceasing attack on Hinduism for decades, but if recent viewership figures are any indication, their efforts aren’t quite paying off.
The grand Ramlila being staged at Ayodhya this year has had 10 crore viewers across different platforms, the organizers have said. “Ayodhya has now another record in its name, as the viewership of the Ramlila staged here has crossed the 10-crore viewership mark in just six days,” said Subhash Malik, the director of Ramlila. “We have taken into account the viewership on Doordarshan, YouTube, other television channels and social media and found it has exceeded 10 crore and is set to increase further.” The Ramlila is being telecast in 14 scheduled languages of India, including Urdu. As per Covid guidelines, there were no physical viewers of the Ramlila this year, but large LED screens were installed at different places and mobile vans sent to remote areas in villages to enable people watch the epic show.
Further details were shared by Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi S Vempati. Vempati shared a screenshot of the digital audience growth of DD National on Youtube over the previous week. The screenshot showed that an extraordinary 67 lakh minutes of content had been viewed on DD National’s YouTube channel, which was a 330 percent increase over the previous week. The numbers are even more impressive considering the event has coincided with the IPL, which is garnering record numbers of its own.
The reaction to the Ayodhya ki Ramlila seems similar to the one received by the broadcast of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana during the lockdown. In May this year, Ramayana had become the world’s most watched program, having beaten Game of Thrones by a record margin. Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana had been watched on DD alone by 7.7 crore people.
