Shri Samarapungavan Sir,
Before I give my comments to your learned posts nos.170 to 175 above, permit me to digress a little.
I am sure you have read, or at least heard about, a famous thriller novel titled "Day of the Jackal" written by Frederick Forsyth. It describes an imaginary, failed, assassination attempt on Charles De Gaulle, the (Late) President of France, by a French dissident organization OAS which contracts a professional sharpshooter. The assassination attempt fails dramatically in the very last minute, thanks to the braver of a government detective, who kills the assassin but sacrifices his life. This is the detailed plot, in a nutshell.
The novel gives accurate descriptions about an earlier failed attempt on the life of De Gaulle, as also very correct descriptions of many locales of Paris, the government of France, etc.
The question is whether the novel therefore gives a true incident which actually happened in history, or whether it remains the imagination of its author Frederick Forsyth? Will you agree that it is a "true incident"?
The truth or otherwise of the Rama story imo has to be decided on the same lines of argument.
My views/comments on your six posts will follow.