Sethusamudram Channel Project in Tamil Nadu has become a rallying point for Hindus, once again highlighting the total disregard of the UPA government to Hindu sensitivities. For the last three years Hindu organisations led by Hindu Munnani under the respected leader Shri Ramgopalan have been campaigning for the protection of Ram Sethu, which is the most ancient underwater bridge, believed to have been built by Shri Ram.
It is sacred for the Hindus. It is a living legend of our great heritage. And the gripping description of this astounding human endeavour has become the folklore of the great Hindu tradition.
The Valmiki Ramayana has a scintillating narrative of the marvellous saga in great details. The architect who led the construction was Nala, and this fact is referred to in the Mahabharata by Veda Vyasa.
Modern studies including satellite imageries of NASA have established the existence of the remains of the bridge. The dredging work for the Sethusamudram Project had to be abandoned thrice because of the machine getting damaged at the seabed hit by the mountain-like rock formations. The organisations demanding suspension of the Sethusamudram Project in its present format submitted a memorandum signed by over a million people to the President of India Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam in November last. With every passing day the popular outrage over the destruction of Ram Sethu is getting louder.
The demand for a relook into the Sethusamudram Project is not confined to religious leaders and Hindus. Millions of families of fishermen who eke out a living by the sea have formed a protest group under the banner Tamil Nadu Fishermen Sangh headed by Shri Kuppu Ram. Scientists and environmentalists are apprehensive of the huge damage the destruction of Ram Sethu can do to the mainland. It is believed that the tsunami impact was largely absorbed by this protective rock shield in the seabed. These scientists argue that a similar underwater quake in the Indian Ocean in future, in the absence of such natural protection, can submerge large parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. This will prove a cynical man-made tragedy, if in the name of development such natural protective wall in the sea is wantonly destroyed. Natural scientists are worried over the irretrievable loss of flora and fauna. It is feared that the Project will prove a calamity to large number of rare species in the sea. Archaeologists have expressed their desire to undertake further study on the authenticity and historicity of Ram Sethu.
Citing all these reasons the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa has opposed the Sethusamudram Project in its ongoing format. Thus opposition to the project has come from all quarters, political, religious, scientific, archaeological and environmental.
The BJP has appointed a committee under the former union HRD minister and senior party leader Dr Murli Manohar Joshi to ascertain the facts about the widespread apprehension and resentment at the impending destruction of the sacred monument. After visiting the site, speaking to a large cross section of people and assessing the economic and environmental impact, Dr Joshi in a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh asked for the immediate suspension of work at the project site till it is redesigned incorporating the alternative plan to save the ancient structure.
Now what is it that makes the UPA so adamant as to not give any heed to these pleas? Is it enjoying a vicarious pleasure from the latent Hindu anguish? Or is it that it is determined to do anything and everything only to damage and destroy all traces of the great Hindu tradition? It is impossible to fathom that the government has not thought it prudent enough on its part to invite all the parties concerned and address the issue afresh and give it a relook, to satisfy all sections involved in the agitation. This is the least it can do as the organisations asking for a re-evaluation have a scientific and viable alternative plan.
But the government has taken a grand standing on the issue as if it is a matter of prestige. So far the agitationists have been peaceful and they have only been asking for negotiations. But this government, it seems, will retreat only in the face of Nandigram type of pro-active action.
The government’s intention is suspect because it has in the last three years either denied support or shelved a series of projects which would have richly added to our understanding of the past and writing, rather reconstruction of our history. This attitudinal allergy has done immense damage to the hallowed heritage site of Hampi, the UPA has folded up the ambitious Saraswati River Project on purely political considerations. As commented on a number of occasions on these columns, it refused funding to the prestigious and path-breaking Dwaraka offshore archaeology excavation project. In the budget session of Parliament, Minister for Culture Smt Ambika Soni informed the Rajya Sabha that she was not aware and was not interested in finding out if there was a Ram Sethu off Rameshwaram, though Hindus all over the world believe and worship it. What is the message that one gets from all these? Is it that the government is uninterested in preserving and studying India’s ancient heritage? Or is it wary of their political significance? And more plainly put, is it also part of UPA’s vote bank agenda? Whatever be the consideration, the Sethusamudram episode has once again brought the central government face to face with the national resolve to protect Ram Sethu.
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