Sethu Samudram and Politics

[Guest guest]

=======================(From Astro Remedies Group)=====================

Ashwin Kumar IyerFirst Hand Layman WitnessI have visited Rama's bridge near Rameshwaram. I went there lastyear. Though the place assumes a lot of importance historically andreligiously, there is no sign board or organised tourism to thisplace. We had to go asking local residents on the way.Once we reach the nearby area (there is a newly built small hanumantemple) we have to take a motor boat to venture close to a kilo meterinto the sea to reach Rama Sethu. Reaching there was not exactly agreat experience, since there was no organised facility. I was toldthat a good view of the Sethu can be had during low tide times andespecially during the nights or early mornings, I had chosen such atime to visit the place. Once I reached the actual Sethu Site, I wasastonished and was in loss of words. The bridge should be easily 40-50 feet wide (the visible part) and made of huge stones. For a normallogical mind it certainly does not seem to be a geographicalphenomenon. It certainly looks like a huge manmade structure. Atleast that is was the structure of the bridge suggests.Historical FactsLet us get into a little bit of history and find out what the saidstructure means factually.This structure of close to 48 kilometers which is 3 to 30 feet deepthrough its course and was well above the sea level till the 15thcentury. The oldest recorded map that mentions of Rama's Bridge isthe Malabar Bowen Map of Netherlands which is supposed to have beenmade in 1747, where the map mentions no name to the bridge but hasmention about a place Ramencoil. Further, the same place is mentionedagain in a 1788 Map of Hindoostan available in the Sarasvathi MahalLibrary, Thanjavur.This bridge has also been mentioned by James Rennel in his earliestmaps of India 1788 as Rama's Bridge. However, Rennel carefully andtactfully renamed the bridge as Adam's Bridge in his 1804 version ofthe map.Lying dormant under the waters, the bridge again came into lightafter the NASA's satellite pictures released in the early 1990screated curiosity among historians and excitement among Dharmics.Tales started going around on the date of Rama's Bridge starting from1.75 million years to 3500 years. NASA though accepted theauthenticity of the pictures, however refused to comment on thedating.Few dating attempts have been made after that. While the Sri LankanArcheological Department dates the bridge to close to 2 million yearsold, Centre For Remote Sensing, Bharathidasan University dated itclose to 3500 years old.While existence of this geographical phenomenon is not disputed, noresearch has been done to find out neither the man-made nature of thebridge nor the religious connection.

Logical Questions to be AddressedIn the wake of Sethu Samudram Project, it is a known fact that thehistorically and religiously important Rama's Bridge would bedemolished to make way for a new shipping canal between India and SriLanka. A few political parties have raised security concerns overthis idea and a few other experts have raised eyebrows on theeconomic benefits this project could offer. However, I have done noresearch on that subject and would not speak about security concernsand economic benefits. Besides security issues and economic viabilitythe said project is attached to an extremely sensitive issue ofhistory and religion.It is highly surprising how the said project was approved and clearedby various departments (especially geology and archeologicaldepartments). It is understandable that the said project has not goneto their purview because no archeological activity or geologicalresearch is happening in the current site. However, in the wake ofsaid allegations by various political parties, non-governmentalorganizations and religious institutions, these departments couldhave made a suo moto response to the Union Ministry of Shipping & Transport to halt the project till a research is commenced andconcluded in the said site. The ministry in a self-confession in theparliament has come out with a statement saying that 'noarcheological work has been done in the said Rama's Bridge site'. Inthat case, it is highly inappropriate to demolish a structure whichhas a historical and religious importance without a proper justifiedresearch backing the decision.Relevant to this case, there are a few questions that are stillunaddressed, say,1) First and foremost question is that whether the said bridge is man-made or a geological phenomenon.2) If it were a geological phenomenon it would assume a greatimportance for geologists and scientists, making it very importantfor us to preserve it. It would probably become the oldest naturalrock formation in India and the biggest and oldest natural rockformation of the world and the only one under the sea.3) If it were man-made but not built by Rama, still it is of extremeimportance as an archeological site. Probably it would classify asone of the man-made wonders of the world and the oldest ever man-madebridge to exist.4) If archeologists and theologists can prove it to be anywherecloser related to Shri Rama, the importance would be the greatest,since it has a religious connotation and probably the biggest findrelating the religion (especially Dharmic) and also of archeologicalimportance attached with religion.Answers to these questions would certainly direct us to only oneconclusion – the Rama's Bridge should not be touched for demolition.It might/might not be a religious site, but it is certainly beyondeven what we call as "precious". It is a natural phenomenon which hassurprised scientists and geologists by its sheer existence.If Indian government tries demolishing Rama's bridge for enabling ashipping canal project, I might probably even think that thegovernment might take Qutab Minar off the place because it disruptstraffic. I do not think the UPA government would want themselves tobe equated with the Taliban who destroyed Bamiyan Budhas while thewhole world witnessed. In both cases of Taliban and UPA governmentthe action is the same, destroying of world heritage, while only themotive is different.The word of caution is loud and open – Don't Touch Rama's Bridge.