Face The Nation: Myth, legends and non-issues

DEBATING POINT: Face The Nation asks whether a mythical bridge is a political issue.

        

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Keywords: Sethusundaram Project, Ram Setu

Did Lord Ram exist and did he build a bridge to Sri Lanka or not? The Government says Lord Ram and his bridge are a myth.

Traffic was held up across several North Indian cities on Wednesday as the VHP protested against the planned Sethusamudram Shipping Canal project in Tamil Nadu.

The Sangh Parivar says this project will destroy the sacred `Ramar Setu' or mythological bridge apparently built by Lord Ram and his vanar sena. However, there were no protests in any of the southern states.

But the government said there is no historical evidence that Lord Ram existed or that he built the Ram Setu. Pure blasphemy responds the Sangh Parivar. Ram existed and he built the Ram Setu with his vanar sena.

Building the Sethusamudram shipping canal project on the Tamil Nadu coast is nothing short of an insult to the Hindu faith. Today, the VHP held protests against the Sethusamudram shipping project across north Indian cities, from Chandigarh to Indore - traffic was brought to a halt.

The Centre on Monday asserted in the Supreme Court that Adam's Bridge 'Ramar Sethu' was not man made but a natural formation comprising a chain of seven shoals between India and Sri Lanka and is approximately 30 km long.

On August 31, the court restrained the Centre from causing any damage to 'Ramar Sethu' and asked it to file its reply to Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy's petition.

The Centre said his assertion that the respondents were drilling holes at the alleged 'Ramar Sethu' for planting explosives with a view to demolishing the structure was "entirely false and completely misleading.

In a substantial part of Adam's Bridge, the activity pertaining to the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project is dredging of sand from the natural seabed to increase the depth by a few metres.