The Dravidian Movement's80-year adulation of Ravana and denigration of Sri Ram and Sita has come to an embarrassing end especially for Karunanidhi and his ilk. The spontaneous nation-wide surge in people'semotion witnessed in the VHP's?Chakka Jam? protest on September 12 this year has unnerved all the anti-Hindu elements.
The capitulation of the UPA government in the matter of the blasphemous counter affidavit filed in answer to my writ petition before the Supreme Court, forcing the government to withdraw it, is unprecedented in modern Indian history. All this only proves that when there is a virat Hindu unity, we do not need anything else to defeat anti-Hindu forces. India after all is 83 per cent Hindu, and even if half this number unites in an election then a government of two-thirds majority in Parliament can be formed.
Anti-Brahmin and pro-Ravana Karunanidhi also discovered in the heat of the hot debate on this issue, that the Ravana was actually a Brahmin and scholar of the Sama Veda who had meditated in Kailash to get a boon. Sri Rama, a non-Brahmin with the help of non-Brahmin Hanuman and Vibishana made this megalomaniac Brahmin Ravana pay for his crime?that of abducting his innocent and devoted wife Sita?with his life. Ramayana is thus a ithihasa written by Maharishi Valmiki, himself of ?Dalit? parentage, which records that no one of however high a caste he or she is, can be above punishment for crimes committed. In one moment of truth for Karunanidhi thus, all the lies taught by British Imperialists to the Dravidian Movement followers for eight decades, had come apart at the seams, and the whole contrived Aryan-Dravidian theory propagated by the DMK looked ridiculous. No wonder, Karunanidhi has now started to sing a new tune?that he is not against Rama, and in fact he is ready to re-name the canal project as Sri Rama Sethu Samudram Canal Project. He is also publicly cataloging how many temples he has renovated as Chief Minister etc., etc..
The Dravida Movement, which includes DMK, MDMK, PMK, and DK parties, all supporters of the LTTE and mysteriously also allies of the non-grieving widow of Rajiv Gandhi (who was killed by the LTTE), had turned it'sire on Bhagwan Sri Ram, the King of Ayodhya, and had wanted the Rama Sethu to be demolished because it was a symbol of ?North Indian? and Aryan domination.
The demolition would also facilitate the LTTE brigand boats to move quicker from Tuticorin to Chennai on the Palk Straits. At present, the Rama Sethu stands in the way. Hence the vociferous support of the Dravidian parties for canal alignment No. 6 of the Sethu Samundram Ship Canal Project (SSCP).
Sri Rama really emerged in national perception at least a hundred centuries ago as a Maryada Purushottam divinity? as distinct from a young dutiful prince of Ayodhya? only after his sojourn to South India. In that very basic sense, Sri Rama is a national hero, a symbol of the organic unity of Hindustan. In her S.C.Misra Memorial Lecture, Professor Suvira Jaiswal [www.thehindu.com/2007/03/12/stories], who has become the President of the Indian History Congress recently, states that King Rama of Ayodhya was transformed into Bhagwan Sri Rama of the whole nation, i.e., as a re-incarnation of Vishnu because of the Tamil Vaishnava saints, Alwars who sang praises of the qualities of Sri Rama. She also states that Chola and Pandya Kings despite being Shaivites, built the first temples for Rama as a deity.
Thus, while Raja Ram may be regarded as a ?northerner? from Ayodhya by the DK, nevertheless Bhagwan Sri Rama as a divine incarnation is the revelation of Tamil saints to the Hindu religion nationally. Sri Rama is a symbol of our nation oneness. Alwars and Nayanmar saints also propagated what the Dravidian Movement needs to learn fast: God is universally accessible, and grants salvation irrespective of caste to all those who worship him with complete devotion. God is not pro-any caste or where one is born. If such is the abiding faith, who is the government to question it ?
While the Hindu scriptures have given vivid and moving description of the construction of the Ram Sethu, that a causeway-like formation of 48 kms I length and 3 kms wide exists has now been confirmed by two scientific sources. In the first, the present configuration of the Ram Sethu has been photographed by US National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) by their satellites, and colour photos of the same published in these columns earlier. These photos establish the Sethu'sexistence as a chain of shoal stones.
The Department of Earth Science, of the Government of India have in a report to the President of India have stated that shoal stones placement make out that they were ?deliberately placed there?. This is based on a study done by the now retired Director of the Geological Survey of India, Dr. S. Badrinarayanan and submitted to the NIOT. The government hid this report from the Supreme Court and the public. The Ram Sethu formation is as if it was constructed in the manner described in the Ramayana authored by Valmiki, Kamban, and Tulsidas. The bridge formation by placing these stones one by one, according to the Earth Science Department of the government, is not less than 9000 years.
Such independent corroboration therefore cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence. It is prima facie evidence that the Sethu was constructed on the instruction and guidance of Sri Ram, and hence the onus or burden of proof is on the government to disprove this prima facie finding. The refusal of the Ministry of Culture to perform it'sstatutory duty to inquire is therefore proof that the UPA is an anti-Hindu government. Because Karunanidhi is an atheist, and UPA'spuppeteer Ms. Sonia Gandhi is a Christian fundamentalist, they together thought that they can demoralise the ordinary Hindu by demolishing the Ram Sethu. They never thought that there would be such an uproar in the country. Today both are making pious noises about Sri Rama out of fear of the public outrage. Even British Imperialist tutees like Romilla Thapar are now writing that the Ram Sethu should not be demolished because ? It would be more appropriate to recognise the undersea formations of the Palk Straits as a natural heritage and protect the relevant areas? (see her ?Historical Memory without History? in Economic and Political Weekly, September 29, 2007). Let the Hindus unite some more, and then you will see all the JNU historians writing in praise of Hindutva!
The Ram Sethu mystique is clothed in Rama'sdivine legend. Fishermen when they embark on a choppy sea journey apply the moss from the shoal stones to their foreheads for protection. Women pray at the Sethu for a boon to have a child. Devout Hindus think that the Sethu is protected by Lord Rama himself. It seems so. The secular news daily The Asian Age had reported on January 23, 2007 that when the highly priced imported dredger when to cut through the Ram Sethu, it broke into two and sank to the bottom of the sea ! The Government then dispatched a crane to pick up the pieces, but it too broke and sank into the sea. A Russian engineer contracted to study the incidents slipped and broke his legs. These may be coincidences, but most believe it to be divine intervention. When I went to the Supreme Court to seek a stay without my case being listed on the cause list or having got permission to make a mention before the court, most advocates in Supreme Court thought I was crazy and inviting a severe rebuke from the judges. Moreover all past attempts by others to get a stay had failed, and in one case even strictures were passed. But I had to go before the Court since the government had decided to use terrible explosives to blow up the Sethu after having repeatedly failed to dredge through it. Hence I told my wife-advocate that if Sri Ram wanted the Sethu saved, the impossible would happen?and it did happen. Thus with Sri Rama'sblessings, I got a stay of the proposed government demolition and the Sethu has hence been protected. I now believe that if the government again tries to damage the Sethu in anyway, divine justice would be meted out. This is not blind faith. Such beliefs are at the foundation of our religion encoded in the Law of Karma.
The argument of Karunanidhi and other Sethu enemies is that the project is necessary for economic development of Tamil Nadu coastal region. If so the objective of the Rs. 2427 crore SSCP nevertheless could be a worthy one, and for the national good. It is argued that passenger ships have to go around the island of Sri Lanka to reach Tuticorin from Chennai or vice versa. Hence ships do not want to anchor at Tuticorin. If SSCP is implemented, the present sailing time on this route would be reduced up to 36 hours because of a shorter distance of up to 424 nautical miles. Cost saving of nearly Rs.1500 crores annually could thereby be effected, making the project cost-effective and viable financially. Hence, if Ram Sethu can be preserved and the SSCP implemented, no one will object. This is precisely the stand of K.T. Thomas, retired Judge of the Supreme Court who opined recently that ?It is my definite opinion that Ram Sethu must not be broken?.
The objective of SSCP can be achieved for example by digging through the 20 kilometer mainland stretch between Pamban and Dhanushkodi, adjacent to the Ram Sethu thereby leaving hoary Sethu intact. This approach of seeking of an alternative was followed by the Delhi Metro when it'sunderground route digging came too close to the Qutub Minar, and fears were expressed that trains would generate vibrations that would cause cracks in the Minar.
The SSCP is worth implementing only if it is economically viable. My analysis of the data used in the project show that is bogus and contrived. In fact based on correct data, it can be shown that there is a likelihood of a Rs. 1,000 crore loss every year from maintenance of the canal alone, even after allowing for the revenue as calculated on the basis of actual time saving, and not on the flat savings of 36 hours which the government calculates irrespective of the origin and destination of ships presently going around Sri Lanka. In fact ships from Mauritius to Kolkata will lose 4? hours by slowing down while going through the proposed SSCP channel. Moreover, most ships heavier of over 30,000 DWT cannot go through the channel. But yet the government calculates that all ships irrespective of weight will go through the channel and poll toll.
I would, therefore, suggest that the SSCP be put on hold, and the alternative canal route be researched by a committee of experts and an amended project report be prepared. This is incidentally the opinion of a very wise Sub-Judge Mohammed Asif of the Ramanathapuram Subordinate Court. On February 23, 2007 while ruling on a petition challenging the SSCP he stated: ?Imperatives of development and our commitment to protect heritage are two ends. A careful, intelligent balance should be struck between the two. Final opinion could be pronounced on issues raised by the petitioners only after subjecting their documents to thorough scrutiny with opinion of experts in the field?.
The Ram Sethu is a living miracle since it was constructed more than 10,000 years ago and has remained intact despite all the ravages of nature. Flyovers constructed with modern technology in the 21st century e.g., in Hyderabad are collapsing but the Ram Sethu has not only survived (till 1495 A.D. people used to walk across it to Sri Lanka) but stand there in all it'sglory visible from the sky. Therefore, the Government of India ought to approach the UNESCO to get it declared as the 28th World Heritage Site. The Tourism Ministry should also develop the area to vest it with the essential infrastructure so that pilgrims can come from far and wide and have the Sethu'sdarshan. Then we can write a post script?Rama bhaktas have defeated the Ravana chelas.
(The writer is president, Janata Party and a former Union Law Minister. He can be contacted at swamy@post-harvard.edu)
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