Setusamudram flooded by Emotive waves

Ram Puniyani

Published on September 14, 2007

The leadership of Congress has apologized for the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court in the case pertaining to the Sethusmaudram project. This project which was set off by BJP led NDA regime, aims to make a canal from Palk straights to gulf of Munnar. It involved dredging of Adams Bridge, also called as Ramar Setu. The affidavit mentioned that the said bridge is not a man made structure and also the Ram is a mythological not historical figure. This affidavit set the emotive political streams rolling their political chariots, and hue and cry that this statement of the Government is an act of blasphemy.

Different agitations were already planned at an RSS meet to oppose Sethusamudram project. Dharam Sansad (religious Parliament, a VHP initiative) has been mobilized around 'faith', on the ground that this project will destroy Ramar Sethu, the one which was built by Vanar Sena (Army of Monkeys) to help Ram cross over to Lanka to rescue Sita. The project was supported by most of the political parties in the past, and cleared in particular by BJP led NDA, which is at the forefront of making a political capital out of the issue now. The case of worst abuse of faith for political agenda is on display! This project when complete, will cut short the long journey of the ships from east coast to the west coast, and vice versa. Like Panama Canal it has been conceived to promote the transport, employment and trade. Half way now, it has been facing two oppositions. The one is from the environmentalists, who are worried about the destruction of flora and fauna and the dangers of silting in the canal. These are the arguments which need to be taken seriously.

The other ground, the one based on faith need to be dealt with at another ground. RSS and its affiliates are promoting a view that building this Sethusamudram will involve be destruction of Ramar Sethu which will be detrimental to our faith. The story goes that Ravan; the King of Lanka had abducted Sita to avenge the insult meted out to his sister Shurpnakha, whose proposal for marrying her was turned down by the Lord Ram. Assisted by his loyal devotee Hanuman, the Lord mobilized monkeys and built this bridge. It is claimed that this bridge is a marvel of engineering achievements of the Indian engineers of that time. The assertion is that it shows the acme of technological achievements of this land, and that there are other noteworthy achievements like the advances in aeronautical technologies like aero planes, missiles to name the few.

How do we understand these claims, how do we comprehend this peep in to the past? How do we distinguish fact from fiction, history from mythology? To reconcile history, science and mythology are the complex questions in our public life. To begin with history of events has some definitive characteristics, though their interpretations do vary with the political ideologies. But what about mythology? Here these accounts have been put forward as the fictional accounts of the past. Some of these accounts have been associated with faith. Faith to some extent is natural and sometimes it is being manufactured and asserted for political goals. As far as Lord Ram's story goes there are several versions of Ramayana, (Many Ramayanas, Richman, OUP). Some of these are very popular like Valmiki Ramayana and Tulasidas Ramcharitmanas. Surely the most popular one currently is the one from Maharashi Ramanand Sagar's mega serial which captivated the nation for couple of years. There are other versions, which have been undermined and attacked mostly for political reasons. Sahmat exhibition on different versions of Lord Ram's story was attacked few years ago. Some politically motivated people could not bear one of the versions presented in this exhibition. It showed that according to Jataka version of Ram Katha, in post Brahminical Buddhist Dashrath Jataka Sita is both as sister and wife of Ram. As per this version Dashrath is King not of Ayodhya but of Varanasi. The marriage of sister and brother is part of the tradition of glorious Kshtriya clans who wanted to maintain their caste and clan purity. This Jataka tale shows Ram to be the follower of Buddha. Similarly in Jain versions of Ramayana project Ram as the propagator of anti-Brahminical Jain values, especially as a follower of non-violence. What do both Buddhist and Jain version have in common is that in these Ravana is not shown as a villain but a great soul dedicated to quest of knowledge and is a spiritual soul, with majestic commands over passions, a sage and a responsible ruler. Popular and prevalent 'Women's Ramayan Songs (of Telugu Brahmin Women), put together by Rangnyakmma, keep the women's concern as the central theme and present alternate perspective. These songs present Sita as finally victorious over Ram and in these Surpanakha succeeds in taking revenge over Ram. Prof. Victor Raja Mannikam, of Satara University points out (Times of India 14th Sept 2007) that this epic dates back to 5000 years while Ramar Setu is over a lakh years old. Prof. V.S. Sahay of Anthropology Department of Allahbad University says that the society described in Ramayana represents Metal age (5000-6000 BC) and Ram's Vanar army has not constructed the structure as it belongs to Pleistocene Age which shows emergence of stone tools.

Marine experts tell us that the setu itself is a marine structure over a lakh years old and not man made. It is a natural occurrence of the continuity of sandstone sedimentation which stretches below Dhanushkoti and isotope dating indicates that the deposition is over a lakh years old (Prof. R. Mannikam). Thus one can conclude that Ramar Sethu is a much older structure, called tombol, a sand deposition due to natural process, connecting one land with another, and that it is from times when human habitation is doubtful. The Geological Survey of India has also ruled out its being the manmade (or monkey made!), construction. Same way the inference from NASA satellite pictures is that it is due to sedimentation of clay and lime stone.

Many people dispute that the Lanka mentioned in Ramayana is not the current Sri Lanka. Since mythology does not require any proof it can be modulated and constructed in to a faith for political purposes. Recently in the Shabri Kumbh held in Dangs in Gujarat, the mythology was modulated in to the service of politics. It was said, and that too with great amount of precision, that a particular hillock, which was earlier called Chamak Dongar, which adivasis used to worship as Shivar Deo (protector of crops), was the precise place where Shabri had offered berries to Lord Ram. It was rechristened and a Shabri temple was built on the spot. Nearby, a river six kilometers away, Purna was named as the one where Guru Matang rishi use to take bath. On the mountain on the stone there were three marks which are being presented as the marks where Laxman had sharpened his arrows.

The one step back of Congress leadership, Sonia Gandhi in particular, is to try to prevent giving an emotional handle to RSS combine, who are desperately looking to build up another emotive issue the way they constructed the politics around Babri Mosque. The search for an issue is desperate as the Ram temple issue is no longer en-cashable in the electoral arena, the primary concern of BJP. The attitude of Congress leadership can be understood only in this light, else the affidavit filed by Archeological survey is on the dot and scientific to the core. One witnessed the similar display of retreat when Sonia Gandhi was to become the Prime Minister. Faced with the threat of some BJP leaders shaving their heads and eating just gram, and the emotive hysteria which had the potential of engulfing the national politics, Mrs. Gandhi decided to give up the post, deflating the whole game, depriving them of a issue and depriving the nation of the sight of Sanyasin like leaders, with bald head etc. One is not sure whether even now such a process of deflating the issue in the initial stages is possible.

It is easy to construct a fly over to the future but difficult to prevent the formation of mythological bridges of the past. Mythology can easily be constructed and planted in the people's psyche as it is driven by political goals and rides on horse of emotion. Reason and logic have no place in this scheme of things. One knows that some Mullahs, having faith in the infinite power of djinns advocated their rulers to invest in the research for making more djinns so that power crisis can be solved. Also with the resurgence of fundamentalism one is hearing that Creation science is back in the race to compete with the theories of evolution. The question is, should we misuse faith, faith which can be an assuaging balm, for building political agendas?

Ram Puniyani is a Professor at IIT Mumbai and is associated with EKTA, Committee for Communal Amity, Mumbai .