Decade of war between politicians over ram setu
SSCP (SetuSamudram shipping canal project) was approved by the Government of India in 2006 and work was in underway near Kodand Ram Temple before it was halted by the honorable Supreme Court in 2007. Aim of this project was to link Palk Gulf to Gulf Mennar by constructing a shipping canal through Rameshwaram Island. This would have allowed boats and ships to take a shortcut to eastern shores of India through the passage between India and Sri Lanka without encircling Sri Lanka, as is being done currently. According to the report, this project would benefit local shipping companies by reducing the travel time and fuel cost. As per the report, up to 210 million rupees would be saved every year by shipping companies.
In the ramayan, there is an event when lord rama make humble requests to samudradeva(Deity of sea) to grant him passage through the ocean. When samudradeva didn’t respond to ram continuous requests then ram took his bow and arrow to destroy samudradeva and then only samudradeva comes for rama help.
विनय न मानत जलधि जड गए तीन दिन बीत
बोले राम सकोप तब भय बिनु होय न प्रीत
(रामचरितमानस)
{The stupid ocean did not yield to the humble requests, and three days passed then Ram said with anger, ‘love does not last without some fear’}
Same situation is going on here. Government is ignoring humble requests of experts, activists, scientists, environmentalists etc. It is only when an event like tsunami will hit the nation and the whole country will fuel anger, the government will bow down to pressures of the citizens.
2006
Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the construction of SCCP which was attended by Manmohan Singh, M. Karunanidhi and T.R Balu. VHP leaders claim Sonia Gandhi to be puppet of Christian missionaries who seek to destroy Indian culture. I was not even surprise to see Indian leaders like M. Karunanidhi and T.R Balu inaugurating the event to destroy Indian cultural heritage. T.R Balu is the same person who in a Christian gathering once said “Nan Induvaha pirandhadirku vetkapadukiren” and “vedani padukiren” which in English translates as “I am ashamed and sin to be a born as a hindu”
Corrupt ministers of tamil nadu inaugurating ram setu project
Start of May 2007, Rama Gopalan and Subramanian Swamy files petition in high court
On May 2007, Munnani"s founder President Rama Gopalan filed a petition in madras high court to stop the demolition or tampering of ram setu. Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy filed another public interest petition to stop government plans of dredging ram setu and requested the government to declare it as the national monument under ‘Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958’. He alleged “demolishing Rama Sethu is a violation of the provisions of the Constitution and the statute.". Referencing Valmiki Ramayana and NASA study, he claimed “Bridge to be a deliberated constructed one by placing shoal stones in a bridge formation, thus not a natural formation." He denied that "Rama Sethu" was either imaginary or mythical, and said the Government of India and the ASI had not undertaken any official study about the bridge and its origin.
29 May 2007, government declared Ram and ram setu as mythological stories
responding to swami petition, government said lord ram and ram setu is a mythology which was neither scientifically supported nor proved by any concrete evidence. “There was no question of declaring natural sand shoals lying beneath the sea as monument of national importance”.
Start of June 2007, ASI filed an affidavit declaring ram as an imaginary character
To counter attack petitions filed in madras court, ASI filed an affidavit stating that there is no proof of Rama Existence. This created a huge uproar among Hindu leaders and organization like VHP and RSS and they called for a nationwide agitation.
July 2007, VHP and RSS targets Sonia Gandhi and central government
Ashok Singhal, president of VHP, blames Sonia Gandhi to be the architect the conspiracy as she is an outsider. Future linking the indo-US nuke deal with the probable destruction of Ram Setu, Dr Togadia said “Thermal, solar and coal is not sufficient to meet the rising need of electricity. Only nuclear power using thorium as a reactor could be a major source for producing 400,000 MW of electricity every year. By destroying the Ram Setu, the western powers want to ensure that no uranium can be generated through the thorium reserves edging the under-sea bridge.”
He posed several questions like “Why after years of isolation, US has finally agreed to sign Nuclear deal at a time when India successfully generated its own nuclear electricity using thorium as a reactor and is on the path to be an self-dependent nation? Isn’t US pressuring the government to build the Sethusamudram project so that thorium reserves are destroyed and India is again made dependent on the western countries especially US? Is US planning to smuggle out vast thorium reserves from the country on the name of constructing sethu-samudram project? Isn’t nuclear deal a ploy to make india subservient to US?”
Start of September 2007, VHP and RSS calls for nationwide agitation
VHP and RSS leaders declared an open war against the government by calling on a massive nationwide mass agitation against the government decision of destroying Ram setu. Millions of protestors joined VHP and RSS leaders in their agitation. Protestors lauded Sonia Gandhi as the killer of mahatma Gandhi values. One of the protestors quoted “She is not related to Mahatma Gandhi. She is using his surname for political mileage and international legitimacy. She is against mahatma Gandhi values of protecting Hindu culture, peace, harmony, religious tolerance, corruption and fraud etc.”
“Government decision of dredging ram setu is similar to Taliban decision of bombing Bamyan Buddhas in Afghanistan”, other protestor said.
Even Sikhs joined the outrage since their last and most revered Guru, Gobind Singh ji claimed to be the descendant of lord rama.
Sikh protestors at raj ghat
Scientist and environmentalists including President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, opposed the construction of SCCP and offered their support to the protestors.
September 15, 2007, Court ordered government to stop all construction
Supreme Court Responded to Swamy petition ordering Indian government to stop all construction undergoing in SCCP Project. Supreme Court also agreed to swamy suggestion to continue dredging without destroying the bridge. Supreme Court also ask the centre on why they discarded five other alternate routes proposed by experts in 1955 which would have not cause any damage to Ram Setu.
September 16, 2007, Government stops all construction work
Government stops the ongoing dredging work "We have stopped temporarily in the Adam's Bridge area till we get an order from the Supreme Court to proceed on the work in that area," Baalu said.
As a showoff, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni suspended two ASI officials Bakshi and Chandrashekhar for filing an affidavit against the existence of lord ram in high court.
September 21, 2007, Karunanidhi calls lord ram a drunkard
Tamil nadu chief minister Karunanidhi added fuel to the Ram Setu controversy by remarking "Who is Ram? From which college he obtained his engineering degree? He is a drunkard according to some versions of the Ramayana?” He calls for a nationwide bandh for speedy implementation of Setu samudram project.
Karunanidhi calling Ram a drunkard
By the way, humayun didn’t have the degree for constructing Taj Mahal, why don’t you destroy Taj mahal Mr. Karunanidhi?
Recently on a corruption issue involving her daughter, an anonymous VHP leader said “Rama didn’t have degree from any engineering college but you and your daughter have an excellent degree on ‘art of doing corruption’.” Besides even
As far as Karunanidhi question is concerned, answer is “ram didn’t build the bridge to sri lanka. This bridge was constructed by Nal-Neel, who got the degrees (education) of civil engineering from his father vishwakarma(Celestial architect)”
Mr. karunanidhi belongs to periyar community whose leaders are known for their anti-Hindu remarks and protests which till now have killed more than thousands innocent tamilians
September 23, 2007, Ramathangarasu files petition against Karunanidhi remarks
Petition was filed by Ramathangarasu, President of Tamil Nadu Bharathiya Jana Shakthi to revoke his chief minister position. He claimed that “not only did Karunanidhi denied the existence of Lord Rama but also made fun of him be calling him inferior to an engineer. His deliberate remarks on lord rama has touched the sentiments and beliefs of billions of hindus worldwide and therefore, he is not fit to rule the state of Indian constitution”. Vanniyar Sangam condemned the Chief Minister remarks about Lord Rama and dared him to be thrown out of power if he spells out against the Hindus. Vanniyar even asked Chief Minister to embrace another religion in the wake of his remarks. They even questioned the launch of Karunanidhi Kalalignar TV on auspicious occasion of Vinayaga Chaturthi
September 25, 2007, Jayalalitha filed cases in madras high court against Karunanidhi’s
Leader of opposition, Jayalalitha immediately accused chief minister of violating the responsibility of a chief minister when he made derogatory remarks on lord ram thus hurting sentiments and emotions of millions of Hindus. Jayalaltiha filed a series of cases against the Chief Minister for his abusive remarks against Lord Ram. Jayalalitha succeeded in getting court orders against DMK proposed bandh on October 1st leaving him all alone along with his few party supporters. Popular tamilian actors in politics like Vijayakant (DMDK) and Saratkumar (AISK) condemened Karunanidhi’s remarks. MDMK leader Vaiko visited ransacked BJP office and expressed his support against sethu samudram project
September 27, 2007, congress youth leader MS Bitta gave congress a shocker
Most shocking protest came from congress youth leader Maninderjeet Singh Bitta, founder of anti-terrorist cell. He said “Bridge, mentioned in the Ramayana epic, must be protected at all costs as it is our ancient treasure. I will be the first person to sacrifice my life for preventing any damage to the bridge. Ram is respected by all Indians irrespective of caste and religion. Ramayana is known throughout the world. When the country itself is identified with Ram, how could a structure built by him could be allowed to be damaged?”
September 30, 2007, Supreme Court bands DMK leaders proposed ban
SC holds special session, and restrained the DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu from going ahead with its party-sponsored state-wide bandh.
October 1st, 2007, Karunanidhi ignores Supreme Court ban
DMK leaders including Karunanidhi defy the court order by going ahead of their planned nationwide bandh.
October 6, 2007, DMK ministers are alleged of corruption
at site of ram setu will give an excellent opportunity to private companies in smuggling out vast reserves of thorium. It seems some private companies are pressuring or bribing some government ministers especially of tamil nadu state, for the implementation of sethu samudram project” said Dr Ram Vilas Vedanti, accusing T R Baalu, Ambika Soni and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for smuggling thorium from Indian sea shores and for playing a prime role in the Ram Sethu episode
October 17, 2007, Karunanidhi Calls ram a prince and seek superstar rajnikath help
M Karunanidhi calls Ram a "human prince" and requests Rajinikanth to convince his saint friends in north India to let the government go on with the project as it is on the path of development of the state.
October 29, 2007, supreme court issues contempt notices to karunanidhi and Baalu
SC issues contempt notices to Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and Union Minister T R Baalu for defying the apex court's directive of not to go ahead with the October 1 state bandh call given by the DMK for speedy completion of the Sethusamudram project.
SC issues notice to Karunanidhi
November 4, 2007, Government appointed expert committee seeks some time
Citing large amount of work, expert committee sough some extension from the government in submitting their report. This committee had to answer on wide range of issues varying from economic viability to environmental, social, navigational, religious, security, historical, social and developmental factors.
Jan 16, 2008, Supreme Court asks government to submit details of dredging activities
Supreme Court requested the government to submit it report on ongoing dredging activities within two weeks. Supreme Court also asked ASI whether it has conducted a study to ascertain if Ram Sethu is a natural formation and being fit to be declared as an ancient monument. Chief Balakrishnan asked if dredging activities have stopped in Gulf of Mannar then it mean the entire project should be scrapped until further notice and so, the dredging activities should not go on in any part of the project sites.
April 28, 2008, Subramanian Swamy alleges T.R.Baalu of corruption
In his application, swamy made serious allegations against the Minister and his family members of having a financial benefit from the setu samudram project. According to the application, Baalu has two sons who run a private company called Meenam Fisheries Public Limited. He blamed both of them of having financial interest in forcing the union minister to push the controversial project. He requested court to acquire his assets which are way above his family earnings.
May 08, 2008, SC suggests alternative alignment in Sethusamudram project.
Supreme Court ordered the government to look for various alternative alignments to the present route so that ram setu is not damaged. Judge said "you can explore the possibility of an alternative alignment for the canal. By this the government would like to avoid the controversy." Janata Party president pleaded court to issue notice to T.R Baalu for making derogatory remarks against Justice B N Agrawal, who directed the tamil nadu authorities to not damage the ram setu.
July 29, 2008, government refrains from declaring ram setu as National monument
Senior counsel F S Nariman, on behalf of the Union Government, said ram setu can be declared as national monument since it was demolished and destroyed by Lord Ram about 17 lakh years ago. He cited 19th century British government notification which said Ram Setu was destroyed by Lord Ram while returning from Sri Lanka after killing demon king Ravana.
Isn’t this very disgusting? First they deny existence of lord ram and then say lord ram destroyed ram setu 1.75 millions ago. Look at the text they are referring to, It’s not valmiki Ramayana, British notification sounds authentic and true to them. This made me laugh for a while.
America wants to destroy ram setu????
Jul 30, 2008, Government appoints panel to decide on alternative route
Centre informed Supreme Court on its appointment of 6 member committee headed by Dr R K Pachauri, Director General of Tata Energy Research Institute, to decide on alternative route for Sethusamudram Canal project.
Oct 14, 2008, Government denies existence of ram setu
Government submitted another document alleging that Ram Setu was destroyed by Lord Rama while returning from Sri Lanka. As Evidence, they submitted verses from Kamba Ramayana written by Tamil saint Kambar saying that Ram Setu was destroyed by the Lord himself. However, the petitioner contended that as per article 25 of the Constitution, Ram Setu cannot be demolished as it is a matter of faith for 80 per cent Hindu population and over 1 billion Hindus of the country and is therefore liable for protection under the laws of the constitution
Oct 17, 2008, Demolition of Ram Setu a criminal offence
Janata dal party president Dr Subramanian Swamy said that destroying ram setu would amount to a criminal offence under section 295 IPC. According to this section, demolition or damaging a place of worship knowing well that it will hurt the religious sentiments of a segment of population is a criminal offence.
He has also submitted that if the alternative alignment was not chosen for completion of Rs 2240 crore project, then the entire project should be scrapped as it will turn out to be an economic disaster and shall also prove to be a grave threat to national security.
He has also contended that the decision making process adopted to approve the project was illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional and also inspired by conflicting commercial interest.
Older and proposed new route
Mar 25, 2009, SC reserves verdict on M. Karunanidhi, Baalu for contempt of court
The Supreme Court reserved its verdict thus causing seven DMK leaders to be prosecuted for contempt of the Court for alleged violation of the apex court order, directing the DMK and its allies not to enforce state-wide bandh on October 1. Show cause notices were issued to Mr Karunanidhi, Mr Baalu, State Chief Secretary L K Tripathi, State DGP and the State Transport Minister and the State Transport Secretary for not implementing the directions of the apex court. According to petition filed by Jayalalithaa, DMK ban paralyzed the city resulting in losses up to several crores to the state exchequer and no action was taken by the government officers against those, who harassed and troubled the people of the state
Nov 04, 2009, SC grants 4 week to present an alternate route
Responding to the petition filed by Subramanian Swamy about the adverse environmental effects as conceived in reports of National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Supreme Court asked government to present an alternate route in 4 weeks.
According to Dr Swamy, the NIO report sates SSCP a disaster citing that no scientific study and research were done to assess the adverse effect of the project on the environment.
Dec 14, 2009, Centre asks for 18 months to decide on alternative route
Center sought 18 months time from the Supreme Court to present a viable alternative path to save ram setu from being demolished while completing the Sethusamudram project. They cited more scientific study and experiment to take a final decision if an alternative alignment should or can be taken to avoid damage to Ram Setu.
Dec 15, 2009, SC grants 2 months time to decide on alternative route
Instead of 18 months, Supreme Court gave government two month time to decide on an alternative path to save ram setu from any damage. Government plea of extend it by at least a year was rejected by the court.
May 25, 2011, VHP leader suggest Karunanidhi to seek refuge in lord ram
VHP replying to a question on Karunanidhi woes said “His daughter is in jail and he lost elections since he took a stand of destroying ram setu. On top of that, he even insulted him by asking for an engineering degree and calling Ram a mythological or imaginary character”. If Karunanidhi takes refuge in Ram, goes to Ayodhya and prays at the temple he can still get some reprieve," VHP state general secretary Satyendra Mohan suggested.
VHP leaders criticizing tamil nadu government
JAN 05, 2012, Supreme Court ask government to submit its final report
The Supreme Court directed the government to place the final report of the expert committee examining the feasibility of an alternative route through Dhanuskodi instead of Rama Sethu. Bech comprising of judge H L Dattu and C K Prasad complained that the panel appointed by prime minister has failed to submit it report before deadline of February, 2011. Additional Solicitor General Haren Raval told the bench that he received the report on December 29, 2011, and on January 3 he wrote a letter to the panel on certain issues, to which the reply was awaited.
Mar 27, 2012, SC asks government to explain its stand on ram setu as national monument