Thursday, May 03, 2007

Sethu Samudram controversy - Our classical secular system

The classical secular system is back in action. The same set of people who have huge issues when a dargah or a mosque is to be removed for development work have come with a project which affects a stretch of land believed to be Rama's bridge by Hindus.

Raam Sethu or Adam's Bridge is the stretch of land which connect India with Sri Lanka. Currently the water there cannot be used for transportation due to the stretch of land which as per Hindu beliefs was created by Lord Rama's army to march into Lanka. To reduce the time and cost of connecting the east coast with the west coast, Govt of India decided to destroy the stretch of land and allow waterway passage.

Sethusamudram Project plans for three fishery harbours and one shipping harbour. Rameshwaram will become one of the largest harbours in India at the end of this project.
The strategic advantages to India derive from obtaining a navigable sea route close to the coast, with a reduction in travel distance of more than 350 nautical miles (650 km) (for larger ships). The project is expected to provide a boost to the economic and industrial development of coastal Tamil Nadu. The project will be of particular significance to Tuticorin harbour, which has the potential to transform itself into a nodal port. The State Government has announced its proposal to develop 13 minor ports, including Ennore, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thondi, Valinokam, Kolachel and Kanyakumari.

If the project benefits India then I am sure, even Lord Rama won't mind the project. But will our political class show the same kind of single mnded devotion when it comes to removing a Non-Hindu place of worship for development? Why do they then cry hoarse over the 'alleged communalism' as they did in case of Baroda dargah removal incidents.

The issue here is not 'if religious structures should be removed for better of the people' coz the answer is a resounding yes. But the point is 'why can't we treat all religious symbols and sturctures equally and remove them for development irrespective of which religion they belong to?' And to those who think and say that Rama Sethu is a piece of mythological fantasy without a proof, I would say that the same holds true for the beliefs of other religions too as there is hardly to no proof.