The issue of Sethu Samudram Canal Project or SSCP has snowballed into a big controversy. Hindus believe that the stretch of limestone shoals between Dhanushkodi near Rameshwaram in Southern India and Mannar in Northwest Sri Lanka are the remains of an ancient bridge built by Lord Rama, as described in the holy epic, Ramayana.
Recent NASA satellite images show clear pictures of a broken bridge under the ocean floor. The heritage of the bridge and the story of Lord Rama are extremely sacred to Hindus. Every body knows that a bridge was built by the Vanarsena of Lord Rama and Bhagwan Ram’s army marched over it to Lanka and defeated Ravana. Hence during Dussehra every year and in Ramleelas depicting Rama’s life enacted across the country the Setu Bandhan or the construction of Rama’s bridge is prominently mentioned. Apart from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata also refers to the continued protection of Nala Setu following Sri Rama’s command. Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsham also refers to the Setu. So does the Skanda Purana (III 1.2.1-114), the Vishnu Purana (IV 4.40-49), the Agni Purana (V-XI), the Brahma Purana (138.1-40).
The ocean between India and Sri Lanka near the Mannar coast is very shallow and is not navigable. It does not allow ships to pass. This means that. India does not have a continuous navigational channel linking the east and west coasts. Ships coming from India's west and heading to Bangladesh or Indian ports on the east coast have to go around Sri Lanka because the waterway in the sea dividing the two countries is shallow.
Therefore, the Government of India has proposed the dredging of the sea to create a shipping canal to save up to 780 km of sailing distance and 30 hours of sailing time for ships plying between the east and west coasts of India.
Indian officials say the canal, which is called the Sethusamudram project, will also boost the national economy besides speeding up the movement of Indian Navy and Coast Guard vessels as well.
Hindu groups say this may be true but such economic progress cannot be at the expense of Ram Sethu, as they refer to Adam's Bridge, located at the southern end of the Sethusamudram project.
This is where an estimated 48 million cubic metres of silt will be removed over the next two years. The construction of the canal immediately led to wide protests in India by Hindu leaders. Several holy men have gathered together to launch a campaign of protest.
In March 2007, over ten Hindu umbrella organizations from around the world joined together to launch the Save Ram Sethu Campaign (Ram Sethu Bachao Andolan) to increase the profile of the issue amongst the international communities.
The campaign hopes to convince the Government of India to reconsider the construction of the canal as it will hurt religious sentiments of millions of Hindus and also pose a great risk to the environment of the region and the livelihood of local fishermen.
So far the sea between India and Sri Lanka has been recognised as historic waters, though the United States has been pressurising to have it declared as international waters and said in a naval notification in 2005 that it does not accept the sea between India and Sri Lanka as ‘historic’. The US declaration and the role of the Tuticorin Port Trust, the nodal agency to implement the Sethu Samudram Canal Project coupled with the haste with which the project was inaugurated, has given rise to many unanswered questions.
The US Navy operational directive refusing to accept the sea between India and Sri Lanka as ‘historic’ was made on June 23, 2005. The Prime Minister’s Office sent some queries in March 2005 to N K Raghupathy, chief of the Tuticorin Port Trust. He sent answers to the PMO’s queries on June 30, 2005 and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the project on July 2, 2005. Why were the queries sent to the TPT and not to an agency which had scientific authority to look into the geological and maritime aspects of the project? Why did the Prime Minister and the UPA chairperson rush to inaugurate the project without, prima facie, having the time to look into the answers given by the TPT chief? Why was the present route okayed which essentially requires the destruction of the Ram Setu, while other options, closer to Dhanushkodi, which did not touch the Ram Setu were ignored?
Local fishermen, Hindus, Muslims and Christians alike oppose the present route and are demanding alternative channels, which are available. They say the present channel would destroy marine life and corals. This will kill the trade in shankas (shells) that has a turnover in excess of Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) per annum. Invaluable thorium deposits would be affected, which are very important for our nuclear fuel requirements.
The BJP and other nationalist forces have also came out in open in protest against the SSCP project in its present form. The issue rocked both the Houses of Parliament creating a big furore. Launching attack on the UPA Government, BJP members said the destruction of the ancient bridge would not only offend religious-cultural sentiments of the people of India but also expose the southern Indian coastlines to the vagaries of frequent cyclones and any possible future tsunamis.
Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour. BJP member Shri Shreegopal Vyas said the project in its present form would destroy India’s thorium deposits and pose a great risk to the environment, ecology, oceanic life, besides endangering the livelihood of thousands of fishermen in the local area. In reply, Union Shipping, road and Surface Transport Minister Shri TR Baalu stirred a hornet’s nest, saying that the project alignment could not be changed since it was finalised by “secularist people.”
The UPA Government's stand on this issue has been insensitive towards Hindus as it says there are no archaeological studies that reveal the existence of a Ram Sethu bridge between India and Sri Lanka.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of Tourism and Culture Smt. Ambika Soni confessed, "However, a NASA satellite picture has shown the existence of a stretch of land bridge in the Palk Strait between the countries."The campaign against the Sethu Samudram Canal Project has shaped into a movement now. It would be no exaggeration if we say that by not paying respect to Hindu sentiments in the country the UPA Government is further alienating the majority of Hindus in their own country. Increasing anxiety in the hearts of millions of Hindus would do no good to the social fabric of our society. We hope the present dispensation at the Centre would soon realise its mistake. Else we are heading to the point of no return
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