Shiban Khaibri
Aptly it issaid ,” Belief is a wise wager ; granted that faith cannot be proved , what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false ? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing; wager, then, without hesitation that He exists.”Avoidable controversies and counter defences on matters, even of faith became the hallmark of the Congress governments in power. One of such controversies, though sensitive in nature, was generated about the historical Ram Setu or the Adam’s bridge as “secularists” would call it. UPA, as usual, caring both for its vote banks and for “respecting” the coalition Dharma, very often firmly reiterated by Dr.Manmohan Singh, on Sept 12, 2007 had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court arguing that ValmikiRamayan which mentions Ram Setu built by Lord Ram, lacked scientific and historical veracity.” In other words, it meant that even if it could be a matter of faith, what was important was that it must have historical”evidence”.After a lot of resentment from the people, as it violated religious feelings, it withdrew the affidavit on Sept 14, 2007. Congress led UPA, thus questioned the historicity of the existence of Shree Ram and consequently, building of the Setu .Shree Ram is not only deeply ingrained religious feelings of hundreds of millions of people but He is the soul, the face and the cultural heritage of this country. Congress, however, ignored this cardinal fact and decided to proceed with the ill conceived proposed economic project of Sethusamadrum Shipping Canal project. It was conceived in 2005 during UPA 1 which meant dredging of the entire length of area and damaging the formation having historical – religious connotations.
Just to project itself “secular of a special brand” and to pamper its political ally , the DMK, it decided to go ahead erratically in such a way in this sensitive matter that there seemed to be no telling what to do next.It is worth noting that the shipping Minister in the ManmohanSingh cabinet was from the DMK which wanted the Sethu to be demolished to shorten the distance between two ends and “to promote commerce”. The then government, therefore, vituperatively did float the views of “myth”, “No historical evidence”, mentioned in “mythological epics” and so on. They did it all despite Geological Survey of India holding the expert view that the Setu is not natural but manmade. Besides deeply hurting the religious sentiments of the people, its destruction or major damaging could have grossly threatened the marine bio- diversity of the region as well.
Whether Ram Setu is manmade or natural, this unnecessary and unwarranted controversy has recently been settled by a leading science channel. It says that Ram Setu that connects India and Sri Lanka is not a natural formation but is manmade. It quotes American archaeologists who say that the stretch of 50 Kms between Rameshwaram’sPambanIsland in India and MannarIsland off Sri Lanka is man – made. Scientists say that the rocks are 7000 years old thus confirming exactly what is written in the great epic Ramayan by Rishi Valmiki. Was our own authority in the field, The Archaeological Survey of India not tasked to find out and submit its report on the subject by the previous governments ? Why has the present government too, done nothing in the matter so far? The Indian Council of Historical Research, on the other hand, likewise,appears to adopt a lackadaisical approach in not submitting its report to the government after making necessary studies.
It is a travesty that in India, almost everything associated with the majority community in matters of faith and belief, is either questioned in respect of its veracity or is made subject to lengthy investigations and litigations. Even the scientific explanation is questioned if it went in favour of the faith which could only be termed as quite unfortunate but surely vexatious. The professional science channel, under reference, has confirmed what has been held so near to heart by the people of this country for over 7000 years and shall remain as such till eternity. Yes, Ram Setu is real irrespective of politics traded over it. In 1480, reports are that a strong tsunami did cause some damage to it and this heritage of unparalleled marvel needs to be developed. It could become an attraction of religious tourism and even qualify for being known as the eighth wonder of the Ancient World.
Needless to mention , is it not a tragedy that an invader from a pauper foreign country who invaded India nearly 500 years ago gets more credence over Lord Ram in this country knowing fully that faith could not be made subservient to cheap politics. It won’t be an exaggeration that post independence era virtually still appears to wear colonial mindset. Why have Americans to clarify our controversies like the one under reference? Why has National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to remove our doubts which otherwise could be done by us ? Why are chain of doubts, probabilities, suspicions, confusions, hesitancies and misinformation spread routinely only when it concerns the faith, cultural moorings, historical glories and rituals of nearly 100 crore people of India ? Could such liberties be taken with other faiths, is a pertinent question.
The matter does not stop here. Mohan Parasran, Solicitor General in UPA era has put the UPA in an embarrassing position by exposing it on Ram Setu issue. He said that the UPA never believed in Shree Ram and that “I come from that area and that Lord Ram walked the Setu.” He recused himself from the case as it was “a matter of intense faith of millions of people.”Speaking to a news channel Prasaran told that there were conflicting reports and the UPA government went by such reports prepared by some bureaucrats. He told the channel that the Congress party did not take a particular stand on the issue. Not only this, the then UPA Union LawMinister H. R. Bhardwaj hadheld , “Shree Ram’s existence is as true as the Himalayas or the Ganga”. Eminent Anthropologist S.S. Sashi and many Geologists in their versions authoritatively have corroborated the views of the science channel on the Ram Setu.
No doubt Congress has, now, done a volte – face by stating that “We always believed in the Ram Setu, we do not disagree with the existence of Lord Ram and Ram Setu” , Rajiv Shukla, Congress leader further goes on, “the only thing was whether the passage should be provided through the Setu or not but our government did not allow the bridge to be broken and that the Ram Setu is still intact.” This latest statement from Congress finds resonance in the A. R. Antony led committee findings in respect of the historical debacle of the Party in 2014 LokSabha elections in many ways. Let faith and matters associated with faith be held in high esteem without resorting to any playing of politics. Last but not the least, secularism should neither remain any more pseudo nor get degenerated into sadist – secularism.
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