Author: Liz Mathew
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: December 9, 2007
The controversial Adam's bridge off the Tamil
Nadu coast could be "man-made" and has an "echo in the ancient
mythological epic, the Ramayan", says a Government publication tabled
in Parliament last week -- a development that could put the Congress-led UPA
regime in a piquant spot.
A book, Images India, published by Hyderabad-based
National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) that comes under the Department of Space,
says the satellite images have revealed an "ancient bridge between India
and Sri Lanka in Palk Strait".
"The origin of the bridge is a mystery.
Archaeological studies have revealed that the bridge dates back to the primitive
age, that is about 1,750,000 years."
"Its structure suggests that it may be
man-made," it says on Page 39 of the coffee table book under the sub-title,
'Stunning Structures'.
"This 30 km long bridge, named as Adam's
bridge, is made of a chain of shoals and links Rameshwaram in south India
to Sri Lanka." It goes on to say: "This has an echo in the ancient
Indian mythological epic, the Ramayan. According to the epic, such a bridge
was built by Lord Ram and his followers to reach Sri Lanka. Studies are still
on but the bridge is seen as an example of ancient history linked to the Indian
mythology."
The revelations in the book, with a foreword
by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G Madhavan Nair, are
in contrast to what the Government has been maintaining so far -- that the
*setu* is formed by giant tombolos or bars of sand.
It also contradicts the findings of the Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI), which said in an affidavit, since withdrawn, that there
is no "historic or scientific" evidence of the existence of Lord
Ram or Ram Setu.
The Government has given its nod to the multi-million-dollar
Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, which requires breaking a portion of
Ram Setu to make a route navigable for ships around the Indian peninsula.
The project and the ASI affidavit had put
the Government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress in a major
embarrassment.
Shipping Minister TR Baalu, whose DMK has
made the construction of the canal a prestige issue, has gone to the extent
of saying he will resign from the Cabinet if the bridge is proved to be "man-made".