Al Gore is “the former next president of the United States”, and he says so himself, tongue firmly in giant cheek. After the 2009 general elections, Lalchand Kishinchand Advani is clearly “the former future prime minister of India“, except that no one in his party, least of all Advani, has the sense, humour or the sense of humour to say that.

On his newly launched spoof site, Noise of India, Mysorean GAUTAMA P. fills this vital hole in the democratic discourse, with a item designed to make all those who mourn this cruel twist of fate feel good, at least in cyberspace.

***

“Ad-vani, the most clicked online Ad in Indian political history, was formally sworn in as India’s online PM on an undisclosed Google server. The ceremony was witnessed by hundreds of online ads including Jet Airways, bharat matrimony and Dominos Pizza.

“Security was tight, and all the ads had to pass through a firewall before being ushered into the RAM area. The installation went off smoothly, despite some angry heckling by the RAM’s step-motherboard and Dravidian parties raking up the south-bridge issue.

“Later, addressing a gathering of RSS feeds, Ad-vani vowed to focus on core ideological issues like Bangladeshi spam and bovine intercourse on the Discovery channel. He noted that the party was currently going through its worst phase of Rahul-kala.

“Next, logging on to Facebook, he lustily superpoked Manmohan Singh and invited him to a game of pseudo-ku. He ignored Uma Bharati’s friend request and banged his head on Sudheendra Kulkarni’s wall. On Orkut he deleted Varun Gandhi’s scraps and posted a video of him deleting Varun Gandhi’s scraps. Finally, sensing the restlessness of the youth, he tweeted: “from now on, no more Mandir, only Mandira.”

Visit the site: Noise of India

Photograph: courtesy The Associated Press

Also read: ‘The only person to blame for BJP loss is Advani’

Defeat of BJP is a defeat of BJP brand of journalism

Even a paper tiger roars when ship starts leaking

An ancient manuscript of the Mahabharata

Hindu mythology is indeed very rich. ‘Mythology’ comes from ‘myth’, and millions of Hindus around the world treat them as gospel. Mahabharata in one of the root texts from which the current popular form of Hinduism is based. However, the jury is still out there on the historicity of the Mahabharata. No compelling evidence has been found to conclusively prove that the events of the Mahabharata indeed took place, at least to the effect and consequence as described in the book.

I stumbled across a paper on the historical accuracy of the Mahabharata. Here is an excerpt of  a  report by S.S.N. Murthy, School of Physical Sciences, JNU, New Delhi. The full study in PDF format can be found here.

It is not uncommon in mythology to create elaborate stories around historic heroic figures to elevate them to the level of gods who have time and again formed the basis for the development of religious sects. In Hindu mythology the scene is slightly different where popular stories have been woven around Vedic themes that had nothing to do with history. Typical is the example of ‘the three strides of Vishnu mentioned at about a dozen places in Rigveda, which in the post-Vedic period was evolved into the ‘Våmana’ (dwarf) incarnation of Vishnu, with the original Vedic theme having been forgotten subsequently. The great Epic story “Mahåbhårata” which has influenced the life and culture in the Indian subcontinent for over 2200 years is probably another such example. So far all archeological excavations (Ghosh, 1989), at some of the important places mentioned in the Epic have yielded nothing, which can corroborate the story.

The assertions made by the article itself are in question, for which do follow the discussion below.

————————————————————————————————————–

[Also Read:  How prayer works.

Religion was progressive.

Ghosts explained. ]

François Gautier

Source: Expressbuzz
First Published : 30 Jan 2009 02:01:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 30 Jan 2009 08:45:50 AM IST

How many of us remember the young Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres in the mid-Eighties, when they walked freely in the streets of what was known as Madras: young, nice Tamils, who looked more like students than militants? There is no doubt that over the years the LTTE has become a deadly terrorist outfit, eliminating in cold blood anyone it felt was in the way of its aspirations, including other Sri Lankan Tamil leaders.

The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi was symbolic of that ruthlessness: he was murdered on the assumption that he would then follow an anti- LTTE policy once back in power after the experience of the IPKF.

Today the Tamils of Sri Lanka are paying a heavy price for the assassination: they are losing the war with the Sri Lankan army, mostly because the Congress of Sonia Gandhi, who has never forgiven them for her husband’s murder, is backing the Sinhalese leadership.

But before the LTTE is wiped out, India would do well to think whether it would serve its geopolitical purposes to have a triumphant Sinhala neighbour. For this, one has to first look at the history of Sri Lanka.

There seems little doubt that a few thousand years ago, India and Sri Lanka were linked by a small strip of land, which can still be seen today from the air: Adam’s Bridge, or Ram Setu. This is how the first Tamils, those who settled in the North, came to Sri Lanka. One has to go back a long time to understand what factors shaped the psyche of the island’s two communities. The decisive factor bears the names of two of the world’s greatest religions: Buddhism and Hinduism.

The first is a gentle, peaceful creed that teaches non-violence and brotherhood, even to enemies. Unfortunately, Ceylon, the “isle of beauty”, has always been a tempting prey for sea-faring invaders.

Successive colonisers, from Arabs to Africans, from Portuguese to Dutch and finally, British, preyed on the tiny, defenceless island.

In the name of Buddhism and because the Sinhalese are by nature a fun-loving people, not only did they hardly resist these invasions, but often their women mingled freely with the invaders. The result can be seen today in the faces of many Sinhalese women folk, with their kinky hair or Arabic features.

As a result, the Sinhalese slowly lost their sense of identity, their feeling of collective being, to the point that when the British came, they collaborated wholeheartedly and had to be handed back their independence on a platter, for want of a real freedom movement.

Today, democracy and western institutions are just a cloak that the Sinhalese wear. Lurking underneath is a sense of hopelessness and a terrible violence. Its politicians have been among the least farsighted of the entire subcontinent: nothing is made in Sri Lanka. Only tea, tourism and Western grants help it survive. On the other hand Hinduism, with its strict caste hierarchy, protected the Tamils from mingling with their invaders. They preserved their identity and culture. The Sinhalese live an easier life in the South, always more fertile than the arid North. As a result, Tamils are often better at studies and more hard working, (although one should not generalise). The British noticed it and often gave Tamils preference for jobs and university grants, angering the Sinhalese, who after all were the majority community.

It is this deep-rooted resentment that is in greater part the cause of the present troubles. When the British left, the Sinhalese quickly moved to correct what they saw as an imbalance, depriving Tamils of most of the rights they had acquired under the British and proceeded to establish a Sinhalese-dominated Ceylon. Every time a Sinhalese politician tried to give the Tamils their just share of power, he was forced to backtrack for fear of Sinhalese resentment.

For years, Tamils bore the brunt of Sinhalese persecution. But one day, too much became too much and Tamil armed groups started springing up to defend their people. To cut short a long story, the LTTE finally emerged as the most ruthless and sole militant organisation.

Yet, in 1988, Rajiv stepped in to mediate between the warring Sinhalese and Tamils. All kinds of insulting epithets have been used to describe the Jayewardene-Rajiv Gandhi peace plan and the IPKF’s role in Sri Lanka, but these are unfair.

The plan was the best that could be done in the circumstances, and the IPKF did not come to conquer, but to help. All the same, India got bogged down in a guerrilla war, with one hand tied behind the back to avoid killing civilians. Ultimately, it had to leave because of pressure at home and Premadasa’s intense dislike of Indians.

Today Tamils are on the verge of being completely overrun. And this raises the question of India’s security.

What will be the consequences of a triumphant Sinhalese majority? Are not Sri Lankan Tamils closer to Indians, culturally, socially and spiritually, than the Sinhalese? Will Sri Lanka, like Bangladesh before it, turn on India once it has achieved, with India’s help, its goals? The Government of India should think twice and remember Rama and Ravana before it allows the Sri Lankan army totally to subdue the north.

fgautier@rediffmail.com

Prologue : No one can possibly see humour at such a time. This post is obviously black humour.

While everyone was watching the tales of horror unfold on the Indian news channels (not to be confused with news channels that report news), many of us were wondering if this was the same India where bombs referred to the small noisy crackers we lit during Diwali and rarely after cricket matches, school going kids never sure if ‘terrorist’ contained 1 ‘r’ or  2 ‘r’s and glasses shattered only by stray cricket balls accompanied by the yelling of a grumpy old man. But apart from these, we always identified India with small innocent memories like politicians bickering, callousness of the leaders, apathy of the people and that precious feeling of “To hell with India”.

Which is why the recent attacks were doubly disturbing. They not only destoyed the fabric of a city, they annihilated the spirit of an entire nation. I could see leaders uniting (for a day), netizens actually using the word ‘India’ in their status messages, e-mails and petitions not for some lame turtles but for real citizens, people coming up with solutions for their problems and worst still, wasting time discussing about the country despite the fact that Amitabh Bachchan has a severely upset psychological condition at this very moment. How insensitive, no ?

This was not the India I knew, and I could not identify with this India.

But thankfully, we have once again proven that you cannot destroy the great democracy that is India with a single attack. Such is the power of this great country. It has not even taken us a few days to completely get to normal. Take that you @#!@#@@ (random number of alphanumeric characters here, don’t bother applying your excellent ‘explitivory’, which is NOT an English word so don’t come crying, skills) terrorists.

I proudly present the top 10 signs that India has returned back to normal.

10. We are receiving news that Dhoni has skipped his B.Com. exam paper, I presume because he is the skipper.

9. Shiv Sena bans Pakistani players and artists, not realizing that they have already done so 10,23,234 times before.

8. We are reminded that Ram Gopal Varma still exists and is threatening to make another movie (and you thought the terrorists could make you forget about RGV and his Aag).

7. BJP re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-iterates its demand for tougher terror laws. Oxford has offered them a free copy of their dictionary which specially includes the phrase ’suicide squads’.

6. President Pratibha Patil has arrived in Mumbai hoping her skills with seances (communicating with spirits) can aid investigation.

5. India is awaiting Pakistan’s response on its ‘20 Most wanted list’.

4. Maharashtra home minister plays down the incident in Mumbai plagiarizing a line from DDLJ (an untoward incident like this can happen in such a big city like Mumbai), and on severe reactions blames it on his bad Hindi.

3. There is a demand for ’sacred site’ status to the Ram Setu.

2. Shiv Sena demands President’s rule in Maharashtra, realizing after one whole year that she is in fact a  Maharashtrian.

and the topmost fact that gives me the most confidence about the normal state of affairs ..

1. Mahesh Bhatt is back to talking random things about random topics.

But I must admit, the recent terror attacks have left us with one difference; something that I did not expect in my wildest dreams to change, Karan Johar’s orientation. He is now talking about bashing up politicians. Efforts are on to bring him back to consciousness by forceful screenings of Dostana.

Disclaimer : If you still haven’t guessed it, nothing mentioned above is true. I am not even sure if the above mentioned people actually exist. In fact, I am not even sure if I exist.

Credits : Aag review by Greatbong, Top 10 list inspired by the Late Show with David Letterman.

October 27, 2008
One Diwali the highly revered monk of Hindus, Swami Jayendra Saraswati, was arrested while performing puja. The secular world celebrated it as a victory of law and constitutional propriety. When nothing was proved, all the chargesheets turned bunkum, the Supreme Court gave a verdict favouring the swami’s release on bail, but no one retracted the strong, often abusive words used for the Hindu monk. It was met with silence as if nothing important had happened.

One Krishna Janmashtami night, another ochre-robed reformist monk, Swami Lakshmanananda, was murdered along with an aged Hindu nun, Ma Bhaktimoyee, in his ashram. Secularists tried to direct and guide the entire investigation till the arrested murderers confessed that swami’s work among tribals made prosylitisation difficult and hence they took the violent way.

The media linked the violence post-Lakshmanananda’s murder to various Hindu organisations and completely ignored the brutal killing of the sanyasi and the lady monk.

This Diwali, Hindus were labelled as ‘terrorists’.

There is a university in Delhi [Images] which gets a large amount of Saudi grants, and which thought it appropriate to honour a Muslim painter whose nudes of Hindu gods and goddesses and Mother India were opposed by Hindus, with a Doctor of Philosophy degree, honoris causa. The same university’s vice chancellor, in a display of public affection for those students arrested for treason by a Congress government, declared that he will fund their ’struggle’ as they are his ‘children’ and they would be considered innocent till proved guilty.

The secular world applauded his decision as bold and highly moral.

A Hindu sadhvi has been arrested for her alleged involvement in the Malegaon blasts. But not a single Hindu organisation came out in her support saying she remains a member of the global Hindu fraternity and would be considered innocent till proved guilty and hence shall provide all the financial assistance to her.

I was thinking, suppose I start a ’support Pragya fund’ how any Hindu saints and ashrams and mutts and leaders would come out in support? Doesn’t she deserve help and support till proved innocent?

Unlike the sweet little students of the university’s vice chancellor, who were arrested from the area of the Batla House encounter, Pragya was in Surat [Images], giving a religious discourse when the Malegaon blasts occurred in September. Her bike had been sold years before. No one said the blasts were organised to make Hindu law applicable or turn the nation into a Hindu state. No one had quoted Hindu scriptures to justify what would be termed as a ghastly act, inhuman and un-Hindu.

Yet, there was a virtual celebration in the so-called secular camp, they were over-joyous as if they have reached the moon. Got it, they said, what we were saying for years! The usual suspects were on our TV screens, delightedly giving interviews and the media lapped up crispy descriptions like Hindu terror, Hindu bomb, Saffron terrorism. When they quote the Quran, seculars cry don’t label them Islamic terrorists, but Hindus being Hindus must be termed as Hindu terrorists to keep a ‘balance’. So those who insult the memory of a martyred police officer show their glee over having succeeded in bringing the term ‘Hindu terrorism’ in vogue. What greater shield could an Islamic terrorist have wished for!

They were itching for this day � and they have got it.

Last year too the 2006 Malegaon blasts were blamed on Hindus. Later the agencies proved they were done by SIMI [Images]. This year, Union ministers were demanding the ban on SIMI be lifted in spite of truckloads of evidence of the organisation’s involvement in deadly blasts and waging war against the State, the most heinous crime in any part of the world. And the investigations, gathering of proof and the hard, difficult investigation, were done by government agencies.

The same honourable members of the Union cabinet demanded banning Hindu organisations, in spite of having no evidence of their involvement in violent activities or working against the Indian State. Those who ignore the Supreme Court’s verdict on a terrorist who was accused waging war against the State, demand that Hindu organisations be banned for their patriotism. Once they drove out the tricolour folks from the Kashmir Valley, now they assassinate their morale in the rest of the country.

For the sake of Muslim vote-bank, SIMI had to be helped and Hindu organisations needed to be shown as being involved in anti-national activities. The balancing had to be achieved, like the U C Banerjee Commission. Much before the honourable commission could start work on Godhra, leaders were declaring during the Bihar election campaign — many of whom loved to be seen with an Osama look-alike — that the Godhra train inferno was a creation of Hindus so that they could get a chance to pounce on Muslims.

So much for their secular credentials!

This time, too, they had tremendous amount of pressure to nurse their vote-banks. Elections are right here, campaigning has begun, chances look very bleak seeing the public mood, and voters seem already restless with high prices, growing inflation and an insecure atmosphere. Hence a communal divide would help. If such considerations can be credited as having instigated the ‘creation’ of a Hindu or ‘Saffron’ terrorism, would it be a far-fetched conclusion?

The intelligent people who could create a Bhindranwale, or a Raj Thackeray [Images], to ‘defeat’ one or the other political opponent, could also be trusted to repeat the feat elsewhere.

So, this time, the police version is not to be distrusted or questioned. The first suspicion about police action is reserved for the Batla House fraternity. Hindu monks do not deserve it.

The term ‘Hindu terrorism’ looks so attractive to secularists. Proof, evidence, and final acquittal may take year. But the articles, front page edits, condemnations, further isolation, and cornering of the saffron side, would help someone. That’s enough for today.

That this way may turn more dangerous tomorrow is not understood by the perpetrators of the secular pogrom of words against the Hindu Right. Every nation has a soul and a colour. India’s soul is Hindu civilisation and the colour is saffron. Samuel Huntington described America as a Latin Christian nation, and it doesn’t make her any less to give other communities second-class citizenship.

It may be the first time in its four hundred years of democratic history that a Black might be sworn in as President, who would take oath on the Bible. Who would demand that it’s an unhealthy tradition, as non-Christians also built America? Traditions, colours and the inner core are always sacred and nations preserve them at all costs. If the same elements are humiliated and turned into icons of shame, nothing remains except a dead, meaningless smoke of rootless words.

India’s Hinduness is that essential element to define this nation. We can’t be explained through Saudis, Marx or Bethlehem. Or through Arabic or Latin or Persian. India is explained by the Ganga, Krishna, Ram and Gandhi. By Kumbh Mela, Sanskrit chanting, lighting of the lamp, Namaste, the Vedas, Guru Nanak’s teachings, Guru Gobind Singh’s valour, Buddha’s global message of peace and compassion and Mahavir’s ahimsa. India is deciphered by Dhammapad, the Gita, the Guru Granth Sahib and a divine love that saw the emergence of Radha and Meera. That fired the imaginations of doyens like Tagore and Vivekananda. Together they make a mutually supportive group of Indian streams of faith that welcomed and accommodated without murmur all other ways of worship brought here through various means.

Every single persecuted community in the world found a respectable space here, while they were brutalised, uprooted, converted and ‘museum-ised’ in other countries. The legacy of tolerance and plurality is the legacy of the Hindus and all those faiths born and flowered here. It made Taj Mahal [Images] possible and Jesus adored by a non-Christian majority. You deny them this place of honour, make them shrink in a defensive shell, and you lose India.

For just a comeback to power? And how!

Ram Sethu [Images] becomes a target of destruction, Ram is denied, Ram’s history linked with the bridge is mocked at, Sita’s persona is caricaturized in public, the shrinking Hindu population and their conversion become victory signposts of the secularists, Hindus driven out of Kashmir are deleted from all lists of secular concern, Hindu temples are taken over by the atheist State and their revenue used on non-Hindu areas, while not a single non-Hindu place of worship is taken over or ‘managed’ on similar grounds by the governors! More than sixty thousand Hindus have been killed by terrorists in various actions during the last three decades, five lakh have been uprooted and turned refugees, but no one shares their grief or respects their courage, but terms them terrorist in a matter of 24 hours, that too relying on media hype and an election platform?

After centuries Hindus got freedom that should have meant a free space for them to flower their culture, language and traditions. After all, the invaders came to attack and loot them and raze their temples. Wasn’t it a matter of logical right that they should have been honoured for exemplary resistance and resilience and showing an extraordinary tolerance towards all those communities whose leaders had been in the forefront to deprive them of basic human rights? But instead, the victims were portrayed as aggressors and humiliated for their colour and faith. What has changed since Ghauris and Ghaznavis and the inquisitionist Portuguese left?

They killed us but never portrayed Hindus as terrorists. This secular dispensation is celebrating Diwali with that label gifted to Hindus. It will not remain unanswered. Hindus as a mainline faith never never never believed in any kind of cowardice that’s the hallmark of terrorism we see today. Killing innocents, shooting at fellow citizens and the dreaded midnight knocks just for the reason they wear a different faith.

If that was the case, the way Islamists quote from religious scriptures and declare their religious intentions while committing ghastly acts of violence, how much ever disapproved of by their co- religionists living and enjoying democratic freedoms, Hindus too would have shown the same streaks immediately after their women were gang-raped and kids murdered in Kashmir. There was no revenge in the rest of the country. Not a single Hindu soul would ever justify any act of terrorism ever (and please don’t refer to exceptions to corner Hindus, see the principal stream). Born reformists, they would revolt if anyone did that.

But I am afraid the secular hate-mongers are pushing Hindus into a difficult corner without a space to be heard. Not a single ‘mainline’ newspaper publishes their views, though any number of assaults on them are a matter of routine. This is creating a grave situation and it’s a warning signal that can be ignored only at the peril of the nation’s great legacy of plurality.

Tarun Vijay is a director of the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation

Ram Sethu, also Known as Rama’s Bridge and Adam’s Bridge, Bridges Dhanushkodi, the southern most tip of  India and Talaimannar, the northern most tip of Sri Lanka.

Before you read this post I must repeat my disclaimer that this is entirely my point of view and it may offend conservatives and orthodoxly religious people. Rest are mature enough to understand what I’m trying to say. India is a land of festivals and all of them centered around some god/goddess or other. Today is Ganesh Chaturthi which marks the beginning of Lord Ganesh’s festival of 10 days. Yesterday students had come to us lecturers, as they do each year, for monetary contribution to the festival. All of us contributed. But if it had been for Bihar Flood Relief Aid, most people would have been suspicious and hesitant to give money because they know their politicians and officials. But still my point is that our institution or the students didn’t even try to raise a fund for the aid, whereas they are ever eager to collect money and celebrate yet another religious festival. The question in my mind is what is the point of religion?

Imagine just for a minute that if there had been no religion since the time Homo Sapiens became civilized how would have the world turned out to be? By no religion I mean none at all!! I for one think the world we know today would have been free of a lot of problems, wars, strifes and hypocrisies. I understand Man felt the need to fall back on some higher authority, some mysterious force to provide him the strength and endurance…someone to put his faith on..some explanation to the happenings around him. So the concept of God entered. But why did it divide into so many different religions which I feel are nothing but different ways to please the same entity. Why the concept of God got mixed up with the concept of worshiping him/her/whatever? i mean that I believe in some entity but why is it required that I need to please him with flowers,incense and all the jazz instead of my activities? Why the right and moral things are defined by a code of mythological stories centered around God and in case of Hindus, so many gods? Can’t we humans being the most superior and intelligent species, behave and act out of our own conscience, judgment and discretion? Do you think if religion wasn’t there we wouldn’t know that its bad to kill other living beings or that its bad to disrespect one’s elders or that its bad to steal or to be greedy or to drink alcohol?

I mean if the right and wrong acts had been simply documented over ages,it would have served its purpose without the religious angle to it. What is the necessity of religion to define the code of living for humans? Why should religion dominate the way of living of a person? Why going to a temple or a mosque or church should label me as a good person? What is the necessity to belong to a religion, any religion to remember God, given one believes in the entity? Why should a particular method be specified to worship the entity? Why should there be a need to worship at all?

The people suffering right now in Bihar must have worshiped a lot but did the Vighnaharta (trouble-shooter) stop the floods from happening ? So many lakhs of people can’t be sinners of that extent!!! If there was no religion there would have been no Amarnath Shrine problem or Babri Masjid demolition or Crusades or Ram Setu controversy or the Partition of India or the terrorism that stemmed from it. If there was no religion it would not have been possible for the politicians to create vote bank out of the common man’s religious sentiments or self proclaimed god men to cheat thousands of people or some fundamentalist leader to misguide his people. If there was no religion, there would be no hypocrites who follow all the rituals and yet indulge in sins in name of religion. There would be no one to take advantage of people in name of religion and brainwash them to believe terrorism is a jihad. If there was no religion, so much money would not be wasted on constructing worship places or donations or polluting the environment. I mean what’s the use of celebrating Navratri if we kill the girl child in the same country?

For me, religion symbolizes nothing more than holidays, sweets and new clothes!! And if we didn’t have religion, we would have some other occasions to celebrate and declare as holidays. When I close my eyes in prayer in some difficult moment, I don’t address any Durga or Ram or Shiva or Allah or any other God. It just doesn’t strike me!! and I’m happy the way I am. And thankfully my life has been pretty good that way. Of course to please others and to conform to the marking system of society, I do visit temples and participate in festivals but I feel awkward as to what I may do wrong as I have never felt the need to know rituals or customs. I’m not an atheist but I don’t feel the need to belong to any religion or be religious to have faith in God or to prove to God that I believe. So tell me what is the point or usefulness of religion?

Some good quotes:-

“We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.” ~ Jonathan Swift

“All religions are the same: religion is basically guilt, with different holidays.” ~Cathy Ladman

“Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion – several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn’t straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother’s path to happiness and heaven.” ~Mark Twain

An Inuit hunter asked the local missionary priest: “If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?” “No,” said the priest, “not if you did not know.” “Then why,” asked the Inuit earnestly, “did you tell me?” ~Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

]]> http://indianraksa.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/sc-reprimands-karunanidhi/ Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:24:25 +0000 Chhatrapati Shivaji http://indianraksa.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/sc-reprimands-karunanidhi/

This so called ‘atheist’ and ’secularist’ had it coming.

The Supreme Court on Monday threatened to issue arrest warrants against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Union Transport Minister T R Baalu and four others for failing to respond to a contempt notice on the Sethusamudram bandh row. [Rediff]

As I had noted elsewhere about his hypocrisy when it comes to Hinduism, here I will rehash it. I have no problem with his critical view of Hinduism, but to do it under the veil of atheism and secularism and then to forget the same when it comes to other religions is unacceptable.

It should be noted he made a scathing attack on the character of lord Ram by calling him a drunkard, in reply to L K Advani’s plea to take back his statements on the existence of Ram. Well, what does this ‘atheist’ and ’secularist’ has to say when it is not Hinduism? All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) chief, Maulana Rabey Hasni Nadwi had claimed that there’s no room for family planning in Islam. Consistency requires that he attacks Muhammad’s character with regards to women, and point out that even his beloved wife Aisha had mocked his privileges with women accorded to no other muslim, and also the views of other companions of the Muhammad who claimed muhammad’s privileges with women are due to his extreme love for women and sexual prowess, which even led to his contemporaries calling him a womanizer and should have challenged Nadwi for a debate on this claiming why should a womanizers view on family planning be taken seriously? But what does he do? This is what he says in response to Nadwi’s statements.

…efforts should be taken to pacify the community and no hasty decision should be taken in matters pertaining to religion. [ToI]

May I ask him what efforts his party or his ownself, took to pacify the Hindu community on the issue of Ram setu? And why is that he is so hasty in completing the project when the issue is the court?

NOTE: I don’t believe in Ram.

Today I shall quote a verse from the Ramayana (don’t bother checking on me, I am fine). The verse, when translated states :

“Lord Ram himself had said that those who pass near the demolished bridge would be absolved of their sins. If a canal is dredged, several ships can pass near the demolished bridge and the people traveling in them will be absolved of their sins”

Hence proved, that Lord Rama himself destroyed the Ram Setu so that ships could pass through and the travellers could be absolved of their sins, according to this article. This proves beyond doubt that Lord Rama belonged to the UPA, and not the BJP as popularly believed.

As it turns out, most Hindu organizations are going to have to work overtime. They have two project deadlines coming soon : As if MF Hussain returning wasn’t enough, the Government, in support of the Sethusamudram project has said that Lord Rama himself destroyed the Ram Setu after the war, according to one of the millions of versions of the Ramayana. (Considering how many versions of the Ramayana are present, I do wonder if typos while copying one version are counted as new ones.)

P.S. : Somehow, I found IBNLive’s title for this article a bit weird : Oh Lord! Now Govt says Ram destroyed Setu. I would have appreciated a Hey Ram instead of Of Lord ! I think this proves that Rajdeep Sardesai is a patron of the Congress as alleged by my dear friends (in the comments section, obviously) from the Mandir.

I don’t know how judges and lawyers are able to talk of Rama having destroyed a superman-made structure using his magical bow and arrow and still maintain their sanity. If we really have to consider faith each time we do something, everything from mining to drilling should be banned because we are damaging God’s planet. There is a difference between building a dam that will send Benares and all its temples under water and building a canal that cuts through a part of the bridge or setu or whatever. But who is going to convince the Hindu right about this.

As long as there is no material damage to the area’s ecosystem and the project is not a financial white elephant, I really don’t care what happens to the bridge, and I think most people would feel that way. The BJP vs DMK fight is one between some (rabidly faithful) Aryans and some (rabidly atheist) Dravidians. That is the whole point. Swaminathan Aiyar once wrote an open letter to Ashok Singhal where he said “now, I also cannot understand your theory that Ram was born at the very spot where the Babri Masjid once stood…” Maybe Advani should write a letter to Karunanidhi asking him why he wants to build a canal at the exact same spot where Rama built his bridge. He could always suggest a Panama canal like alternative – an inland canal – which the next BJP government could pay for. I don’t think devotees both within and outside India will mind donating a few billion dollars to the “Ram Setu Protection Fund”. Or will they?

Jeremy Page in The Times:

A letter purportedly written by a British official 94 years ago is at the centre of a passionate debate over plans to clear the sea between India and Sri Lanka of a chain of shoals revered by Hindus.

The Indian Government wants to remove the Ram Sethu, or Adam’s Bridge, to create a new shipping channel that it says will cut 250 miles (400km) and 30 hours from the journey between India’s east and west coasts. Ships at present have to sail around Sri Lanka.

Hindu nationalists are fighting the plans in the Supreme Court, arguing that the Ram Sethu was built by an army of monkeys to allow Lord Ram to rescue his abducted wife – as described in the epic Ramayana.

They want the Archaeological Survey of India to list it as a national monument because of its natural beauty and cultural and religious significance.

More:

जिन्होंने ‘जननी जन्मभूमी को स्वर्ग से भी प्यारा’ बताया ऐसे राष्ट्रनायक श्री राम की जन्मभूमी पर राज करनेवाली हमारे देश की सेकुलर सरकार और नेहरू व नेहरुवाद की छत्र-छाया में पोषित वामपंथी इतिहासकार तथ्यों की अनदेखी करते हुए उन्हें झुठलाने के अभियान में जी-जान से लगे हुए हैं. लेकिन श्रीलंका की सरकार ने गहरा शोध अनुसंधान करके रावण और राम के एतिहासिक आस्तित्व के बारे में सच को सबके सामने रखते हुए भारत की सेकुलर जमात के गाल पर करारा तमाचा मारा है. शर्म की बात है की रावण के देश ने भी श्रीराम के वजूद को माना ही बल्कि उसे साबित करके स्वयं को गौरवान्वित महसूस किया है, जबकि भारत के सेकुलर सरकार ने श्रीराम को अभी भी निर्वासित ही हर रखा है. हम तो यही कहेंगे की, प्रभू राम भारत के सेकुलरों को सदबुद्धि दे. …

My grandmother is 75. And she likes her gods. She did not like it one bit when Jayalalitha got the Shankaracharya arrested in the winter of 2004. Would they dare to do such a thing with the Pope or some Muslim holy man, she asked? And when Karunanidhi questioned Ram’s engineering abilities, that did not make her happy either. Just before someone complains, I have to say that she is not some Hindu ‘fundamentalist’. She is like most Indians, reasonably religious and interested in politics. She sees the Tehelka expose on tv and asks whether Modi is really involved; a rhetorical question; she knows just as well as everybody else what happened. After all, she does get her news from the same television channels and (tamil) magazines. I wonder what she would say if she heard that the West Bengal Chief Minister has reignited the Ram – Real or Fake debate (does he not have enough on his plate already?).

Buddhadeb has said that Ram is a fictional figure. I agree wholeheartedly. And I would have agreed more with him (or Karunanidhi, for that matter) if he had said similar things about Prophet Muhammed’s conversations with Allah during the Taslima Nasreen issue. Why is freedom of expression and feelings of Hindus any less important than the Sethusamudram project and the feelings of Muslims? There is no reason other than the fact that he and most Indian politicians are deeply pseudo-secular and indulge in doublespeak. I would have put freedom of expression miles above any possible benefit derived from the project any day because it is an extremely valuable and scarce commodity now-a-days. But that cannot be done as Muslim fundamentalists have shown time and again. While any sleight of Hindu gods or symbols might make the VHP or any of the numerous hindu fundamentalist groups carry out protests and bandhs for a couple of days, burn a few buses and kill a few people, a sleight of an Islamic symbol might trigger a worldwide protest and might even result in a fatwa by some cleric who has nothing else to do.

The BJP and everyone else who taunt pseudo-secularists should consider this fact and forgive Buddha, other politicians and that part of the intelligentsia which is pseudo-secularist. After all they are so because they are shit scared of the wrath of Islam and Islamic fundamentalists. But that is not going to happen, is it now? So, Buddha should watch out the next time he indulges in doublespeak. On the other hand, let Buddha say what he wants. My grandmother is not going to stop believing in Ram because Buddha said so. And I am not going to start believing in him because Buddha said so.

This incident is so funny that it makes a great joke – Buddha says Ram is fictional. I just hope buddhists don’t take offence.

”We want to save the Ram Setu. We have waged a religious war. For that we need workers. From the October 12 to the 26th we will be inducting workers. We have recruited a lot of people during the Ram Lila and Durga Puja programmes,” said Venkatesh Abdeo, All India Joint Secretary, VHP.

What this essentially means is that we will be seeing more heart-wrenching stuff from the VHP sleuths in the next one year. That again translates into loads of entertainment for the political drama enthusiasts. So what if states lose crores of rupees due to the bandhs, rasta rokos and what not? The common man has long been forgotten. This is now a full-blown effort by the BJP and co. to get back to power; if not at the centre at least in the states. No other issue, however grave or politcally juicy it is, matters. Crores of rupees meant for the Tsunami victims have been siphoned away by government officials. But that is too small an issue.

A passing thought occurs: Ram’s vanar sena (monkey army) built the bridge and VHP’s monkey army is now going to ‘protect’ it. Andrew Symonds has been subjected to monkey chants by the Indian spectators. Delhi’s deputy mayor was killed while fighting monkeys two days back. This truly is turning out to be the year of the monkey for India!

என் கட்டுரையில் எழுதுவதற்காக மேற்கோள்களுக்காக இணையத்தில் தேடியபொழுது இனிமேல் புதிதாக நான் சொல்வதற்கு என்ன இருக்கிறது என்னும் அளவிற்கு சிலர் நன்றாகவே எழுதியிருக்கிறார்கள். அவற்றைப் படித்த பின்னரும் ஒரு சிலர் தேர்ந்தெடுத்து மட்டுமே புரிந்து கொள்கிறார்கள். அவர்களுக்கு எத்தனை கட்டுரைகள் எழுதினாலும் விழலுக்கு இரைத்த நீரேயாகுமன்றி பயனொன்றும் தாராது. நான் எப்பொழுதும் பொன்மொழியாக கீழுள்ள மொழியைச் சொல்லுவேன்,

புரிந்தவனுக்கு இருமுறை சொல்லவேண்டிய அவசியமில்லை; புரியாதவனுக்கு இருமுறை சொல்லியும் பிரயோஜனமில்லை.

எனக்கு இந்த மொழி முதன்முதலில் எங்கு கிடைத்ததோ தெரியாது. என்னிடம் நன்றாகவே தங்கிவிட்டது.

ராமர் இல்லை என்றுதான் நான் சொல்லப் போகிறேன் என்று முன்முடிவு செய்துகொண்டு இக்கட்டுரையைத் தொடர இருப்பவர்களுக்கு, ஒரேயொரு வாக்கியம்: உங்களுக்கென்றே ஒரு ஆச்சரியத் தகவல் இக்கட்டுரையின் முடிவில் வைத்திருக்கிறேன்.

செயற்கைக்கோள் படம்

செயற்கைகோள் படங்களை இயற்கை வளங்கள் சம்பந்தமான ஆராய்ச்சிகள் மற்றும் மேலாண்மை முடிவெடுத்தல் போன்றவற்றிற்கு பயன்படுத்த ஆரம்பித்து (late 1960s to early 1970s) சில காலம் ஆகிறது. இன்று நாஸாவைவிட இந்தியாவிடம்தான்  நுட்பத்தால் உயர்வான செயற்கைக்கோள்கள் இருக்கின்றன என்பது பலருக்கும் தெரியாது.

செயற்கைக்கோள்கள் இருவகைப் படும். பூமியைச் சுற்றிவருபவை, பூமிக்குமேல் எப்பொழுதும் ஓரிடத்தில் இருப்பவை. முதல் வகையைத், துருவம் சுற்றும் (polar orbitting) செயற்கைக்கோள்கள் அல்லது சூரியனைச் சார்ந்த (Sun synchronous) செயற்கைக்கோள்கள் என்று சொல்லுவர். இவற்றின் சுற்றும் முறை சூரியனின் இருக்குமிடத்தை (position) வைத்து கணிக்கப் படுவதாலும், பூமியைச் சுற்றுவதற்காக இவை துருவங்கள் வழியாக சென்றுவருவதாலும் இவ்வாறு பெயர் பெற்றன. ஐ.ஆர்.எஸ் வரிசை (IRS series) இவ்வைகையைச் சார்ந்தவை. இவையே தொலை உணர்வு  படங்களைத்  (remote sensing images) தருபவை. இரண்டாம் வகையை, புவிநிலை (Geo stationary) செயற்கைக் கோள் அல்லது புவி சார்ந்த (Geosynchronous) செயற்கைக்கோள் என்று சொல்லுவர். இவற்றின் சுற்றும் முறை புவியின் இருக்கும் இடைத்தை வைத்துக் கணிக்கப் படுவதாலும், எப்பொழுதுமே பூமிக்கு மேல் ஓரிடத்தை மட்டுமே பார்க்கும் படியாக சுற்றுவதாலும் இவற்றிற்கு இந்தப் பெயர். இவ்வகையே வான்நிலை ஆராய்ச்சி (weather prediction) மற்றும் தொலை தொடர்பு (telecommunication) சம்பந்தமான  உபயோகங்களுக்குப்   பயன்படுகிறது.  இவை  தொலை  உணர்வு  படங்கள்  தராது.  இன்ஸாட் (INSAT) செயற்கைக்கோள் போன்றவை இவ்வகையே. 

செயற்கைக்கோள் படங்களை ராணுவத்தாரன்றி பொது மக்கள் பயனுக்கு முதன்முதலில் உபயோகப் படுத்த ஆரம்பித்தபோது, அதிக வரவேற்பைப் பெறவில்லை. காரணம் என்னவென்றால், செயற்கைக் கோள் படத்தில் ஒரு புள்ளி (pixel) என்பது பூமியில், தரையில், 80மீ x 80மீ பரப்பளவைக் குறித்தது. இதை spatial resolution என்று சொல்லுவர், அல்லது சுருக்கமாக 80மீ resolution என்று சொல்லுவர். ஆனாலும் geology போன்ற பரந்த நிலத்தை ஆராயவேண்டிய படிப்புகளுக்கும், இதுவரை யாரும் போகாத, போகமுடியாத இடங்களின் படங்களும் ஆர்வத்தை வளர்க்க, செயற்கைக்கோள் படங்கள் வரவேற்கப்பட ஆரம்பித்தன. 80மீ resolutionலிருந்து 30மீ resolutionக்கு நாஸா முன்னேறியது மிகப் பெரிய முன்னேற்றமாகும். அதன்பின், பிரெஞ்சு செயற்கைக் கோள் 20மீ resolutionஇல் வண்ணப் படமும், 10மீ resolutionல் கறுப்பு வெள்ளைப் படமும் எடுக்கும்படியாக நுட்பம் வளர்ந்ததோடு, படம் எடுக்கும் முறையிலும் பிரெஞ்சு செயற்கைக்கோளில் இருந்த உணர்கருவி (sensor)யின் நுட்பம் வளர்ந்தது. (செயற்கைக்கோள் இந்த உணர்கருவியை வைத்திருக்கும் ஒரு வீடு அல்லது ஒரு தளம்தானே ஒழிய, படங்கள் எடுப்பது/தருவது  இந்த  உணர்கருவிகள்தாம்).

இந்தியா இத்துறையில் நுழைந்தபோதே, இந்தப் புதுமுறையில் படம் எடுக்கும் படி தன் உணர்கருவிகளைத் தயாரித்ததோடு, பிரெஞ்சு நாட்டின் தொலைஉணர்வுப் படங்களுக்கு ஓரளவு இணையாக spatial resolution இருக்கும் படியாகவும் தன் உணர்கருவிகளைத் தயாரித்து வான்வெளியில் விட்டது. அப்பொழுது இந்தியாவிற்கு மிக முக்கிய வெற்றி தன் தேவைகளுக்கு அதிக விலைகொடுத்து இப்படங்களை மற்றவரிடம் வாங்காமல், நம்மிடமே குறைந்தவிலையில் நம் ஆராய்ச்சி மற்றும்  பிற உபயோகங்களுக்கு இப்படங்கள் கிடைத்தன.

ஆனாலும் சில துறைகளுக்கு இந்த spatial resolution போதுமானதாக் இருக்கவில்லை. இந்தியா போன்ற வளர்ந்து வரும் நாட்டிற்கு, நாளொருமேனியும் பொழுதொரு வண்ணமுமாக பரந்து விரிந்து கொண்டிருக்கும் நகரங்கள் சம்பந்தப் பட்ட ஆராய்ச்சிகள் மற்றும் மேலாண்மை முடிவுகளுக்கு இப்படங்கள் போதுமானதாக இல்லை.

படங்களை ஆராயும் முறையிலும், கணினி ஆராய்ச்சிகளிலும், ரேடார் போன்ற உணர்கருவிகள் கொண்டுமாக பல்வேறு திசைகளில் நுட்பம் வளர்ந்தது. சில விசயங்களுக்கு readymade products தேவைப்பட்டது.  இல்லையேல், ஒவ்வொருமுறையும், செயற்கைக்கோள் படங்களை raw dataவாக வாங்கி, அதை தன் கணினியில் தேவையான productஆக மற்றும் மறுபடி மறுபடி ஒரேமாதிரியான processing செய்து சில products செய்வதை விட தனியாரிடமிருந்து கிடைத்தால் வாங்கிக் கொள்ள அலுவலங்கள் தயாராயின. ஒவ்வொறு நிறுவனமும் மிகவும் skilled professionalஐ வேலைக்கு வைத்துக் கொள்ள வேண்டிய தேவையையும், special software மற்றும் computer systems வைத்துக் கொள்ள வேண்டிய தேவையையும் இது குறைத்தது. தனியார் நிறுவனங்கள் அதிகமாயின.

செயற்கைக் கோள் படங்களின் உபயோகமும் அதன் popularityயும்  அதிகரிக்கவே, என்ன படங்கள் யாரிடம் வாங்கலாம், என்ன விலை என்பவை சுலபமாக browse செய்து பார்த்து தெரிந்து கொண்டு வாங்கிக் கொள்ளும்படி வாடிக்கையாளர்களுக்கு வசதியாக தனியார் மற்றும் அரசாங்க நிறுவனங்கள் தங்களிடம் உள்ள செயற்கைக் கோள் படங்களைப் பொதுப் பார்வையில் சுலபமாகக் கிடைக்கும்படி செய்தன.

அமெரிக்காவில் தனியார் துறைகள் செயற்கைக் கோள் விட ஆரம்பித்து, அவற்றின் spatial resolutionஉம் 1மீக்கும் குறைவாக வர, இந்திய ராணுவம் பதறியது வேறுகதை. அதனால் இந்திய செயற்கைக்கோள் உணர்கருவிகள் நல்ல spatial resolutionஇல் படங்களை வெளிவரவிடாமல் இந்திய ராணுவம் தடுத்தது மற்றொரு கதை. இன்று ISRO என்ன செய்து கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள் என்பதை அறிய இங்கு மற்றும் இங்கு செல்லவும்.

பொதுமக்களோ,  ஆராய்ச்சியாளர்களோ,  யாராயிருந்தாலும்  எல்லோரும்  வாடிக்கையாளர்களே.  வாடிக்கையாளர்  வசதிக்காக  browse  products  என்று  சில  குறுக்கப்பட்ட  படங்களை  தங்கள்  இணைய  தளங்களில்  பொது மக்களின்  பார்வைக்கு  வைத்ததினால்  தான்  ராமர்  பாலம்  போன்ற   இடங்களின்  செயற்கைக்கோள்  படங்கள்  எல்லோருக்கும்  கிடைக்கும்படி  ஆனது.  நாஸா  போன்ற  நிறுவனங்களும்  தங்களிடம்  உள்ள  படங்களை  தன்  வாடிக்கையாளர்கள்  சுலபமாக  browse  செய்து  தனக்குத்  தேவையான  படத்தை  தேர்ந்தெடுத்து  வாங்கிக்  கொள்ளுவதற்குத்தான்  image  gallery  என்ற  இணையப் பக்கத்தை வைத்திருக்கிறது. இந்த இணணயப் பக்கத்தில் ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட வகைப் படங்கள்  மட்டுமே  உள்ளன.  இதேபோல்  இன்னும்  பல  இணைய  பக்கங்கள்  நாஸாவிற்கே  உள்ளன.  தனியார்  நிறுவனங்களிலும்  இதுபோன்ற  இணைய  பக்கங்கள்  உள்ளன.   ஐரோப்பிய   வான்வெளி   நிறுவனமும்   தனக்கென்று   சில   இணயப்   பக்கங்கள்   வைத்திருக்கிறது.   நாஸாவின் மேற்குறிப்பிட்ட image galleryயில் உள்ள படங்களை உபயோகப் படுத்துவதற்கான நிபந்தனைகளை இங்கு பார்க்கவும்.

செயற்கைக்கோள் படத்தில் ராமர் பாலம்

Image courtesy of the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center. STS059-229-25. http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/.

இந்தப் படத்தில் இலங்கையும் இந்தியாவும் சரியான இடங்களில் இல்லை  (கொஞ்சம்  திருப்பி  கொஞ்சம்  சுற்றினால்  சரியாக  வரும்).  என்பதுகூட   கவனிக்கமுடியாத  அமெச்சூர்கள், ராமர்  பாலம்  கண்டுபிடித்தனர்,  அது  மனிதனால்  கட்டப்பட்டது  என்று  உறுதிபூண்டனர் .

ஒவ்வொன்றாகப் போகலாம்.

மனிதனால் கட்டப் பட்ட அமைப்புகளுக்கென்று சில குணங்கள் இருக்கின்றன. சில அமைப்புகள் சீராக இருக்கும். ஆனால், மலைவெளியில் சாலை போன்ற சில அமைப்புகள் வளைந்து வளைந்துதான் இருக்கும் (ஆனாலும் இதிலும் ஒரு சீர் இருக்கும்). ஆனால், சீராக இருக்கும் அமைப்புகள் எல்லாமே சீராக இருக்கிறது என்ற ஒரே காரணத்துக்காக மனிதன் கட்டியதாகாது. மலைகளின் உச்சிக்கோடுகள் (ridge lines) சீராகத்தான் இருக்கும்.  இவை மனிதனால் கட்டப் பட்டவை அல்ல.

அடுத்து, வேறு சில குணங்களை, மனிதனால் செதுக்கப் பட்ட, அல்லது, அடுக்கப் பட்டதற்கான அடையாளங்கள் போன்ற சில குணங்களை ஆராய வேண்டும். இதற்கு  நேரடியாக சம்பத்தப் பட்ட இடத்திற்கே சென்று ஆராயவேண்டும், அல்லது படத்திலேயே பார்க்க வேண்டுமென்றாலும், ஓரளவு பார்ப்பதற்காக அடுத்த கட்டத் தகவலாக தற்போது பார்த்துக் கொண்டிருக்கும் செயற்கைக் கோள் படத்தின் spatial resolution என்னவென்று பார்க்கவேண்டும். அடுத்து, முழுப் படத்தின் original  அளவில்தான்  பார்த்துக்  கொண்டிருக்கிறோமா,  அல்லது,  இது குறுக்கப்  பட்ட  படமா  என்று  கவனிக்க வேண்டும்.  முதன்முதலில் சுற்றிவந்த மேலே கொடுக்கப் பட்டுள்ள இந்தப் படம் 640 x 480 புள்ளிகள் கொண்ட மற்றும் ஒரு குறுக்கப் பட்ட படம். இது originalஆக, சற்றேறக் குறைய 6000 x 4000 புள்ளிகள் கொண்ட படமாக இருந்திருக்க வேண்டும், இது 1994, ஏப்ரல் 16ஆம் தேதி STS059 என்ற missionஆல் எடுக்கப் பட்ட படம். இந்தப் படம் வேண்டுமென்று ஆர்டர் செய்தால் மற்ற விபரங்கள் கிடைக்கும். Original படத்தில் ஒவ்வொரு புள்ளியும் தரையில் எவ்வளவு பரப்பளவைக் குறிக்கிறது என்பதையும், நாம் பார்த்துக் கொண்டிருக்கும் இந்தக் குறுக்கப் பட்ட படத்தில் ஒரு புள்ளி (pixel) என்பது தரையில் எவ்வளவு பரப்பளவைக் குறிக்கிறது என்பதையும் பார்க்கவேண்டியது மிக மிக மிக அடிமட்ட அடிப்படைத் தேவை. 

இந்தப் படத்தைப் பற்றிய தகவல்களை இங்கு காணலாம். இது தவிர, இங்கு போனால், மொத்தம் 455 படங்கள் இந்தியாவும் இலங்கையும் சேரும் இந்தப் பகுதிக்கு கிடைக்கும். நாஸாவிடமே வேறு சில செயற்கைக் கோள்களும் அவற்றின்மூலம் இந்த இடத்திற்கு இன்னும் படங்களும் இருக்கின்றன.  இது தவிர, மற்ற செயற்கைக் கோள்களிலிருந்தும் (தனியார்  செயற்கைக்  கோள்கள்,  மற்ற  நாடுகளின்  செயற்கைக்  கோள்கள்)   வேண்டுமானாலும்  பெறலாம். இந்திய செயற்கைக்கோள்களின் படங்களே கண்டிப்பாக இந்தப் பகுதிக்கு இருக்கின்றன. அவற்றில் OCEANSAT மற்றும் CARTOSAT-ன் படங்கள் மிகவும் பொறுத்தமானவையாக அமையும்.

இயற்கையா, கட்டப்பட்டதா?

ராமர் பாலம் ஒரு இயற்கை அமைப்பு என்பதற்கான geological விளக்கத்தை இவர் மிக நன்றாகத் தந்திருக்கிறார். அவருக்குமேல் நான் சொல்லுவதற்கு ஒன்றுமேயில்லை. மேலும் அவர் சொல்லுவதுபோல், இதற்கென்று அதிக அளவில் ஆராய்ச்சிகள் நடக்கவில்லை என்பது வருத்தத்திற்குரியதே. நாட்டில் இப்படி எதெற்கெடுத்தாலும் தொட்டாற்சிணுங்கிபோல் போராட்டங்கள் உருவானால், எந்த நிறுவனமும் எந்த மனிதனும் இதுபோன்ற ஆராய்ச்சியில் திறந்தமனதோடு ஈடுபடத் தயங்குவான். தற்போது நடந்துவரும் போராட்டங்கள் எதிலும் சமயத்தைத் திணிக்கும் மனப்போக்குகள் எந்தவிதமான ஆராய்ச்சியையும் வளரவிடாது என்பது ஒரு வெட்கக் கேடான நிலைதான்.

ஆராய்ச்சி  நிறுவனங்களில்  வேலை  செய்பவர்களும்  அந்த  நிறுவனங்களை  நிர்வகிப்பவர்களும்கூட  சமயம்  சார்ந்தவர்களாக  இருப்பார்கள்  என்பதை  மனதில்  கொள்ளவேண்டும்.  எல்லா  ஆராய்ச்சியாளர்களும்  கடவுள்  நம்பிக்கையற்றவர்கள்  என்ற  எண்ணம்  தவறு.  கடவுள்  நம்பிக்கை  இருப்பது  தவறல்ல,  தன்  சொந்த  நம்பிக்கைகளைத்  தாண்டி,  தனக்குக்  கிடைக்கும்  ஆதாரத்தை  ஆதாரமாக  மட்டுமே  பார்க்கும்  கண்ணோட்டம்  உள்ளவராக  இருந்தால்  மட்டும்  போதும்.  அப்படி  இல்லாததால்  தானே  தற்போது  போராட்டமும்  மற்ற  குழப்பங்களும்.  அதேபோல்,  இந்துமதம்  தவிர  மற்ற  மதத்தவரும்  ஆராய்ச்சியாளர்காளாக  இருப்பார்கள்  என்பதையும்,  அவர்கள்  இந்த  ஆராய்ச்சியில்  ஈடுபடுவது  எவ்வளவு  ஆபத்தாக  முடியும்  என்பதையும்  கொஞ்சம்  யோசித்துப்  பார்த்தால்,  இந்த  ஆராய்ச்சிக்கான  எதிர்காலம்  எந்த  அளவுக்கு  இருக்கிறது  என்பது  ஓரளவு  புரியும்.  அத்தோடு,  ஆராய்ச்சியாளர்களும்  ஏதேனும்  ஒரு  அரசியல்  பிரிவைச்  சார்ந்தவர்களாக  இருப்பார்கள்  என்பதையும்  மனதில்  கொண்டால்  இன்னும்  தெளிவாக  இந்தியாவில்  அறிவியலின்  எதிர்காலம்  புரியும்.

ராமர் பாலத் திட்டத்தில் பொருளாதார அனுகூலம் உண்டா இல்லையா

இதற்கான விளக்கத்தை இவர் மிக நன்றாக விளக்கியிருக்கிறார். இதற்கு மேலும் நான் சொல்லுவதற்கு ஒன்றுமேயில்லை. .

ராமர் இருந்ததற்கான அத்தாட்சி இல்லை என்று ASI சொன்னது சரியா?

இதற்குப் பெயர்தான் தேர்ந்தெடுத்துப் புரிந்து கொள்ளுதல்.

†கீழுள்ள தகவல்கள் இணையத்தில் படிக்கக் கிடைத்தவையின் மூலமே எழுதுகிறேன். மாற்றமிருந்தால் சுட்டிக் காட்டவும். கண்டிப்பாக மாற்றிவிடுவேன்.

ராமர் பாலத் திட்டம் முன்மொழியப் பட்டு(2001?), ஒத்துக்கொள்ளவும் பட்டவுடன் சிலர் இந்த இடத்தை அழிக்கக் கூடாது என்றும், தொன்மையான கட்டடங்கள் பாதுகாப்புச் சட்டம் என்ற சட்டத்தின் கீழ் இந்த இடத்தைக் கொண்டுவரவேண்டுமென்றும் இந்த விவகாரத்தை சட்ட அரங்கிற்குக் கொண்டுவந்தனர். சட்ட அரங்கில், இரு தரப்பினரும் தத்தம் வாதத்தை வைக்கத் தொடங்கினர். அரசாங்கத்தின் தரப்பில் ASIயின் ரிப்போர்ட் ஆக ராமர் பாலம் இயற்கையே என்ற வாதம் வைக்கப் பட்டது. தொன்மையான கட்டிடப் பாதுகாப்புச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் இந்த இடத்தை ASI கொண்டுவராது, ஏனெனில், இது மனிதனால் கட்டப் பட்ட அமைப்பல்ல, இயற்கையான அமைப்பே என்று ASI வாதாடியது.

வால்மீகி எழுதிய ராமாயணத்தை தங்கள் தரப்பு சான்றாக வைத்து வாதம் வைத்தனர் மறுதரப்போர்.

“வால்மீகி ராமாயணம் ஒரு சான்றாக அமையாது” – ASIயின் வாதம்

“ஏன்” – மறுதரப்போர்

“ஏனெனில் அது எழுதப் பட்டக் கதைநூல். ராமர் ஒரு காலத்தில் வாழ்ந்தவர்தான் என்பதற்கு எந்த ஆதாரமுமில்லை”. – ASI.

There you go. You got what you wanted.

†மேலுள்ள தகவல்கள் இணையத்தில் படிக்கக் கிடைத்தவையின் மூலமே எழுதியிருக்கிறேன். மாற்றமிருந்தால் சுட்டிக் காட்டவும். கண்டிப்பாக மாற்றிவிடுவேன்.

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ராமர் உயிருடன் உலவிய மனிதனா, அல்லது கற்பனை உருவமா?

ராமேஸ்வரமும் இலங்கையும் இணையும் அந்தப் பகுதியில் அடிக்கடல் ஆராய்ச்சி செய்தால் கண்டிப்பாக மனிதன் வாழ்ந்த இடங்களும் சான்றுகளும் கிடைக்கும் என்பதில் எனக்கு இம்மியளவும் சந்தேகமில்லை. தனுஸ்கோடி என்ற நகரம் அழிந்து போயிருக்கிறது. தனுஸ்கோடியும் அதன் சுற்றுப்புற மனிதன் வாழ்ந்த இடங்களும் கடலுக்கடியில்தான் இருக்கின்றன. மனிதன் வாழ்ந்ததற்கான சான்றுகள் கிடைத்தாலுமே, உடனே ராமர் என்று தாவிவிடக் கூடாது. மனிதன் கற்காலத்திலிருந்து பல ஆண்டுகளாக வாழ்ந்துகொண்டுதான் இருக்கிறான். கற்காலத்திலேயே கல்லைக் கல்லால் செதுக்கியிருக்கிறான். அப்படி செதுக்கப் பட்ட ஒரு கல் கிடைத்தால், அங்கு ஒரு மனிதன் வந்துபோயிருந்திருக்கிறான் என்பதுதான் தகவலே தவிர வேறெதுவுமில்லை. இலங்கையும் ராமேஸ்வரமும் இணையும் இந்தப் பகுதியில் தொன்றுதொட்டே இரு நிலப் பகுதிகளுக்குமிடையில் கடல்போக்குவரத்து, மீன்பிடித்தல் போன்றவை நடந்து கொண்டுதான் இருக்கின்றன. அதற்கான அடையாளங்களும் இந்தக் கடல்பகுதியில் இருக்கத்தான் செய்யும். கிரேக்கம் (Greeks) மற்றும் ரோமானியர் (Romans) போன்ற வேற்று நாட்டவரும் வணிகம் பொருட்டு கடல்வழியாக நம் நாட்டிற்கு வந்துபோய்க் கொண்டுதானிருந்தனர். நம்பகுதியின் கடல்குணம் சரிவரத்தெரியாமல் அவர்களின் கப்பல்கள் உடைந்துபோய்த்தானிருக்கின்றன. அதற்கான அடையாளங்களும் கடலுக்கடியில் கிடைக்கும்தான். மனிதனுக்கு முன்னிருந்தே, மற்றும் மனிதன் வாழ்ந்த காலத்திலும்கூட  மரங்கள் இருந்து கொண்டுதான் இருக்கின்றன. மரத்துண்டுகள் கிடைத்தாலுமே மரத்துண்டுகளை மட்டும் வைத்தும் எந்த முடிவுக்கும் வர இயலாது.

ஆதாரம் வைத்து ஒரு விசயத்தை உறுதிசெய்வதற்கு நிறய விசயங்களைக் கவனிக்கவேண்டும்.

செயற்கைக்கோள் படத்தை மட்டும் வைத்து இயற்கையா மனிதன் கட்டியதா என்று சொல்லமுடியாது என்ற வாக்கியத்தில் எங்கிருந்து மனிதன் கட்டியதுதான் என்று சிலருக்குப் புரிகிறது என்பது எனக்குப் புரியாத புதிர். இயற்கை என்று உன்னால் உறுதியாகச் சொல்ல முடியாதுதானே அப்படியானால் இது மனிதன் கட்டியதுதான் என்பது முட்டாள்தனம். மனிதன் கட்டியதுதான் என்பதை உறுதிப் படுத்தத்தான் நிறைய ஆதாரங்கள் வேண்டும். அதிலும் இந்த காலகட்டத்திற்குரியது இந்த ஆதாரம் அல்லது அமைப்பு என்பதற்கு நிறையவே ஆதாரம் வேண்டும். இயற்கை அமைப்புகளை இயற்கை process மூலம் விளக்க முடியும். வேறு சில இடங்களில் இதேபோன்ற அமைப்புகள் இருந்தால் அந்த உதாரணங்களையும் ஒத்துப் பார்த்து சந்தேகத்துக்கு இடமின்றி இது இயற்கை அமைப்பே என்பதை உறுதிப் படுத்த முடியும். இவர் எழுதியிருப்பதைப் பார்க்கவும்.

ராமர் வாழ்ந்ததாகக் கருதப்படும் காலகட்டம் பற்றிய கருத்திலேயே எல்லோருக்கும் ஒருமித்த கருத்து இல்லை. 1.7மில்லியன்  ஆண்டுகளுக்கு  முன்னர் மனிதனே இல்லை. சிலர் 17மில்லியன் என்று புள்ளியை மறந்து காலகட்டத்தை இன்னும் பின்னோக்கிக் கொண்டுபோய் தங்கள் வாதத்தின் முட்டாள்தனத்தை இன்னும் கூட்டிக் கொள்கிறார்கள். 3000-4000 கிபி என்ற வாதம் ஓரளவு பரவாயில்லை.

பனி வயது (Ice age)

கண்டப் பனிமலைகள் (continental glaciers) உருகி கடலின் அளவு அதற்கு முன்னர் இருந்ததைவிட உயர்ந்து இருக்கிறது. இதை ice melting age அல்லது ice age (பனி வயது) என்று சொல்லுவார்கள். ஒவ்வொரு பனிவயதுக் காலம் முடியும்போதும் பனி உருகி கடலில் சேரும்போது கடல்மட்டம் உயர்ந்துகொண்டே வந்திருக்கிறது. ஒவ்வொரு முறை கடல் மட்டம் உயரும்போதும் கடற்கரைகள் கடலில் மூழ்கிக்கொண்டே வந்திருக்கின்றன; நிலப்பகுதிகள் காணாமல் போய்க்கொண்டேவும், சில நிலப்பகுதிகளுக்கு இடையில் கடல் வந்து தீவுகளும் உருவாகிக் கொண்டும் இருந்திருக்கின்றன. பெரிய பனிவயது மற்றும் சிறு பனிவயதுகள் நடந்துகொண்டே இருந்திருக்கின்றன. *6000 வருடங்களுக்கு  முன்னால் ஒரு சிறு பனிவயது நடந்திருக்கலாம் என்று சிலர் சொல்லுகிறார்கள். பனிமலை உருகி ஆறுகளில் வேகமாக நீர் அடித்துக்கொண்டு வரும்பொழுது ஆற்றோரமும் கடற்கரையோரமுமாக வாழ்ந்த மனிதனின் இருப்புகள் அழிக்கப் பட்டிருக்கலாம்.

*6000 வருடங்களுக்கு முன்னால் மனிதன் சிறு சிறு கூட்டங்களாக வசித்திருப்பான். பனி உருகி கடல் பொங்கியது போன்ற இயற்கை இடுக்காடுகளில் இருந்து தப்பிப் பிழைத்தவன் வாய்க்கதைகளாக சில விசயங்களை சொல்லி வைத்திருப்பான். வாய்க்கதைகள் கதைநூல்களாக ஆகியிருக்கலாம். ராமனும் வாழ்ந்திருந்திருக்கலாம், வாய்வழிக் கதையாய் ஆகியிருக்கலாம்; வால்மீகியும் அதைப் பின்னர் கதையாக எழுதியிருக்கலாம். ஆனால், இதை உறுதிப் படுத்தி அதன்மூலம் ஒரு இடத்தை தொன்மை வாய்ந்த கட்டிட அமைப்பு பாதுகாப்புச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் கொண்டுவர வேண்டுமென்றால், ஆதாரங்கள் வேண்டும். வால்மீகியின் புத்தகம் ஆதாரமல்ல. யார் ஆண்டார் யார் வாழ்ந்தார் என்ற விபரமே இல்லையென்றாலும், மனிதன் கட்டிய கட்டிடங்கள் கிடைத்ததால் மட்டுமே மொஹஞ்சதாரோவும் ஹரப்பாவும் பாதுகாக்கப் படுகின்றன. ராமர் பற்றிய ஆதாரமே தேவையில்லை. இருக்கின்ற பாலம் மனிதன் கட்டியது என்ற ஆதாரம் கிடைத்தால் மட்டுமே எந்தப் பகுதியையும் இந்தச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் பாதுகாப்புக்குக் கொண்டுவரமுடியும். இயற்கை அமைப்பாக இருக்கும்பொழுது அப்படிச் செய்ய இயலாது.

* – 6000தானா என்பதை சரிபார்க்கவேண்டும். 

படிக்கவேண்டிய இணைப்புகள்

மேலே கட்டுரையில் இணைக்கப் பட்டுள்ளவை தவிர மேலும் படிக்க வேண்டிய இணைப்புகள்:

1. http://suvratk.blogspot.com/2007/09/ram-sethu-dummies-guide.html
2. http://sujaiblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/abc-of-ram-sethu.html
3. http://sujaiblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/science-and-mythology-ram-sethu.html
4. http://blog.tamilsasi.com/2007/10/sethu-samudram-frequently-asked.html
5. http://thoughtsintamil.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-post.html
6. http://sujaiblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/why-hindus-are-upset.html
7. http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/sep/17sethu.htm
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam%27s_Bridge

(அயர்ச்சியாக இருக்கிறது!).

இன்னும் எழுதமுடிந்தால் எழுதுகிறேன். ஏதேனும் குறிப்பாக தேவையென்று மறுமொழியாகச் சொன்னால் முயற்சி செய்து எழுதுகிறேன். இல்லையென்றால் இத்தோடு முடித்துக் கொள்ளுகிறேன்.

பி.கு. இந்தக் கட்டுரையில் உள்ள ஆங்கிலம் மற்றும் சில மொழிபெயர்க்கப் பட்ட தமிழ் வார்த்தைகளுக்கும் சரியான தமிழ் வார்த்தைகள் சொன்னால் மாற்றிக் கொள்கிறேன். பரிந்துரைக்கும் வார்த்தைகளில் சிலதை நான் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளலாம், சிலதை நான் தவிர்க்கலாம்.

The Lord surveyed the Ram Setu and said “Hanuman, how diligently and strenuously you and your vanara sena had built this bridge several centuries back. It is remarkable that it has withstood the ravages of the climatic and geographical changes over centuries. It is indeed an amazing feat especially considering the fact that a bridge at Hyderabad built by Gammon using latest technology collapsed the other day even before they could stick the posters on its pillars.”

Hanuman with all humility spoke “Jai Sri Ram, it is all because of your grace. We just scribbled your name on the bricks and threw them in the sea and they held. No steel from TISCO or cement from Ambuja or ACC was ever used. But Lord, why rake up the old issue now.”

Ram spoke “Well, Hanuman some people down there want to demolish the bridge and construct a canal. The contract involves lot of money and lot of money will be made. They will make money on demolition and make more money on construction. “

Hanuman humbly bowed down and said “Why not we go down and present our case”

Ram said “Times have changed since we were down there. They will ask us to submit age proof and we don’t have either a birth certificate or school leaving certificate. We traveled mainly on foot and some times in bullock carts and so we don’t have a driving license either. As far as the address proof is concerned the fact that I was born at Ayodhya is itself under litigation for over half a century, If I go in a traditional attire with bow and arrow, the ordinary folks may recognize me but Arjun Singh may take me to be some tribal and, at the most, offer a seat at IIT under the reserved category. Also, a God cannot walk in dressed in a three-piece suit and announce his arrival. It would make even the devotees suspicious. So it is dilemma so to say.”

“I can vouch for you by saying that I personally built the bridge.”

“My dear, Anjani putra, it will not work. They will ask you to produce the lay-out plan, the project details, including financial outlay and how the project cost was met and the completion certificate. Nothing is accepted without documentary evidence in India. You may cough but unless a doctor certifies it, you have no cough. A pensioner may present himself personally but the authorities do not take it as proof. He has to produce a life-certificate to prove that he is alive. It is that complicated.”

“Lord can’t understand these historians. Over the years you have given darshan once every hundred years to saints like Surdas, Tulsidas, Saint Thyagaraja, Jayadeva, Bhadrachala Ramdas and even Sant Tukaram and still they disbelieve your existence and say Ramayana is a myth. The only option, I see, is to re-enact Ramayana on earth and set the government records straight once for all.”

Lord smiled “It isn’t that easy today. Ravan is apprehensive that he may look like a saint in front of Karunanidhi. I also spoke to his mama Mareecha, who appeared as a golden deer to tempt Sita maiyya when I was in the forest and he said that he won’t take a chance of stepping on earth as long as Salman Khan is around.”
 

CNN-IBN recently came up with an in-depth analysis report by looking at the Sethusamudram controversy, not just in terms of its religions nature, but also in terms of security risks, the ecological disaster, loss of livelihood for the local people, etc that would be caused by this project.

The most important thing that has to be noted in this report is the one mentioned below.

A Lie by ASI

The ASI/Govt of India which gave a new twist to the controversy over the Sethusamudram project last month by filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying that there is no Proof for Ram having built the Ram sethu, has now revealed to CNN-IBN that it has infact NEVER conducted any survey or research on the Ram sethu at all! Let me repeat it, ASI never conducted any research or survey about Ramsethu at all!!

Moreover, the ASI has also said that since the Ramsetu is not yet declared as a cultural/heritage site by the government, it does not come under its jurisdiction at all!!

Then how the hell did it file the affidavit with the supreme court saying there is no scientific evidence for man made construction in Ram sethu?

In other words not only did it file a false affidavit about a research which it never carried out, but by doing so, it has also LIED to the highest judicial authority of the country. This is how our government is functioning.
NOTE: ASI functions under the cultural ministry of the government of India.

In fact the news report also says that many ASI officials themselves think that the Ramsetu should have been declared as a natural heritage site long back!

Exaggerate Claims and Economic Miscalculations

“Costs outweigh the benefits”. This is what CNN-IBN reported about the economic viability of the project.

The economics of the project is based on the amount of time that this project will save for the ships traveling in the region, by not having to go all around Srilanka. While the project proponents claim that Sethusamudram canal will save 22 hours, the report says that the reality is quite different from the claims.

Ships coming from Africa and Europe will actually save only 8-12 hours if they use the canal, and even this time will not mean a lot of time saved, because the ships will have to actually slow down in the shallow waters of the Sethusamudram canal!

Ships coming from deep south like Mauritius will not use the canal because they will actually lose time if they do so!

Also, the project cost means that if the time saved becomes only 8-12 hours, then the ships will actually have to pay more than the money they save by this slightly shorter route!

Not only that, bulk carriers and tankers will actually find it difficult to navigate in this narrow channel, and also the cost of hiring an experienced pilot to cross the channel would again mean more costs to the ships!

If these are the economics behind the project, then we will hardly see any ships using the canal. Looks like the government is all set to create a deep-sea water amusement park in the region in the name of this Sethusamudram canal

Ecological Damage

The blasting of the coral reefs for the project will endanger not only the corals in the region but also the fishes in the sea, because the fishes use the corals as their breeding ground. Spread over 10000 sq kms this is India’s only marine bio-reserve!

Sea cucumbers, whales, sea weeds, corals, sea turtles, fishes etc will be almost wiped out in the region by the project. There are thousands of types of marine life forms in these seas. Dredging activities alone will wipe out the sea weeds and prevent coral formation by blocking sunlight.

There is no clearcut planning done about where will all the thousands of tons of dredged up sand be taken to! The plan simply says, ‘The dredged up sand will be dumped on wasteland‘! Even school kids do projects in a better way.

Sea cucumbers, etc in this region are all protected under the wild life protection act of 1972, and yet the project has not sought any clearance from the concerned wildlife departments! As the expert in the report says, this is a separate clearance required apart from the environmental clearance.

Blasting the sea beds will also impact whales and dolphins in the region. The report says that already few whales have died ever since the dredging started. Oil tankers and bulk carriers will pollute the marine biosphere in the region.

Loss of Livelihood

The local fishermen in the region say that this project will put an end to their means of livelihood in the region. The dredging machines in the region are already tearing off their fishing nets everyday. And the implementation of the project will also tear off their livelihood by destroying innumerable sea flora and fauna in the region.

Security Risks

Another stated project benefit is the reduction in time for vessels of Indian navy to travel between eastern and western coasts from 33 to 15 hours . The irony is that the government has not even consulted the navy and the coast guard about the security implications of the project! Why is the government moving with such a haste?

A naval expert questions the above claim of time saved, saying that the vessels of the Indian navy which usually travel at a speed of 15-20 knots when moving around srilanka as they do currently, will have to reduce their speed to 6-8 knots once they start moving in the Sethusamudram canal! So where is the gain?

Also, another concern raised by security experts is, the vast scope this canal would give to LTTE in srilanka. Its already a well known fact that LTTE has proven naval capabilities. What if the canal is held to ransom by LTTE? What if LTTE starts damaging the ships moving in the area?

Destruction of Heritage Site

Its altogether a different question as to whether the Ramsethu is natural or manmade, but either ways it deserves to be protected as a heritage site and research should be conducted about its origin and time line. No other country in the world would allow such a wonderful heritage site to be destroyed like this, instead it could be developed as a beautiful tourist spot.

Dirty Politics

While the DMK gave an Aryan-Dravidian color to the Sethusamudram controversy, the congress blamed the BJP of hypocrisy, hiding the true political picture.

And today DMK had planned to take political advantage of the situation by calling for a state wide bandh in Tamilnadu. Only DMK can do such a stupid thing, otherwise will a ruling party in power call for a bandh in its own state? How stupid of the DMK government to call for a Tamilnadu bandh and to try to bring the entire state to a stand still, causing inconvenience to the people. Thank god, we have a wonderful judiciary in the country, which not only termed the bandh unconstitutional, but also said today that,

“If there is no compliance with our order, it is complete breakdown of constitutional machinery. We will then have to direct the (central) government to impose President’s Rule. If this is attitude of the DMK government, the UPA government should not feel shy of dismissing it and imposing President’s Rule”.

Coming back to the Sethusamudram project, in spite of all the drawbacks, the government still wants to move ahead with the project, only because, as said in the CNN-IBN programme, the whales, the sea cucumbers, the fish, the corals etc in the seas of the project site DO NOT constitute a vote bank.

For those who claim that this mass destruction of nature is essential for developmental projects, please go through this link provided by a reader to see if there is ANY economic/developmental sense in this project.

Finally, about destroying the marine life forms in the seas….

What moral grounds will the humans have, if tomorrow a more powerful alien civilization invades earth and wants to destroy human civilization on this planet, to build a project what they consider is essential for the developmental activities of their alien civilization? What if for instance the aliens want to take away our sun to satisfy their energy needs?

There is a beautiful Telugu novel on similar lines by Yendamuri Veerendranath called “Cheekatilo suryudu” meaning Sun in the Dark. So please read that novel and then, let us sacrifice all the dirty politics under the dredging machines in the gulf of mannar.