Ram Setu Affidavit : Heads roll !

Two senior officials of the ASI have been suspended in connection with the Ram Setu affidavit blunder that I posted about earlier this week. More heads are likely to roll for the drama that has put the UPA government in trouble.Union Minister for Culture Ambika Soni has ordered an inquiry and will meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi to explain the facts of the case. Her ministry had made statements in the affidavit questioning the existence of Lord Ram and the Ramayana.

According to sources, Ambika Soni had asked for some changes to be made in the affidavit before it was submitted to the Supreme Court. The two ASI officials have been suspended for not making those changes.

On Friday, the government withdrew its affidavits and told the Supreme Court it would like to review the Sethusamudram project so that the Ram Setu will not be disturbed.

Ram Setu : Indian Government to re-examine Sethusamudram

 

The government will re-examine the Sethusamudram project so that the Ram Setu is not disturbed and has been given three months by the Supreme Court to do so. The government has also withdrawn a controversial affidavit that said there is no historical proof of Lord Ram’s existence.

The affidavit says: ”The government has total respect for all religions and Hinduism in particular in the context of present case. The government is alive and conscious of religious sensibilities, including the unique ancient and holy text of Ramayana having regards to public sentiments.”

 

The Centre said in a fresh affidavit that it never meant to cast aspersions on any faith.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balkrishnan, which allowed the Centre to withdraw the affidavits, said that the August 31 interim order putting on hold the construction in Rama Setu area will continue.

The Court in its interim order had allowed the dredging activity. It posted the matter for hearing in the first week of January, 2008.

 

Source : NDTV News

Indian Government blunders with affidavit regarding Ram Setu

Finally our beloved Government have done themselves in by making a statement regarding the Ramayana.

The controversy has now reached the level of the office of the Prime Minister who was contacted by the leaders of the opposition party to protest against the government affidavit before the Supreme Court saying epics were not historical records that could prove the existence of Lord Ram.

The government has told the apex court in an affidavit filed Monday 10th September : “The Valmiki Ramayana, the Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas and other mythological texts, which admittedly form an ancient part of Indian literature, cannot be said to be historical records to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the characters or the occurrence of the events depicted therein.“

This affidavit was in response to a query whether the Ram Sethu, geographically known as Adam’s Bridge, could be declared a protected monument.

The affidavit can be considered nothing short of blasphemous and an insult to the generations of Hindu’s and people in India who have grown up with the Ramayana.

In a letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, objecting to the content of the affidavit, the opposition leader has said – “Ramayana is not only a religious epic but also a national heritage and part of the culture of this country.“

Nationwide protests to show support for saving Ram Setu!

Many independent groups chose today Sept 12, 2007 to stage a nationwide protest against the Supreme Courts decision to give the go ahead for the Sethusamudram project. The rallies are being stormed by hard line Hindus to campaign against the proposed shipping canal project between India and Sri Lanka.

Unfortunately the Indian media is resorting to some really superficial journalism and not realizing the depth of the matter.

Would Australia agree to destroy the great barrier reefs so ships can save 600kms of travel? I think not !

I just finished watching an interview with Dr. Praveen Togadia on the “Headlines Today” news channel which had an absolutely pig headed and arrogant anchor – Zakka Jacob. He made many incriminating statements and chose to deal with the interviewee in a aggressive manner showing utter disregard for not just religious sentiments but also India’s heritage and rich ecological wealth that needs to be protected. What a blowjob this Zakka chap is!

While we are talking thorium deposits, unique and diverse marine species and a natural barrier against tsunami’s, the news anchors are more worried about the traffic jams and inconvenience caused to the corporate rat race because of todays protests. One lady had to give birth on the road because she couldnt make it to the hospital. Sad I agree. But come on look at the bigger picture you damn petty fools!!! Look beyond the Mythological argument. So what if its a natural formation? All the more reason why we shouldnt be blasting our way through it.

Leaving aside the Hindu sentiments, such a blatant disregard just goes to show the bloody sham justice system today. Not just for India but the entire worlds natural ecological treasures.

Rama Sethu : Scientific facts

The Ram Sethu (which was re-christened Adams Bridge by the Brits) is facing serious threat of being hurriedly destroyed, paying no heed to protests. Ironically it is the Indian Government that argues that there is no documentary evidence to prove the heritage. Its time that UNESCO, Greenpeace and some of the global organizations start making a racket about this.

In this exclusive podcast, by Dr.S.Kalyanaraman, an eminent researcher on Indian heritages produces all documentary evidences for the existence of a man made bridge. He also warns that if the bridge is destroyed, it would cause damage to ecology and also create a greater risk to western India, if next Tsunami occurs.

7/7/7 : Live Earth

China will broadcast Live Earth, giving the climate change concerts an audience of 2 billion. Will that silence the sceptics?

It wont! Besides the all english line-up in China isnt bound to have too much influence either!! Nor is it going to stop the worlds appetite for cheaply produced stuff coming out of china’s factories.

The actual impact of the concert to work towards global warming issues might not be that much… more of a publicity stunt for AL GORE and the artists involved.. but hey its still a chance to sit back and ENJOY the music. While the our planet still has some grunt left in it

VH1 will be screening the 24 hour show here in India.

Lil’ Bush : Satirical political comedy !!

I stumbled upon episodes 1&2 of this show while leeching for some Comedy Central material.

With a lot of influence from SOUTHPARK, meeting the Simpsons somewhere along the way its 30 mins of witty comedy and also mature in addressing the real world issues.

Rama Setu : Man made or Natural, We must PROTECT IT!!!

If any of you have been following my older rants on the ram setu your well aware of the intentions of the Indian Government in implementiong Sethusamudram canal built between itself and Sri Lanka.

This means digging a big hole through the Rama Sethu Bridge and effectively destroying it. The economic benefits are said to be enormous but there are also high economic costs – estimated at hundreds of millions of Rupees which will probably escalate into billions by the time the project is completed.

The SOCIAL OVERHEAD COST of the offence caused to over 1 billion Hindus by destroying a traditional place of pilgrimage and worship will be immense.

In Hindu tradition, our entire environment is regarded as sacred and there are specific instances which provide important symbols for this. Witness the reverence Hinduism has for the great rivers – for example the sacred Ganga river – for their life giving and life sustaining qualities, the mountains which source these life giving forces and provide protection and indeed the whole land which is regarded as the Mother in addition to the regard for the millions of plants and animals.

The Rama Sethu land formation (also known as Adam’s Bridge), linking southern India to northern Sri Lanka, is an example of such a sacred symbol which is revered in Hindu tradition as the bridge constructed by Lord Rama and his army to cross into Lanka and defeat the demon Ravana.

Ram Setu : Govt. turns blind eye to disastrous effects & chooses to destroy barrier

Okay things are really beginning to get heated up now.

Our sham justice system and government has taken a decision in favour of the Sethusamudram project which will destroy a unique natural/archaeological as well as destroy the heritage & roots of India.

Image courtesy : National Remote Sensing Agency, ISRO.

Film – “An Inconvenient Truth” : Must see!!

Almost certain to be the most important film you will see this year. Craftily put together by Al Gore in a devastating way that the impact is enormous. A documentary film dealing with the debate of global climate change.