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Posted by Harsh Nevatia Sep 20, 2007 |
The controversial Samudrasetu project has ignited two fierce debates in various forums in the country. One debate is whether Rama was a historical or mythological character. I leave this issue for another time. The other debate is whether issues of faith should be allowed to come in the way of national development. It is this matter that I want to address.
I will begin by assuming that the Samudrasetu project is economically, sound, commercially viable and ecologically benign. Because if it is not all these three, then all other debates are put to rest. Given that a project is obviously in the national interest I do not think it should be scrapped on account of religious beliefs. First this would set a dangerous precedent. But foremost I cannot conceive of God willing to let his flock suffer in order to preserve a monument dedicated to him or to preserve some location associated with him. Because above all God exists in humanity and if we are unable to promote the welfare of our brethren then we have no right to call ourselves devout.
Rama’s bridge is undoubtedly a heritage site. But destruction of a part of that site will not remove Rama’s existence from our collective psyches. If the bridge is no more there then it will not imply that Rama’s monkey army did not build it or that Rama did not use it to crossover to Lanka. That the bridge was built and used is a part of our collective belief, faith and memory and can never be erased. By ceding the bridge to national cause we can revive our ancient heritage by maybe renaming the project as Rama Setu Project and by popularizing that part of the bridge that would remain intact even after the project is complete.