Show claims to settle debate on Ram Setu
NEW DELHI: “Are the ancient Hindu myths of a land bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka true? Scientific analysis suggests they are,” claims the promo of a show called Ancient Land Bridge to be aired at 7.30am on Wednesday on the Discovery Communicationsowned Science Channel in the US.
The show puts the spotlight on the Ram Setu by quoting American archaeologists who say the 50km stretch — between Pamban Island near Rameshwaram in India and Mannar Island off Sri Lanka — is man-made. The Ram Setu is also called Adam’s bridge.
By 10pm on Tuesday, the promo had more than 23 lakh views on both Facebook and Twitter since it was shared by the Science Channel on social media.
Smriti Irani, minister for information and broadcasting, also retweeted the video, with the caption ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
A shipping canal project proposed by the UPA-I government in 2005 that would have required dredging the area and damaging the formation was opposed by the Bjp-led NDA, which is expected to file an affidavit against the project in the Supreme Court later this month.
Satellite imagery show formations that scientists believe are limestone shoals. Creating a 83km deep water channel under the Sethusamudram canal project would require extensive dredging and removal of the shoals. The project was criticised not just for hurting religious sentiments but also for threatening the region’s marine biodiversity.
The trailer supports the theory that the bridge is man-made based on studies atop the formation and quoting scientists from Indiana University Northwest, University of Colorado Boulder, and Southern Oregon University. At the time of publishing, researchers had not responded to calls for comment.
“The sand bar may be natural but what is sitting on top of it is not,” says the narrator, pointing out that the rocks are 7,000 years old and the sand bar is only 4,000 years old. Irani’s retweet of the trailer met with an outpouring of support and some ridicule.
The Indian Council of Historical Research said in March it would conduct underwater studies to answer this question. A report was expected in November but archaeologist and former ASI director Alok Tripathi, who submitted the proposal, said work is yet to begin. “We have not done fieldwork. There are some formalities pending for the project to start. Our conclusions will depend on what we find,” he said.