The government has approved an underwater research project to determine the origins of the Ram Setu, a 48 km long chain of shoals between India and Sri Lanka.
Speaking about the purpose of the exploration, the Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel, said: “The world should know Ram Setu through evidence based on scientific research.”
Ram Setu, also known as the Bridge of Adam or Nala Setu, has a religious significance due to the Ramayana.
The central advisory council on archeology, which functions under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), has approved the proposal for this subsea exploration project. The study, which will be conducted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Goa, will focus on the process behind the formation of Ram Setu and also on whether there are submerged dwellings around it. the structure.
Patel said: “The NIO has asked ASI for permission for two reasons: excavation to determine the age of the structure and to explore the surrounding area. Permission has been granted. ”
Furthermore, the age of Ram Setu will be determined by studying the fossils and sedimentation to see if it correlates with the Ramayana period, sources from the Ministry of Culture told The Indian Express. Considering the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, sources say the investigation is likely to begin this year.
In its proposal note, NIO said: “The historicity and date of the ‘Ramayana’ remain a debatable topic among historians, archaeologists and scientists. It is proposed to carry out underwater scientific and archaeological studies to understand the nature and formation of Ram Setu and its surroundings ”.
The agency’s research vessel called Sindhu Sadhana will be deployed to collect sediment samples from 35 to 40 meters below the water level. Sindhu Sadhana is an indigenous exploration ship that can stay underwater for up to 45 days.
Ram Setu has been at the center of the debate since 2005 when the UPA government proposed the Sethusamudram Navigation Canal Project, to build a navigation canal to link the Arabian Sea with the Bay of Bengal. To do this, a canal was to be dredged through the Ram Setu limestone banks in the Sethusamudram Sea, between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. However, the project was opposed by environmental groups and the BJP, as they said the project would damage the Ram Setu.
At the time, AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa had demanded from then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that Rama Setu be declared a national monument, even as then-DMK chief M Karunanidhi had strongly criticized “communal forces” for using the “myth” of Ram. Sethu to stop the Sethusamudram project.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.