Rama Setu: campaign for recognition as world heritage

Campaign to declare Gulf of Mannar as world heritage site

New York (PTI) (The Hindu, June 10, 2008): A US-based NGO has launched a campaign for designating the Gulf of Mannar, which includes Ram Sethu that is at the centre of the controversy in India over construction of a ship canal project, as a UNESCO World Heritage Natural and Cultural site.

In a statement, the Living Planet Foundation said the site fulfils the criteria and requirements set forth in the World Heritage Convention.

The designation would assist in the protection of the first marine biosphere reserve in all of South and Southeast Asia, it said.

The Foundation claimed that its activists have submitted petitions to the Indian embassy and consulates in the United States.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Foundation said the declaration of Gulf of Mannar as World Heritage Site would enhance India's prestige.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200806101501.htm

Campaign for Manner Gulf as Heritage Site
Tuesday, 06.10.2008, 06:41am (GMT-7)

HOUSTON: The Living Planet Foundation of USA, in association with a number of international organizations has launched a worldwide campaign to have the Gulf of Mannar designated as a UNESCO World Heritage mixed Natural and Cultural site.A delegation from the Campaign met with S.M. Gavai, Consul General of India at the India Consulate General Houston, Texas and handed him the Campaign's letter addressed to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Founders of the Campaign believe that the Gulf of Mannar which includes Ram Sethu (Adam's Bridge) fulfills the criteria and requirements set forth in the World Heritage Convention for designation as a World Heritage Site.

This designation would assist in the protection of this first marine Biosphere reserve in all of South and Southeast Asia located on the southeastern tip of India in the state of Tamil Nadu.The Campaign is urging people of all walks of life to appeal the Government of India to petition the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to declare the Gulf of Mannar a World Heritage Site. The meeting covered a range of topics, including the importance of the Gulf of Mannar as an ecological and environmental hotspot, the cultural and religious aspects of Ram Sethu (Adam's Bridge) and the thorium deposits of the region.

Gavai gave a clear declaration from him that the ecological and environmental aspects of the Gulf of Mannar must not be ignored. He promised to look into the matter and also expressed a keen interest about the Thorium deposits in the region of Mannar and its potential as India's nuclear energy resource.In other parts of the world, volunteers from the Campaign handed petitions to the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C. and Consulates in Chicago and Toronto.

India Post News Service

http://indiapost.com/article/communitypost/2980/
BJP ropes in foreign troupes to enact Ram Lila
Hemender Sharma
CNN-IBN
http://www.ibnlive.com/pix/sitepix/06_2008/ramsetu_cambodia_248.jpg

WORLD CELEBRATES RAMLILA: Playing music on wooden instruments is Cambodian way of paying homage to the gods.

Bhopal: In an answer from the ruling state BJP government to those behind the controversial Ram Setu affidavit, troupes from eight different countries will be participating in a nine-day long festival that will stage the different forms of Ram Lila.

Troupes from Cambodia, Bali, Sri Lanka, Java, Thailand and Singapore have all arrived in Bhopal to enact the eternal battle between good and evil.

“Lord Rama is India. Without him India is nothing. Not just India, Ram Lila is staged in other parts of the world too. Therefore, we have organised this festival to tell the reality to those people who, through an affidavit, questioned the existence of Lord Rama,” Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan says.

In Cambodia, Rama is known as Pharash Ream and Ravana as Krong Reap. And Cambodians pay homage to their gods by playing music on wooden instruments.

Meanwhile, for the ruling BJP, turning their focus to Ram in an election year, is yet another attempt to consolidate its core strength.

"It is not just the BJP. Gandhiji also remembered Rama and introduced the concept of Ram Rajya," BJP President Rajnath Singh says.

The multi-cultural Ramayana is being staged in Ujjain, Gwalior and Bhopal.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/bjp-ropes-in-foreign-troupe-to-enact-ramayana/66811-3.html
Sunday, June 8, 2008

Dr. S Kalyanaraman awarded 19th Dr. Hedgewar Praj~na Samman
Sunday June 08 2008 Kolkata:

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman, President of Rama Setu Raksha Manch and Director of Saraswati Shodh Sansthan, received the 19th annual Dr. Hedgewar Praj~na Samman award. Former Union Minister Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi presided over the function held at the Kalamandira Prekshagriha. The award is given every year to an eminent scholar for lifelong contribution to Indic research by Shri Burrabazar Kumar Sabha Pustakalaya Kolkata and consists of a citation, a memento and Rs 51,000. Dr. Kalyanaraman, was given the award for his path breaking work towards researches in Saraswati Civilization and for his efforts in Rama Setu Protection Movement.

Born on October 20, 1939 at a village under Tanjor district of Tamil Nadu Dr Kalyanraman completed BA from Annamalai University in 1958. He joined the Accountant General Office of Bangalore after his father’s demise. He also worked as the Chief Controller of Accounts (Karnataka Electricity Board) and a financial advisor in Railway Board till 1978. He then took up an assignment in the Asian Development Bank as a senior officer till 1995. During this period he toured 29 countries of the world and monitored 650 developmental projects. He did his Ph.d in Public Administration in 1982. He also played a key role in computerisation of the Indian Railways.

With the inspiration of the late Shri Moropant Pingle, Dr Kalyanraman joined him in the Saraswati river research project. He took voluntary retirement from the Asian Development Bank five years before the actual retirement. While working with the project he not only discovered the flow route of Saraswati river but also materialised it practically at some places. Dr Kalyanraman wishes to irrigate additional nine crore acre land of the country while connecting Brahmaputra and other rivers. He has authored a five-volume book on Sindhu script and 8-volume book on Saraswati river civilisation. Earlier he was also honoured with Vakankar Award in the year 2000.

Speaking at the function, Dr. Kalyanaraman narrated how after being inspired by Shri Moropant Pingale, both of them took up the Saraswati Research and extensively traveled in the interiors of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Himachal, to trace the path of Saraswati River that dried up five thousand years ago. Speaking in Hindi, he narrated many mesmerizing details about his research. He also shared with audience the status of Ram Setu Protection Movement, and described in detail how the legal battle is progressing. He also added that the real battle will be won not in court rooms, but on roads.

Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi who handed the award, also spoke recounting how when he was the Union Minister for HRD, the government had initiated projects to discover the new facets of Indic Culture and how these were branded by the left-secular media as saffronization of Indian history.

Shri Suresh Soni, the saha-sara-kaaryavaah of RSS, was the chief guest of the function which was also attended by Shri S Vedantam, the Working President of VHP, Shri Tarun Vijay, director of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, the office bearers of the library and general public.

Visit this site tomorrow for images and videos.

http://www.bridgeofram.com/2008/06/dr-s-kalyanaraman-awarded-19th-dr.html

Rama Setu could have been declared national monument in 1914

British Governor wanted Ram Setu declared national monument in 1914
Rana Ajit | New Delhi (Pioneer, June 6, 2008)

Friday, June 06, 2008
Adam's bridge could have been national monument in 1914

New Delhi: A senior British official had sought national monument status for the Ram Sethu or Adam's Bridge off the Tamil Nadu coast almost a century ago, something that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and some Hindu groups are pressing for now.

Lord Pentland, who was the governor of the Madras presidency between 1912 and 1919, had written to the then Indian Viceroy Lord Hardinge in December 1914 to have an archaeological study conducted on the Ram Sethu - between Rameshwaram, in India, and Sri Lanka - to ascertain if it could be declared a national monument.

"I would earnestly request you to direct the Archaeological Survey of India to undertake an extensive and intensive survey of Rameshwaram and its beautiful environs, particularly with reference to historic and primordial Adam's Bridge, for declaring it as a national monument," Lord Pentland wrote to Lord Hardinge after touring Rameshwaram in 1914.

The letter, retrieved by former union minister Subramaniam Swamy from the archives of the Chennai mayor's office, has now been sent to the central government to buttress his claim that the Ram Sethu needs to be declared a national monument after an archaeological study.

On a bunch of lawsuits, filed by Swamy and others, the apex court on May 8 had advised the government to explore the possibility of sparing the Ram Sethu and adopting an "alternative alignment" to build a shorter navigational route around the Indian peninsula.

The court had also sought the government's stand for an archaeological study to ascertain if the Ram Sethu could be declared a national monument.

Lord Pentland, after touring Rameshwaram and other places in his presidency, wrote: "Along the Bay of Bengal, the Madras presidency runs with the well-governed city of Madras at its centre and the sublime and glorious temple of Tanjore (Thanjavur), Trichinopoly (Tiruchirapalli), Madurai and Rameshwaram adorning the southern boundaries."

"And, then the Adam's Bridge, a reef of sunken island beckons us across the Palk Strait to Ceylon, where civilization flourished more than 2,000 years ago," wrote Lord Pentland.

"Linga sculptures may be seen at many places along the highways in my presidency. The Hindus break upon them the coconuts, which they offer in sacrifice. Usually the ritual is simple and becoming," he added.

Under the spell of India's "simple and becoming" lifestyle in Rameshwaram, Lord Pentland found his own English lifestyle a "bottled-up" one and went on to write: "For me, Rameshwaram, very much like India as a whole, is the real world. We Englishmen live in a mad house of abstractions."

"Vital life in Rameshwaram has not yet withdrawn in the capsule of the head. It's the whole body, which lives here. No wonder, the Englishmen feel dreamlike; the complete life of Rameshwaram is something, which they merely dream... while living in England in a sort of bottle, filled with English air."

Describing special features of the Rameshwaram temple and other places of the Madras Presidency, Pentland wrote, "All these are a little part of my beloved Presidency - indeed my favourite India."

"Right from the dawn of history, India is extraordinarily discontinuous. From early times in India, it is ethnology, philology and archaeology that give and will give us some notions of the truth. From archaeology, much can be expected," he wrote while pleading to Lord Hardinge for an archaeological study of the Ram Sethu.

The BJP and other Hindu groups are against the Rs.24 billion Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP), which aims to provide a shorter navigational sea route around India's southern peninsula by dredging the peak of what is believed to be the Ram Sethu. The Supreme Court is hearing the plea against the damage to the Adam's Bridge, which many Hindus believe to be the mythological bridge built during the Ramayana.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

Karuna, call it a bad Tamil dream, give up Setu project.

Karuna, call it a bad Tamil dream, give up Setu project.

Give up Setu project, because it will be little value added to the coastal peoples’ livelihood. In fact, it will destroy their current livelihood opportunities, shrinking the fishing area by 26% and denying accress to the fish-nurseries. And, of course, it is nautical folly which will make the Setu corpn. lose over Rs. 150 crores every year, taxing the poor Indian tax-payer. There is a good alternative project: creation of Marine Economic Zones with potential to increase foreign exchange earnings by marine products export – from Rs. 2k crores per annum to Rs. 8k crores per annum since fish-landings have increased five-fold during the last 40 years in the Indian Ocean.

kalyan

June 05, 2008
Ram Sethu for a gift

This is with reference to the report, ‘Call it Sethu Ram, but do it: Karuna’ (MM, June 4). It was not altruism or his love of Tamil Nadu that made TN Chief Minister Karunanidhi request the PM to complete the Sethusamudram project as a gift for his 85th birthday. It is common knowledge that T R Baalu, the DMK minister in the UPA cabinet, owns several companies that are directly involved in the implementation of the Sethu project. It is alleged that the DMK chieftain has interest in these companies and is bound to lose heavily in case the project is scrapped. Had he been really interested in the welfare of the people, he would have asked the PM to gift him the Cauvery.

- Vijay Mohan
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article§id=21&contentid=2008060520080605032724101d20dfd13

Bungling Birthday Script! By BR Haran

On April 14 2008, the entire state was celebrating Tamil New Year Day despite the government's '(ir)rational dictum that Tamil New Year must be celebrated only on 14 January (Thai Pongal day). On that auspicious day, the state's Electricity Minister Arcot Veerasamy made a thundering declaration that, the party would ensure the movement of the first ship through the Sethu canal on Kalaignar's birthday, that is, the 3rd of June.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK Patriarch, Kalaignar Karunanidhi has celebrated his eighty fifth birthday in a grand manner. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's direction to the GOI on the Rama Sethu case, he decided not to celebrate his birthday, especially after his brief hospitalization due to neck and back pain. Political observers felt that, the covert feud between the three power centres within the family circles have induced him to take that decision. But, Karunanidhi's longtime colleague and the state's Finance Minister Anbazhagan prevailed upon him and convinced him to give his assent for a big birthday bash on the grounds that the cadres would get de-motivated and demoralized and that the DMK adversaries would have a whale of a time in concocting stories maligning the party and the CM's family if the b-day is not celebrated. So, the birthday boy (!!!) made himself ready for the big bash with well-scripted dialogues, after all he has been a script writer and a dramatist through out his life.

On the eve of his birthday, Karunanidhi has written a poem in the party organ 'Murasoli' appealing to the opponents of SSCP not to oppose the project in the name of Bhagwan Rama and sought to placate them by saying that he was even prepared to name the project as 'Sethu Ram Ship Canal Project'. Also in the General Council meeting and later in the evening in the cassette release function of the film 'Uliyin Osai' (Chisel's sound), he claimed that the opposition to SSCP has been only to thwart the good name and credibility likely to be earned by him and Congress President Sonia. He felt that the opposition was not religion, but pure politics in the guise of religion. He asked the politicians (BJP/RSS/VHP) to come out of their religious guise and face the issue politically. It is an irony that Kalaignar, who has used 'religion' to the hilt in the name of secularism and social justice in his political career, is blaming the rightwing politicians as abusers of religion. .

In his speech at the general council meeting, he had stated that he was never an adversary of Bhagwan Rama. It can be recalled that only in September 2007, he insulted this nation by asking, 'was the Adams Bridge built by Rama? Is Rama an engineer? If so in which engineering college did he study? Not satisfied with this, he hurt the religious sentiments of Hindu majority by saying that Rama was a drunkard. He also ridiculed the epic and insulted Sage Tulsi Das by saying that Tulsi Das has projected Rama and Seetha as brother and sister in his Ramayana Kaavya. After ridiculing Ramayana and Rama Sethu, insulting Rama and Tulasidas and questioning the faith of the Hindu majority, he now has the audacity to say that he is not an enemy of Rama. This is what is called as the 'Double standards of the Dravidian order!

He went on to say that the Sethupathis (Kings of Ramnad) have protected the Sethu waters for ages and hence the name 'Sethu' could be connected with the name of Bhagwan Rama, so as to name the project as 'Sethu Ram', which would satisfy both the government and the Hindu Religionists. He reiterated that the SSCP has been a 150 year old dream of the Tamil people and that it is the only project, which could pave the way for the over all development of the state, as the three neighbours Karnataka, Andhra and Kerala are not willing to help it by giving its legitimate share of Cauvery, Krishna and Periyar waters respectively. The state's political history shows that he has played a vital role in bringing the Cauvery, Krishna and Periyar River issues to this sordid state of affairs. After writing the prologue in the early seventies for the Ramnad District Gazetteer, which glorifies Rama Sethu and the Sethupathis of Ramnad, he now tries to give a picture as though he is doing a favour for Bhagwan Ram and the Sethupathis by suggesting the renaming of the project as 'Sethu Ram'! In other words, he is trying to show that he gives credence to the faith of millions of Hindus worldwide and it is also an attempt to equate Bhagwan Rama with the likes of Anna and Periyar, which would give him immense 'sadistic' pleasure.


He demanded that the project, which was dreamt by stalwarts like Kamaraj and Ramasamy Mudaliyar and okayed by engineers and scientists must be implemented at any cost. Ramasamy Mudaliyar had never supported a 'sea based' channel, but only a land based channel and he was also emphatic in his opposition to break Rama Sethu. So far, Karunanidhi has never talked about Kamaraj in connection with this issue, but now he is raking up his name with an intention of putting pressure on Congress party. One also wonders which engineers he was talking about, when the experts from various fields have clearly established that the SSCP is a good for nothing project and a disastrous one too!

In a veiled threat, he has said that he was even prepared to lose his Chiefministership and the government, for the sake of the project. In a more threatening tone, he had called upon his party cadres to be ready for a 'massive battle' for the implementation of the project. This is just to indicate that, his party would go to any extent to achieve its goal.

Finally, sounding apologetic and in a tone of begging, he pleaded to the opponents of the project to sanction his birthday wish by clearing the project for implementation. He begged his opponents to award the project as a birthday gift, not for him or his family or his grandchildren or his party, but for the poor people of the state and for the future generation. As a last attempt he begged his opponents to award this project for the so-called service he rendered to Tamil, Tamil people and Tamil Nadu! This again shows the level to which he is prepared to descent down to achieve his objective!

After going down begging to the 'communal' forces on the eve of his birthday, he climbed again on top of the tree of 'pseudo-secularism' on his birthday, probably emboldened by the company of the likes of Pranab Mukherjee, Prakash Karat, D.Raja and Raghuvansh Prasad. At the public meeting organized by the party in the evening at the 'island grounds', he declared that the 'communal forces' (read BJP) must not be allowed to gain grounds, as they would spoil the secular fabric of the country. The patriarch, who brazenly enjoyed everything under the sun during the NDA regime sharing power with the very same 'communal' forces, gave a clarion birthday call to all the so-called secular forces to come together to fight against the 'Sanatana Dharma', which is a danger to the peace and progress of the country! Probably for the first time in his 'Adharmic' political career spanning more than fifty years he has 'publicly' espoused the cause of 'Adharma'.

The political pundits, who have been watching Karunanidhi's politics for the last fifty years are well aware of his antics, mannerisms and his speeches saddled with sarcasm, avarice and audacity. The point to note in the whole 'birthday-script' is that he has repeatedly harped on the so-called 'dream' and 'development', but not a word on how the state would develop and how employment opportunities would be created and how thousands of fishermen and their families would be rehabilitated and how thousands of rare species and organisms would be protected. The script doesn't have answers for the various opinions and objections raised by the experts against the project and its implementation.

On the Tamil New Year Day, when Arcot Veeerasamy said that the first ship would sail through the Sethu Canal on Karunanidhi's birthday, one wondered how it could be possible in such a short span of time! But, no one would have imagined that he would have meant only a symbolic representation. He made it a reality by erecting the stage of the public meeting in the shape of a 'SHIP' and the meeting was held at 'ISLAND' grounds near the 'Bay of Bengal'!

So, what is the motive behind such a prepared birthday script? It might be intended to convince his electorate in future that despite his sincere attempts, he couldn't attain success with regards to SSCP. Or it might be intended to indirectly threaten the Congress, conveying a message of quitting the alliance if it doesn't improve its electoral fortunes in the coming days. Or it might be intended to convey a message of readiness to the BJP for rejoining NDA. Or it might have been prepared with all the three motives of quitting UPA, joining NDA and convincing the party cadres and supporters, which could be done in one stroke! Or it might be a simple tactic of diverting the attention of people from the 'smoking' family feud. What ever said and done, it is very clear that he has taken the people for granted and that is what he has been doing for the last fifty years!

Cheers to Dravidianism! Long live Kalaignar! Doom for Tamils and Tamil Nadu!

Setu project: work progressing well at Palk Bay? – tall claim by GOI

Setu project: work progressing well at Palk Bay? – tall claim by GOI

A new item has been added at the Sethusamudram gov.in website about Palk Bay dredging status. While dredging quantities have been shown only as of 10 Oct. 2007 and 17 Sept. 2007 for Palkbay/Palkstrait and North-of-Adam’s-Bridge respectively, the following report inserted claims to have achieved a depth of 10.73 m in April 2008. How come, it is only 10.73 m when the dredging contracts called for achieving a depth of 12 m ?

How can work progress well at Palk Bay when dredging has been stopped there as of 10 Oct. 2007 according to the very same website of Sethusamudram Corp. ? Something is rotten in the state of Denmark – this is a quote from Shakespeare to show that Setusamudram continues to be kaarasthaan.

kalyanaraman

SETHUSAMUDRAM SHIP CHANNEL WORK PROGRESSING WELL AT PALK BAY – 10.73 M ACHIEVED IN APRIL, 2008

Maritime London in association with the Institute of Chartered Ship Brokers (Madras Branch) organized a seminar at Chennai on 14.04.2008 on the topic “Realizing Maritime India’s Growth Potential“. During the course of interaction with the press after the Seminar, Shri K. Suresh, I.A.S., Chairman, Chennai port Trust who is also holding additional charge as Chairman Cum Managing Director, Sethusamudram Corporation Limited spoke at length on the project. He explained that the Sethu Project which would provide a direct link between the east and west coast of the country without circumnavigating Srilanka envisages a channel of 300 M width and 12 M depth for a total length of 167 km comprising three segments.

 Initial portion in the Palk Bay of length 54 km in which dredging was in progress.
 A further length of 78 km where dredging was not required due to available depths in excess of 12 M.
 Adam’s Bridge portion of length 35 KM where dredging had been suspended since September 2007 due to the injunction of the Supreme Court.

Regarding the dredging operations in Palk Bay stretch, he mentioned that DCI engaged a survey launch m.v. TAURUS of M/s. Geo Star Surveys India Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, for conducting a seabed survey from 04.04.08 to ascertain the depth of the channel in this 54 km stretch where at present six Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers are at work viz.
..2..


 DCI DR – XVI
 DR – TRILOKI PREM
 DR – PACIFIQUE
 DR. BANWARI PREM
 DR. DARYAMANTHAN
 PROF. GORJUNOV


The initial report for the stretch of 54 km above that as against the planned channel depth of – 12 mtrs Chart Datum and 300 m width, the depths are varying from – 10 mtrs to – 11 mtrs with an average of 10.73 mtrs for the initial 18 kms stretch. For the remaining 36 km of Palk Bay portion the depth varies from – 10.75 mtrs to – 11.30 mtrs from Chart Datum. This indicates that the dredging has been successfully carried out by DCI and the percentage in respect of depth achieved averages around 93%. Hence it will be possible for a vessel with 10M draft requirement to navigate from Chennai upto the coast of Rameswaram.

http://sethusamudram.gov.in/ProjectStatus_old_files/SSCP%20WORK%20PROGRESSING%20WELL%20AT%20PALK%20BAY%20-%2010.73M.doc

DMK to take agitational path for Sethu project

Chennai, June 02: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and ruling DMK President M Karunanidhi today said the party would organise a massive agitation, even if it meant losing power, for the implementation of Sethusamudram Shipping Channel project (SSCP).
''We should all prepare for a massive agitation, whether it means being in power or losing power, to get the Sethusamudram project implemented,'' the DMK patriarch exhorted partymen, while addressing the party's General Council meeting here.
The DMK would announce the date and mode of agitation at an appropriate time, party sources said.
Mr Karunanidhi said gone were the days when Tamil Nadu was blessed with land and water resources. The State had lost its prosperity after neighbouring Kerala and Karnataka refused water to the State.
In this backdrop, only the SSCP would bring prosperity to Tamil Nadu, the DMK leader, who was intrumental in prevailing upon the Centre to implement the project, said.
In his anxiety to implement the project, he had even offered to name the project after Lord Ram as he thought the interest of Tamils were greater than the Lord.
A resolution adopted at the General Council, the highest policy making body of the party, also appealed to the Centre to implement the project, without any delay, respecting the sentiments of Mr Karunanidhi, who had offered to name the project after Lord Ram. –
Agencies
http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7B8C7C4D0A-2757-4AE7-809A-6789737F2F7E%7D&CATEGORYNAME=CHN

Setu-Ram ! Scrap the Setu project. Enshrine Ramayana...

Setu-Ram ! Scrap the Setu project. Enshrine Ramayana in peoples’ hearts and celebrate coastal people with Marine Economic Zones.

This note is about three events.

1. Ramayana Exhibition at the British Library
2. Release of a book titled, ‘Ramayana – around the world – a living legend’ by Ravi Kumar
3. MuKa’s birthday poem of self-eulogy but lamenting on Setu project and naming Setu-Ram !

I will talk about the book published on May 30, 2008. Publisher: Bharatiya Itihas Sankalana Samiti, Kokan Prant, Mumbai. Price Rs. 100. This book should be translated into all languages of the world and adorn the library of every child.

The Table of Contents:

The Timeless Tale
The universal relevance of Ramayan
Ramayan scriptures in South East Asian languages
Ramayana in the West
Ramayana in Islamic Countries
Ramayana in Indonesia: Islam is our religion but Ramayana is our culture
Indonesia Ramayan presented in open air theatres
Ramayan in Malaysia: we rule in the name of Ram’s Paduka
Ramayan among the Muslims of Philippines
Persian and Arabic Ramayan
The borderless appeal of Ramayan
Influence of Ramayan in Asia Countries
Influence of Ramayan in Cambodia
Influence of Ramayan in Thailand
Ramayana the National Epic of Thailand
Influence of Ramayan in Burma
Influence of Ramayan in Laos
Weyang Kulit or South East Asian Puppet shows
Ramayan in Vietnam
Sino Ramayana
Ramayan in Japan
Award winning animated Ramayan
Japanese interest in Ramayan
Ramayan in Mongolia, Tibet, Korea, Siberia
Sri Lanka and Nepal
Ramayan in Bharat
Indian contemporary versions
Ramayana landmarks
The popularity of Ramayana
Rama Nawami celebrations of People of Indian origin
International Ramayana Conferences
Epi Expressions
Modern Ram Setus

Annexures
1. Important Ramayan Names depending on foreign versions
2. Lord Ram did exist
3. Why Lord Ram will not appear now
4. Diwali festival around the world
5. Significance of Easster to Hindus
6. Pre-Christian origin of Christmas and Easter
7. Anecdotes on Ramayan from Panchamritam
8. Ramayan in computer language
9. Ramayan in Sri Lanka

The Ramayana Exhibition at the British Library
(16 May-14 September 2008)

In ancient India sage Valmiki told the story of prince Rama in the epic Ramayana in Sanskrit, consisting of 24000 verses. Traditionally Hindus believe that Lord Rama lived in Treta Yuga, one of the four Yugas (aeons) namely Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali.

The Ramayana exhibition was formally opened on Thursday 15 May 2008 by Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar the Maharana of Udaipur. The Mewar Maharana family dynasty is over 1200 years old.

The Ramayana was a favourite subject for Rajsthani painters of 17th century. Illustrated Ramayana manuscripts were prepared between 1649-1653 for Rana Jagat Singh of Mewar in his court studio at Udaipur. Maharana Bhim Singh presented the manuscripts to Colonel James Tod, author of Annals and Antiquities of Rajsthan in 1820. The British Museum Library acquired the manuscripts in 1844.

click to enlarge click to enlarge click to enlarge

The exhibition covers the story of prince Rama in 12 episodes starting from his boyhood, marriage, exile, search for his lost wife princess Sita, concluding with her recovery following the slaying of the demon king Ravana.

In the autumn of 2007 I was delighted to learn from the British Library that a Ramayana exhibition was planned for May - September 2008, thanks to the Chairman Sir Colin Lucas, his team and especially Jerry Losty, curator of the British Library and former head of Prints, Drawings and Photographs also at the British Library.

The exhibition is well worth a visit.


Dr Rishi Agarwal
Representative - Hindu Heritage
Hindu Council UK
Note : Hindu Council UK (HCUK) is the foremost and largest national network of the Hindu temple bodies and cultural organisations co-ordinating all different schools of Hindu theology within the UK. HCUK is the representative umbrella body for the British Hindu issues for which a UK wide mandate was received during a two year consultation with the British Hindu public culminating in its launch in November 1994.

HCUK Admin Office:Boardman House, 64 The Broadway, London E15 1NG. T: 020 8432 0400 W: www.hinducounciluk.org F: 020 8432 0393

Mu. Karunanidhi’s birthday poem of self-eulogy (translated from Tamil) for his 85th birthday on 3 June 2008.

Made me a old-man reminding me that I am 85
But at the age of 8 plus 5, thirteen,
I pushed down the "Vedism" warning, "be at a distance, don't touch"!
There is no bar for becoming "Archaka" in temples
Enacted accordingly to act in the sanctum sanctorum of temples
For Periyar, it took 60 years to bring out such ideology, but
I implemented it as a service to him!
Not only for Dravidian bigwigs,
Even for common people daily we implement
What we swore as electioneering promises!
But still, I have one worry
My heart throbs as the dream of Kamaraj could not be fulfilled.
To fulfill that dream only,
we go on implement plans one by one targeting it.
Sethu-samutharam has been one of such wonderful dream-projects.
Lushness to dance in the land of chaste Tamil
Benefits accrue by the increase of trade
We do not have any other way!
Sethu-samuthram has been our historical necessity!
Without preventing it with trickery
Respecting my trembling voice,
As I worked for this land, language during my lifetime,
Instead of killing the project by telling the name of Ram,
I appeal on the day my birth as a message:
If you want name it "Sethu-Ram", do it!
This is my birth-day message for the country –
to live without any love or hate and for removal of fragility.

Rama Setu and attacks on Hindu identity – Dr. Subramanian Swamy

Rama Setu and attacks on Hindu identity – Dr. Subramanian Swamy

Sunday, 01 June, 2008 , 03:33 PM
Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy has written to Prime Minister exposing the ‘Himalayan fraud and monumental folly of Sethusamudram project’.

In the letter a copy of which was released to the press, Swamy had said,’I hope and pray that by now you have been briefed on the proceedings of the Supreme Court in various hearings held in the first week of May.

The Supreme Court has reiterated two directions which the Madras High Court had earlier given on my writ petition heard on 18 June and 19 June 2007 (subsequently your government hastily got the case transferred to the Supreme Court and therefore the May hearings of the Apex Court were in the nature of continuation of those hearings).

‘Essentially the said directions require your government to go back to the drawing board and re-work the Sethusamudram Channel Project (SSCP).’‘During the course of my arguments before the Supreme Court, I had firmly established with records and citations of past judgments of the Apex Court that the implementation of the SSCP would constitute criminal and civil illegalities.

Even you have committed a civil illegality when you inaugurated the project on 2 July, 2005 despite having failed to obtain the mandatory NOC from the Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board as required under the environmental law.

There was also an illegality committed in failing to obtain an NOC from the Coast Guard and the Maritime Board. Moreover your government committed a civil illegality by failing to honour the UN Law of the Sea (1968), and associated Bio-diversity Convention by failing to conduct a joint inspection with the government of Sri Lanka on environmental viability of the SSCP.

I am sure that if you send for Fali Nariman who is your main senior counsel in the case, he will apprise you of the details.’‘I, therefore, request you, out of personal regard for you and our long past happy friendship that you desist from any further pursuit of this illegal, ill-advised and economically disastrous SSCP and boldly take the steps to declare unilaterally that the Rama Setu is an ancient monument, a national pride, and a world heritage.

As far as SSCP is concerned, it may be re-cast by converting Tuticorin into an international container port and an international airport and connect it by a coastal railway- cum- express highway to Kolkata originating at the port.

This would be economically more profitable and consistent with the national security considerations.’Earlier this month, on 5 May, Swamy had sent a letter to the Prime Minister seeking his permission for the prosecution of T R Baalu, Union Shipping Minister, under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Swamy wrote as follows to the Prime Minister:

‘ This is first a reminder of my letter dated 1 February, 2008 seeking your sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act to prosecute your Minister of Shipping.

Since that letter, charges of corruption against Baalu have proliferated galore in the country. Enclosed is a letter from Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) holding the chairman of the Chennai Port Trust, which Trust is administratively under the said Minister, of gross impropriety.

Yet your government have accepted the Financial Officer of the Chennai Port Trust C N Rao as the new chairman of Tuticorin Port Trust which Trust is the nodal body for the Sethusamdrum Ship Channel Project.

Kindly therefore withdraw the nomination forthwith and please expedite the grant of sanction.’No one can dispute the fact that right from the beginning, Sethusamudram Canal Project (SSCP) has been planned, organised and launched as a commercial asset for a few Cabinet Ministers in the UPA government and some of their counterparts in Tamilnadu.

According to expert, unbiased technical and scientific opinion in India and abroad, SSCP is a scientifically inconsistent, technologically non-feasible project at the present time.

The cogent arguments presented by some tsunami specialists and earth scientists of international stature have not been considered or answered in open-transparent forums by the leading proponents of the project.

Many of the vital questions raised by Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in March 2005 were bypassed in a subterranean manner by imaginative, covert, sly and stealthy manoeuvres and operations.

What is amazing is that the top brass of the Indian Navy has remained silent or neutral on the SSCP and the brazen promoters of the SSCP — mean the firmly entrenched vested interests involved only in a private loot under the garb of public interest —— have become the naval strategists of Palk Bay!

Against this background it should be clear that there has been an organised conspiracy of firmly entrenched vested interests - the PMO, the Union Ministry of Shipping and Transport and the Tuticorin Port Trust ( TPT)-to ignore the best technical advice given by International experts about the wholly avoidable dangers and disasters of the SSCP in its present shape.

The words of the American judge Justice Cardozo are relevant in this context: ‘Means unlawful in their inception do not become lawful by relation when suspicion ripens into discovery’.

Swamy and other senior Counsels have convincingly argued and proved in the Supreme Court of India that there has been a blatant violation of the DUE PROCESS OF LAW right from the inception of the SSCP.

There is no table of weights and measures for ascertaining or determining what constitutes the due process. What is due process of law depends on circumstances.

It varies with the subject matter and necessities of the situation. Due process of law requires that the proceedings shall be fair, but fairness is a relative, not an absolute concept.

It is fairness with reference with particular conditions or particular results. Whichever way one looks at it, there has been a total violation of the DUE PROCESS by the government of India in according sanction for the SSCP.

That is why I have been asserting with unassailable facts and figures ever since May 2005 that the SSCP is a ‘Monument of fraud and folly.’

It is reliably understood that about four days ago, the Prime Minister directed Baalu to submit his letter of resignation as Union Shipping Minister, having regard to the serious corruption charges raised against him by Subramanian Swamy. According to sources, AICC leader Sonia Gandhi informally overruled Manmohan to ensure the temporary survival of Baalu.

http://newstodaynet.com/col.php?section=20&id=7978&catid=33


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Venkat
To: Sanatana Dharma Group
Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2008 6:51:38 PM
Subject: [SDF] Ram Sethu - Watch the latest video

Namaste:
Rama Sethu is a national monument that should be preserved. A large number of dedicated Hindus took up this cause to see that Rama Sethu is protected, preserved and promoted. The more people get involved more awareness. More awareness among Hindus, more attention paid by the government. The only recourse Hindus is to work together and support all the efforts to see that the Rama Sethu project is stopped by the Supreme Court.
Dr, Subramanain Swamy has done a yeoman service to this cause literally stopping the destruction of Rama Sethu.
1) Please read the summary of his speech given in New Jersey during a Book release ceremony the Memorial Day weekend.
2) Also watch his inspiring speech on Youtube.
SDF is interested in preserving and protecting Hindu values, Hindu Temples, and Hindu monuments so that Hindu pluralistic philosophy is cherished and defended.

Dhanyavad

Sanatana Dharma Foundation

(Sent by Sunanda & Satya Dosparthi)

Below is a video link of brilliant talk on Rama Sethu and its relevance to the what is happening to Hinduism, delivered by Dr. Subramanian Swamy during his recent visit to US when he released his book on Rama Sethu.
Every Indian must watch this. For those who may not know, it is Dr. Swamy's brilliant arguments in Supreme Court that blocked destruction of Rama Sethu.

Listen to how Dr. Swamy, who is an economist and not a lawyer, relate how he argued for 8 hours at a stretch with Supreme Court justices and successfully convinced them to stop destruction of Rama Sethu. Listen to why he took up this case because he clearly saw it as another example of undermining Hindu society. Hear about the gross corruption involved, total lack of values and simple decency in the leaders of current government.
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=3tZOUw5- P0U&feature=PlayList&p=13C6CC433448906C&index=0&playnext=1
(Note: This is link to play list and all the parts will be automatically played)
Rama Sethu book can be ordered from Kanchi Kamakoti Seva Foundation at 908-244-3258.

PLEASE PASS ON TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE.

Synopsis of the lecture
(High level summary)

Dr. Swamy started with introductory remarks to show Rama Sethu matter in perspective. He got interested in the problems Hindu Society is facing after Kanchi Sankaracharya was arrested on foisted charges and jailed like a common criminal, for which Supreme Court of India found no prima facie charges. It brought his attention to the forces that are working to undermine Hindu Society by making them feel impotent and inferior. As he looked around, he found the same way the Hindu society targeted in several areas. Whether it is the terrorism where Hindus and Hindu temples are targeted and claimed the number of lives next to Iraq in last 4 years, large scale religious conversions of Hindus, rubbishing of Hinduism in history books in India,

He explains how Hindus who constitute large percentage can be under sieze. He gave example how numbers do not matter, because thousands of goats can be made to run for life by one tiger. Strength or capacity does not matter, because a thin whip master in circus can make powerful lions obey him. The problem he says is lack of Hindu mindset. What is happening today is mental subversion, unlike physical brutalities of Islamic invasions of the past. He says he took up Rama Sethu because it is just another example of the way Hindu society is being targeted in subtle psychological way.

What does he mean by Hindu Mind set? He goes on, it is not about doing Pujas or celebrating Diwali only. It is the corporate psychology that is needed. When 500,000 Hindus were driven out Kashmir by Islamic terrorists and living in squalid camps since 1989, we need to feel annoyed, upset and take action. We worry about one Masjid broken, every day Hindu temples are broken in Kashmir and outside India like Malayasia. When Hindus and Hindu temples are targeted by terrorists, we need to stand up against it.

What are forces against Hinduism? He gave examples of Christian fundamentalist Pat Robertson openly declaring that he would convert 100 millions to Christianity. Money does not matter. He gave example of christian CM of Andhra Pradesh YSR. As for Islam, he says they are more clearer than Christian fundamentalists in their objective. He explained how the Islamic scriptures (Koran, Sira and Hadith) drive the behavior of Islamists and how Islam sanctions terrorism. He showed it is not just in Kashmir where Hindus are targeted, it is happening in district level in India. He detailed how in every single Panchayat in Tamilnadu (40 of them) where Muslims gained majority, they stopped providing civic services such as water, school, garbage cleanup to Hindus for last 10 years with notices in Urdu that they need to convert to get those services. Failing which, they destroyed their agriculture by directing the water from their tanneries into their fields. He related how he successfully fought this in High Court of Tamilnadu that ordered Governor to take action. He explained the concepts of Dar-Ul-Harab and Dar-Ul-Islam, where this mentality comes from.

However, he does not blame Islam or Christian fundamentalists. He says they are clear in their mind what they want to do and they go about doing it. But it is Hindu who are confused about what he(or she) is and what to do. That confusion he was trying to remove by placing the whole conspiracy behind destruction of Rama Sethu.
Having given this perspective he goes about the Rama Sethu's significance in our history. He detailed how there were committees since 1860, nine of them before independence and six after the independence and not a single committee ever recommended the route that destroys Rama Sethu. How the current Government took on its own to destroy at the behest of Karunanidhi and his chela Baalu. Why so many alternative routes not considered and why every clearance required by law was simply ignored? Why the precedent where Governments in India always changed project plans in order not to hurt religious sentiments would not be followed in finding alternative to the proposed route that would hurt the sentiments of one billion Hindus (e.g, Government in 2001 rerouted Delhi Metro at cost of 500 crores and delay of 1 year, because of simple complaint from a Muslim NGO that the Metro route can cause cracks to three graves near Qutub Minar)? Why did the Government ignore 35 Lakhs verifiable signatures requesting not to destroy Rama Sethu and the protest of 5 lakh people? The same Government that will bend backwards for even slightest dissent from their vote banks, has decidedly chosen the path of breaking the back of Hindu society.

He showed with detailed calculations how it is the greatest economic disaster and the only beneficiaries are TR Baalu who owns the shipping company with ships of the size that can go thro' the proposed route thro' Rama Sethu and his son who has company that needs to clear the sand that will be thrown by sea into the dredged area every year, worth multiple crores.

Listen to the talk to become aware of the extent of corruption, debasement of our current political leaders and the conspiracy going on to destroy Hinduism from India. Listen to how he brilliantly argued with justices with wit and humor and made the defense counsel eat their words. Hear the options he has to offer to revive Hindu society and create a stronger India.

Dr. Swamy's book on Rama Sethu also provides all the details. Rama Sethu book can be ordered from Kanchi Kamakoti Seva Foundation at 908-244-3258.

PLEASE PASS THIS EMAIL TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE.

Sanatana Dharma Foundation

Save Rama Setu; scrap Setu project -- Sandhya Jain

Save Rama Setu; scrap Setu project – Sandhya Jain
Saving the mangroves
Sandhya Jain (Pioneer, May 27, 2008)

India's eastern coastline and regions east of India have been suffering serious environmental degradation without any sincere efforts at mitigation. The Orissa super-cyclone of 1999 smashed through huge tracts of land, taking countless lives and wrecking incalculable damage to crops, cattle and property. The 13 coastal districts along Tamil Nadu's 255-km long coastline are regularly exposed to cyclonic fury, and the terrifying tsunami of 2004 is still fresh in public memory.

Summer 2008 has been kind to India; Hurricane Nargis, which shattered the lives of untold thousands in Myanmar, has spared this land; it could so easily have been otherwise. A grim earthquake has devastated China, raising the toll of human tragedy manifold. Delhi's unseasonal rains have also taken some lives, and the weather has been inexplicable enough for experts to seriously consider it a consequence of global warming and environmental degradation.

Resurrecting the mangroves, now almost extinct in our part of the world, can even now end this continuing legacy of human misery, this horrible haemorrhaging of the earth itself. Mangroves, literally dense forests on the shore, tolerate the salinity of sea water and protect inland water sources and soil from salinity and erosion; above all, they mitigate the impact of cyclonic winds. There is no more ecologically sensitive and cost-effective measure of saving the seacoast and continental shelf than mangroves; yet, we have seen least action in this direction.

Given the pulsating environmental instability in our region, it is astonishing a debate still persists regarding the desirability of the Rs 2,400 crore white elephant called the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP). The plan to dredge a 300-metre wide channel through the land-link between India and Sri Lanka, to reduce the distance between the western and eastern coast ports, is opposed by environmentalists, economists and security analysts. Colombo has raised an alarm fearing human intervention on Ram Setu could threaten its very existence in the event of another tsunami, already predicted by Nature magazine (December 2007).

The historical-civilisational significance of Ram Setu is obvious. Sinhala scholar Prof Tissa Kariyawasam, former dean of the University of Jayawardenapura, Sri Lanka, says most probably Emperor Ashoka's son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra came to the island by walking across the Ram Setu. It symbolises the establishment and protection of dharma; the Skanda Purana prescribes worship of the Ram Setu and the Shivalinga installed in its middle with appropriate mantras. It is a popular place for offerings to pitrs (ancestors).

The proposal to hack a channel was publicly welcomed by the LTTE in Sri Lanka and Tamil politician Vaiko. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard warned of the possibility of facilitating militant groups! Capt H Balakrishnan (retd) of Chennai made an in-depth study of the SSCP's viability, particularly the claim that it would save ships nearly 424 nautical miles (780 km) and about 30 hours of sailing time, with commensurate savings in fuel, thereby becoming self-sustaining over time. An estimated 3,055 vessels were projected to use the canal annually.

But its economic viability alone is questionable from a study of the Information Memorandum of the UTI Bank (now Axis Bank), wherein dredging costs alone are pegged at Rs 200 million in the first year. This will actually be higher as the open sea will constantly bring sand, which may keep the channel effectively closed much of the year. It is pertinent that the Suez Canal was cut through land, though it too has to be annually desilted. Many international shipping companies have already stated that using the canal would involve reducing speed, switching fuels, and incurring extra costs like canal charges and navigation assistance to negotiate it; hence, it made better sense to go around Sri Lanka! With news reports suggesting cost escalation up to Rs 4,000 crore, the argument for economic viability of the project is certainly over.

The Kochi-based Centre for Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has warned about the adverse effect on marine bio-diversity in the protected Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, if the SSCP is implemented. Director NGK Pillai has affirmed that the 3,600 species in the biosphere would be endangered if the Gulf of Mannar was linked to the Bay of Bengal, in the manner in which the Kochi shipyard had caused loss of nearly 60 per cent biodiversity in the Kochi estuary. Worldwide, the phenomenon of vanishing wildlife is reaching endemic proportions, and unless strict measures are taken, biodiversity loss could touch 60 per cent to 70 per cent in the next three decades. In this regard, the practice of trawl fishnets needs an urgent rethink, as they cause immeasurable damage to non-edible biota.

The National Institute of Ocean Technology has affirmed that the Ram Setu is a man-made structure, dating back to antiquity, a view shared by the National Remote Sensing Agency of the Ministry of Space, which has even been tabled in Parliament. This is why, once it was forced to withdraw the controversial affidavit denying the existence of Sri Ram, the Union Tourism and Culture Ministry insisted only an archaeological investigation could determine if the Ram Setu is man-made, and a legitimate heritage site worthy of protection under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904. With monsoons ruling out an early investigation, the project is virtually in a limbo for the present.

But the danger is far from over as the forces behind SSCP are resourceful and powerful, as reflected in the ingenuous argument of protecting the Ram Setu while continuing with the project through a different alignment! It needs to be understood that the Ram Setu is a single, somewhat winding, land track between Sri Lanka and India, wide enough for an army to cross over. Over the centuries, natural erosion in the turbulent waters there has cut natural channels into it, wide enough for shallow boats to cross over to either side.

Any move to preserve the pristine glory of the Setu must envisage filling these passages and restoring the 'Ram path' between the two countries. Stopping SSCP vandalism at a spot where dredging is difficult and attacking the structure at a more vulnerable point, in the name of realignment, is desecration in disguise. It is pertinent that the southern sands are rich in thorium, our nuclear future. India does not need unnecessary activity in this area.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=jain%2Fjain142.txt&writer=jain