Ram Sethu

Later on in the debate, the proponents of the canal were confronted with opposition from a completely different source. Across the Palk Strait runs a chain of sandbars and limestone rocks called Adam s Bridge. Hindu activists believe that Adam s Bridge is in fact a mythical bridge, called Ram Sethu. Ram Sethu is a bridge built by the Hindu deity Ram to allow his army to cross the sea. 

In May 2008, the Supreme Court asked the government to investigate whether or not Ram Sethu is indeed a national monument and to study the possibilities for other alignment options. To date these studies are not completed and the ban is still not lifted (Van Dijk, 2008 29-36). 

Currently, the BJP is the major political opponent of the Sethusamudram Project. It is however important to note that in 2005 the party was still claiming to have taken the initiative to implement the project The Times of India, 11 July 2005). In 2007, however, the party switched to being an opponent. They feared that the possible breaking of Ram Sethu would hurt the religious feelings of many Hindus. The party now also wants to declare Ram Sethu a national monument. However, a more down to earth explanation is their determination to be in opposition to Congress. 

The key question of this chapter was how a megaengineering project became the subject of a mega controversy on religion. Debate on the project started as a relatively low profile discussion on the environmental and economic objections to the canal. Later on it turned over into a political storm on what Hindu activists see as the destruction of Ram Sethu. 

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