Letters to the editor

Letter of the Week

8226; One is unable to understand the rationale of the opposition to the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project 8216;Ram Sethu rocks Lok Sabha again8217;, IE, May 5, which will drastically cut the sea route between our eastern and the western coasts. Valmiki8217;s Ramayana mentions in Yudha Kand, Dwavinsh Sarg, that the army of Lord Ram constructed a hundred yojan long and ten yojan wide bridge over the sea in five days. Unlike the common belief emanating from some of the later writings, that the bridge was constructed as an earth-filled passage, the Ramayana states that the 8216;Vaanar Sena8217; felled innumerable trees for the construction shlokas 55 to 59, 64 and 65. The subsequent shlokas state the method of construction. Shloka 60 mentions that, huge 8216;vaanars8217; uprooted elephant-sized rocks and moved them to the sea shlokas 55, to 62, 64 to 66, and 67.

But what appears as a continuous submerged ridge in aerial photographs, is apparently one of the reefs, as are found elsewhere. The objection to dredging the existing channel on religious grounds is, therefore, not understood. As for the tsunami threat, in the past few centuries, there has just been one devastating tsunami. It is, therefore, a very low probability threat. Can we stop our nuclear programme merely on the presumption that one of them may some day blow up? The third objection is the fear of losing the thorium-enriched sands of Kerala. Will dredging a few feet really matter? The sea west of the channel expands in width, and the impact of a tsunami is unlikely to ravage the western coast.

8212;M.M.P. Kala, Dehra Dun

Hail Maya

8226; Mayawati8217;s impressive win in UP should teach the other 8216;national8217; political parties a lesson. Not only have the people rejected the BJP and Congress8217;s caste and communal politics but, by giving her a majority, it has provided Mayawati with a chance to rise above petty inter-party squabbles that afflict all coalitions. The Congress and BJP, instead of appearing on TV and pointing fingers at each other for doing badly, should now concentrate upon setting their own houses in order. Perhaps this will make them re-organise their parties, instead of riding piggy back on the success of others.

8212;Isha Singh Sawhney, New Delhi

Shah Jehan8217;s progeny

8226; Eulogise Indian democracy in whichever way we may, every politician at heart remains an undemocratic and autocratic feudal lord 8216;Children, children8217;, IE, May 11. They have created their own fiefdoms in which there are no norms and no institutional restraints. No law can check family enterprises. Those who have any idea of Indian history must have recalled the war of succession in the mid-17th century among the sons of the Mughal king, Shah Jehan. Before celebrating 150 years of our First War of Independence, let us ensure that we can protect our democracy from the onslaught of a dynastic madness engulfing almost all states and all political parties.

8212;Ved Guliani Hisar