No Sethusamudram

The lead article and editorial of the Organiser this week are on the Sethusamudram project. According to the RSS, the project does not make any 8220;nautical sense.8221;

The lead article and editorial of the Organiser this week are on the Sethusamudram project. According to the RSS, the project does not make any 8220;nautical sense.8221; The lead written by Capt. Retd H. Balakrishnan says 8220;the environmental factors of cyclonic activity and siltation rates in the Palk Bay area impinge on shipping safety8230; this could lead to substantially increasing the costs of the SSCP.8221; The basic justification advanced in favour of the project is that it will reduce the sailing distance between Kolkata and Tuiticorin by 340 nautical miles and between Chennai and Tuiticorin by 434 nautical miles. This enables savings in fuel costs and sailing time.

The coal-carrying bulk carriers on charter to the TNEB would be the only ships that would use the SSCP on a regular basis. These vessels load coal at Haldia/Paradeep/Vishakhapatnam and discharge the same at Chennai and Tuiticorin for the thermal power plants. Besides, some smaller container feeder vessels from Colombo bound for Chennai could also use the SSCP.

8220;Open source literature on the SSCP indicates that vessels up to 32,000 DWT can navigate through the canal. However, in the current global shipping scenario, to reduce the operating costs and cater to the enormous growth in shipping needs, trends are towards operating vessels of 60,000 DWT and above. This trend is likely to grow further in future, resulting in vessels of larger tonnage.8221; The author, therefore, does not find any merit in the project.

8216;Indian Christianity8217;

The 8220;foreign origins8221; of Christianity and Islam is a pet theme of the Sangh and this week M.S.N. Menon argues that Indian Christianity is 8220;not merely desirable, but a must.8221; He continues,8221;Both Christianity and Islam remain in the mould they were cast by the conquerors. Indian Christians must purge their faith of these imperial distortions. They must bring into their midst the true message of Jesus Christ. 8220;

Islam and Bengal

According to Prafull Goradia, Bengal is unable to industrialise because of Islam and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee8217;s lack of understanding of the issue. 8220;There is a struggle to prevent the industrialisation of the state. Nandigram is only the first symptom of the resistance. Uncannily, although Singur was a similar issue, the impact did not go far. Was it not because the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind led by Janab Siddiquallah Chowdhury did not have a popular base in that area whereas Nandigram is a majority area for him? Incensed by the Marxist contempt towards religion, Chief Minister Bhattacharjee is unable to empathise with the compulsions of Islam8230; Without secular studies, the Islamic offspring cannot grow up to compete for modern jobs. Hence industrialisation is undesirable for Islam. Not all the oil wealth of Arabia and Iran has been able to fuel any great manufacture in West Asia8221;

Pandits in Jammu

A report in the Organiser says the setting up of a colony by the government in Jammu for Pandits displaced from the Valley is to discourage their return. 8220;Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone of a colony for the displaced families of Kashmiri Pandits at Jagati, in the outskirts of the winter capital of J038;K, during his visit to Jammu on July 15. It has created apprehension in the minds of displaced Kashmiri Pandits that this might further discourage their return8230; Angry and disappointed over the 8220;hollow8221; claims of the government regarding the return of the displaced Pandits back to the valley and rehabilitating them in safer zones, the Kashmiri Pandits KPs allege that central and state governments are not sincere about the issue. They aver that creation of colonies and townships for displaced Pandits in Jammu will further discourage their community people from returning back to valley. 8220;

Compiled by Varghese K. George