Do Srilankan Tamils support Setu Samudram Project??

It seems so. Before going into the details of what the Srilankan Tamils have said on the Setu project and my counter views, I wish to say a few things about the happenings in Tamilnadu. At the moment students belonging to arts, science and law colleges are agitating against the proposed Indian stance at UNHRC on the war crimes of Srilankan Government. They are right, as any human being will be moved by the human right violations and genocides wherever they had taken place.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130316/news-current-affairs/article/angry-young-men-want-india-rein-sri-lanka

But I want to say a few words of caution to the people of Tamilnadu.  Have they ever thought that they had been led to think in a particular way rather than they becoming masters of their own independent thought?

Have they ever been made to realize that human right violations or atrocities apply to any human being and not just Srilankan Tamils? I am constrained to ask this because the images of entertainment in all Tamil TV channels are still lingering on my mind when Mumabi was under siege by Kasab & Co. While the rest of the nation was beaming visuals and news on the terror siege, the Tamil TV channels were beaming dance sequences. The reaction of the people of Tamilnadu to the Mumbai carnage was mute at that time. The average Tamilian of Tamilnadu does not know anything other than what their remote controls – the TV Channels and the political circles – tell them. On the Srilankan Tamil issue, I wish to point out that this hype is a whipped up one – something Manivannan ( a film director and actor ) told a couple of days ago on the current agitation in a TV discussion programme – on how he and others publicized to the common man on the street about the plight of Srilankan Tamils on the war zone and how they made the common people cry and scream on the stories told to them and leave out a curse on the Srilankan govt. Why this kind of whipping up emotions selectively against Srilankan govt is being done by these people whereas LTTE too was equally responsible for the sufferings of the Srilankan Tamils? Why these people do not speak about LTTE atrocities that kept the innocent civilians as captives and shields?

This is where I want the people of Tamilnadu to think whether they are being used by some forces. I am of the view that Srilankan Tamil issue and Kudangulam issue are the ones where the emotionally susceptible common man of Tamilnadu is being exploited by some outside powers having some vested interests. The Tamilians have exhibited their weakness for emotional exploitation ever since the Dravidian movement took shape a century ago. The fall of the wise Tamils began from then onwards. Today only two words are enough to make them behave like puppets. They are 'Tamil pride' and 'Tamilian kinship'. The average Tamilian on the street can be made to think in the way you like by using these two "Tamil" sentiments. The funny part of it is that almost half of the people of Tamilnadu cannot even pronounce the special word of Tamil namely "zha" (ழ ) . They don't even know which is the correct way to pronounce Tamil – as Sen-thamizh or Chen-thamizh. They would fail in the test of Shibboleth if such a test is used to check their ethnicity as a Tamil.  The issue however is not this, but why they don't apply their independent thinking is my question.

Have they ever thought whether these Srilankan Tamils or their think tanks would come to their support if they have a grievance? Just take the safety of our nation's borders, how many people in Tamilnadu know or have been told (by the likes of Manivannan who are more keen on planting scripts against the Srilankan Govt) that it is better for Srilankan Tamils and Indians to have a friendly and peaceful neighbor in Srilanka than to have it driven to embrace China? For those who have no idea about the Chinese plans this article would help.

http://rightwingdian.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/india-firmly-in-china%E2%80%99s-crosshairs/

The Chinese are ready to go to any extent – even nuking the Himalayas so that the monsoon winds are not stopped by the Himalayas but enter China to give it rains! They are even working on genetically engineered babies so that future population of China is going to be super humans who cannot be surpassed by anyone in the world. The Chinese are the Daitya asuras of the olden days that indications are such that they are going to rule the world in near future. They have an interest in Pakistan and Srilanka that works to the detriment of India as a whole. The agitations in Tamilnadu  aimed at putting pressure on the Indian Govt are going to make us (India) lose control over our neighborhood and drive Srilanka to be a Yes-man of China. This situation is not going to help either Srilankan Tamils or Indians. Its time the Tamilnadu people see reason and help in making solutions that are good for both Indians and Srilankan Tamils. Kanchan Gupta's article could perhaps give an understanding of the nuances in this direction. Read this:

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/03/india-must-stand-by-sri-lanka-vote.html

I wonder how many such articles are reaching the Tamil reading public of Tamilnadu.

Coming to the core issue of this article, Tamilnadu people must know that Srilankan Tamil think-tank does not think about the Hindu or Indian or the cause of Tamilnadu people at any time. On the particular issue of Ram Setu, if the Srilankan govt opposes the Setu samudram Project, these Tamils think that it is their duty to support the Project  (perhaps typical of the mentality of the Tamilnadu political culture of Karunanidhi – Jayalalithaa) notwithstanding the probability that the very land of Jaffna where they are standing  would be submerged under sea water if the Setu canal is dug. It seems no amount of historical or scientific reasoning can convince them in this issue in their zeal to oppose the Srilankan government.

I say this because they are not found wanting to oppose the moves to destroy Hindu structures by the Srilankan Govt. Recently as many as  367 Hindu temples in Srilanka were demolished by the Srilankan Government. It attracted opposition from them and from many Hindus around the globe. But why can't they express similar sentiments when it comes to Indian Govt's moves to destroy Ram Setu? 

In an article (posted at the end of this blog), the Srilankan Tamil historian has supported the Setu samudram project on the pretext that it would make the ports of Jaffna (Northern Srilanka) busy! If by destroying the Ram Setu, the Jaffna ports can be made to do brisk business, then we don't support such a line of reasoning. Dharma would not support persons of such thoughts and actions. It is 'Dharmo rakshathi rakshithaha'.

The Jaffna ports were busy during the period of monarchy in India but today which of the eastern ports of India need a re-fuelling or embarking a stop-over in North Srilanka on their way to South India? Jaffna ports were popular during Cholan period when they had frequent trips – militarily or otherwise – to the North of Srilanka. They made straight trips from their ports which were located in the north of Ram setu. But never did they or anyone cut across the Ram Setu. The military expedition of King Rajaraja Chola is described in the copper plates of Thiruvalangadu inscribed during the times of Rajaraja's son Rajendra Chola where a mention of Ram Setu is made.

" The lord of the Raghavas (i.e., Rama) constructing a bridge across the water of the ocean with (the assistance of) able monkeys, killed with great difficulty the king of Lanka (i.e., Ravana) with sharp-edge arrows ; (but) this terrible General of that (king Arunmolivarman) crossed the ocean by ships and burnt the Lord of Lanka (Ceylon). Hence Rama is (surely) surpassed by this (Chola General). " (verse 80)

(source:- http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/south_indian_inscriptions/volume_3/no_205c_aditya_ii_karikala.html )

The sea route of this expedition was from west to east – somewhat parallel to Ram Setu and not across the Setu.

There is also a section of people who think that Setu was once as navigable passage! It could have never been so. Even if we take a look at the Silk route devised by UNESCO Project, it does not cut across the Ram setu – meaning to say that there was no sea route cutting the Ram Setu.

The following map has been devised by the UNESCO team based on historical inputs on Silk route of the ancient times.

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001591/159189E.pdf

From the Arabian sea corridor, the next stop in the east was in Ceylon (Srilanka). Further route does not cut across the Ram Setu.

The spice route devised by the UNESCO project is as follows.

 

This shows an encircling on the west of Srilanka which seems to cut across the Ram Setu. It is not possible to go through the seas here, but possible to use the inland coastal routes. 

The most popular ports were in the southern parts of Srilanka. It is difficult for the Srilankan Tamil researchers to accept Colombo as a stop-over for ships in olden days. But from the accounts of the 13^th century Venetian traveler Marco Polo, we come to know that some port in the southern side of Zeilan (Ceylon) served as a main stop-over in his times. (http://books.google.co.in/books?id=ojQ2Sdm-8dYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+travels+of+Marco+polo&redir_esc=y#PPA380,M1 )

From there he could sail exact west to the pearl harvesting region of south India. That was Tuticoin. This makes Colombo the probable port where Marco Polo landed.

Speaking of Tuticorin, the Tamils of Tamilnadu are being fed with a notion that it was Tamils' dream to develop and link Tuticorin with the other ports of east coast of India. No Tamil dreamt like that. But there was a Tamilian who openly expressed that Ram Setu must be raised and used as a road to Lanka. He was the famous freedom fighter, Maha kavi Bharathiyaar. (Simhala –th- theevinukkor paalam amaippOm, Sethuvai Meduruththi veedhi samaippOm – Let us build a bridge to the island of Simhala. Let us raise the Sethu and make it a causeway.)

Tuticorin was also not a settlement in those days. From the accounts of Marco Polo we come to know that pearl diving was done only during day times in April and May. After that they divers moved to another region to the south of it in the sea for diving. That means there were no continuous or permanent settlements in Tuticorin. Infact the very name Tuticorin was "Tuttu-k-kudi" meaning "scattered habitation" ( http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/page.php?title=&record=1985 ). (perhaps derived from ThuNdu-k-kudi meaning scattered. It became Tuticorin in the Dutch man's tongue who could not pronounce it properly). The fisher folks and pearl divers had made seasonal visits to this place and set up scattered settlements. It was not meant to be a harbor.

It was the Dutch people who made it their habitat and developed it.  A rare photo obtained by our reader and fellow Blogger  Mr Hemanth from the Dutch archives is given below.

Tuticorin at the time of Dutch occupation.

The huge pile on the shore is that of pearl oysters collected from the sea. The main activity was pearl collection and sales of the same.

http://hemanththiru.blogspot.in/search/label/Tuticorin

Developing this place was a Dutch dream not a Tamils' dream.

In their ambition to expand their influence they dug the Pamban breach, where the land was already inundated by sea waters during a cyclone of 1484 AD. Until then Rameswaram was an extension of land and not an island. The present gap with sea water going under the Pamban bridge was formed naturally by the cyclone of 1484 and other subsequent cyclones. At that time the depth of the sea at that place was only 5 feet. That continued to be so which perhaps led to the birth of a story of Rama having broken the Setu by his bow (Dhanush) after he came back from Lanka. But one must know that this part of the breach or break-up was not part of the Setu bridge built by the vanaras. It was a continuation of land which extended upto Rameswaram from where extended the Setu bridge.  Another information is that Rama did not come back to Setu bridge after winning Ravana and getting back Sita. He flew to Ayodhya by the Pushpaka vimana of Ravana.

 In the Google earth picture above, the arrow mark shows the area of breach in the extended mainland. Ram setu bridge is seen under the water.

This gap of land is crossed by Pamban bridge now. This gap was not present until 1484. Until then the land was a continuous extension and from that, Setu bridge extended.

The British records tell us these details and also how the Dutch deepened this gap for their ships to sail.

From http://www.chaf.lib.latrobe.edu.au/dcd/page.php?title=&record=1981


" The island, which is about 14 miles in length by 5 in breadth, is said, and no doubt with truth, to have once joined the mainland of Rámnád, and to have been separated from it by a violent storm. This took place in 1484 A.D., in the reign of Achudapa Náik, Rájá of Madura. A small breach was then made, but the water was so shallow as to be passable on foot till the time of Achudapa's successor, Visuvarada Náik, when another hurricane enlarged the passage, which was continually increased by succeeding storms. The passage was further enlarged by the Dutch when they possessed the island.

But the greatest improvements have been made since 1830 by the British Government. Before these improvements were made the passage was excessively crooked, and the depth, at high water and neap tides, only about five ft., so that dhonies without keels, even after discharging most of their cargo, would be often days getting through when the current was strong. There is now a channel called the Pámban Pass, the whole breach being about a mile broad, while the channel for ships clear of rocks is about 90 ft. wide and 10½ ft. deep, so that keeled vessels can pass through in either direction without delay and without discharging cargo.

Even this space has been obtained by much labour, at an expense of upwards of £15,000, the work of dredging having been carried on since 1837. The expenditure, however, has been repaid by a proportionate increase in the number of vessels which have passed through. The trade has increased from 17,000 tons in 1822 to 160,000 tons in 1853. Vessels of 200 tons have passed, and even the war steamers Pluto and Nemesis; and freight between Colombo and Negapatam has been reduced by about six rupees, or more than one-half, a ton."

The maps recorded by the Dutch show how difficult it must have been for them to cross this gap by ships.

http://hemanththiru.blogspot.in/2010/08/hes-so-hhhot.html

This map again collected by Mr Hemanth from the Dutch National archives clearly shows the Ram setu from Indian main land upto Mannar. It has been mentioned as "Adams Bridge". The Pamban pass shows the underlying land-connect. Four centuries before the breach at Pamban happened, the Pandyas and Cholas had sailed in this part of the sea. But they had not and could not have crossed the Setu in North-south direction. From Korkai to Southern Srilanka  on the Mannar side and from Pumpuhar to Northern Srilanka on the Palk bay side were only the possible sea routes.

One can see the abundance of land forms and life forms in and around the Setu Bridge that extended upto Tuticorin.

http://kalyan97.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/seagrasshabitat.jpg

Nearly 21 islands are there as a border to this stretch and one can see a group of islands near the Pamban pass thereby showing that it could not have been a thoroughfare.

http://kalyan97.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/21marineparks.jpg

Even when the British Government planned to make a causeway through the sea, it did not think of breaking Ram Setu. Its plan was adopted by the Govt of Independent India. The initial plan was to cut across the land and then re-enter the seas. But subsequent plans drifted to cutting across the sea and the final one now proposed by the UPA govt cuts across the middle portion of Ram Setu.

 

The present plan:-

http://kalyan97.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/channelmedialline.jpg

The earlier routes were around Srilanka. The Northern ports of Srilanka flourished then without any navigation across the Ram Setu. Today if those ports are in less use, that is their internal problem. The Srilankan Tamils must fight for their rights and make a place for themselves as an equal citizen of Srilanka. The Indian or International efforts must be to work towards that goal and not to deepen the wedge between the Tamils and others of Srilanka.

The Srilankan Tamils have themselves acknowledged that a king by name Arya Chakravarthi was known as Setu Kavalar (Protector of Setu). Such a name could not have come to him if he had damaged the Setu and made way for navigation. That title shows that he had provided security to the land bridge of the Setu for the movement of people from Tamilnadu to Mannar.  Setu bridge was protected by security staff on the Indian side too according to Kamba Ramayanam.  Read:

http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.in/2008/07/sethu-in-kamba-ramayanam.html

While we have such historical information on the land connect between India and Srilanka, I am perplexed  how they can support a project that seeks to demolish it.

 

The UNESCO says,

"Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today,

and what we pass on to future generations.

Our cultural and natural heritage  are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration.

Places as unique and diverse as the wilds of East Africa's Serengeti,

the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and

the Baroque cathedrals of Latin America make up our world's heritage.

What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application.

World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world,

irrespective of the territory on which they are located.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of

cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of

outstanding value to humanity."

 

Applying the UNESCO definition of Heritage, we find that the Setu connect has a much older geological presence. The maps of Graham Hancock shows that this land connect was there even as early as 10,600 yrs BP. At that time Gujarat was still surrounded by lands! The green coloured rain forest region in Northern Srilanka and the habitability of the land connect shows that it is a region of rich archeological reserve. It must be recalled that the Setu bridge was dotted with woods even at the time the British entered India.

10,000 years before this period, that is, even as early as 21,300 yrs BP, Srilanka and India were connected by a wider patch that went upto present day Andhra Pradesh, thereby giving scope for a wider habitation prospects and growth of an indigenous civilization at this stretch of land.

All these indicate  strong probabilities of a permanent link between India and Srilanka for nearly 20,000 years in the past. There is lot more to search in this region through marine archeology.

It would be in the fitness of humane sensibilities if the Srilankan Tamil historians  have come forward to appeal for Heritage Status to this patch which has later been reclaimed as Ram Setu by Rama's vanar sena. It is regrettable that those who take pride in their kings for having protected the Setu as Setu Kavalar should have seen the advantages in its destruction.

 

-Jayasree

 

Related article:-

All Tamils must unite to save Ram-Setu.

 

****************

From

http://tropicalclimate.org/~mahaweli/climate.lk_mirror/sethu/docs/balac002.html

 

Sethu project will revive Jaffna's ancient maritime glory: Historian

PK Balachanddran

Contrary to the alarmist view held by most Sri Lankans about the impact of India's Sethusamudram project on their island country, a renowned Sri Lankan Tamil historian believes that it will only bring immense benefits to the island, and revive Jaffna's glorious past as a maritime trading power.

"Though the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project is primarily meant to facilitate Indian coastal shipping, it will also have a tremendously beneficial impact on the economy of Sri Lanka, particularly the Northern and North Western parts of the island, by reviving maritime activity in the Palk Strait," says Dr S Pathmanathan, Professor of History at Sri Lanka's prestigious Peradeniya University.

"It will help revive the ancient ports of North Sri Lanka, which had gone into disuse because of various historical and contemporary political factors," Prof Pathmanathan told Hindustan Times in an interview at Kandy last weekend

"And with the activation of the ports at Thalaimannar, Kankesanthurai and Point Pedro, the age-old connections between the peoples of South India and Sri Lanka, particularly those of North Sri Lanka, will be revived," Pathmanathan added.

Currently the Chair of History in Sri Lanka's oldest university, the silver-haired don is known for his definitive work on the history of Jaffna, and is an authority on the history of the relations between the Tamils of North East Sri Lanka and the Tamils of South India.

"When opportunities for trade between South India and the Tamils of North Sri Lanka develop, the state of Sri Lanka will be obliged to develop the ports in the Jaffna peninsula, such as Thalaimannar, Kankesanthurai, Point Pedro and possibly even Mullaitivu, on the North Eastern coast."

"And there will be a great deal of commercial activity and economic development as a result of the development of these ports," he said.

"There is no basis for the assumption that the Sethusamudram project will have an adverse effect on Sri Lanka," Professor Pathmanathan asserted.

"India and Sri Lanka are linked by geography and history, culture and geo-politics. These links will only be further cemented by measures to facilitate the flow of trade, commodities and people between the two countries," he said.

"Development of the ports and the economy of North and North Western Sri Lanka will lead to an increase in the two-way traffic of tourists. Pilgrims from Sri Lanka will be able to go to Hindu and Buddhist shrines in India more easily and at less cost."

"Closer ties with India will also facilitate the transfer of Indian technology, which will only benefit Sri Lanka," Pathmanathan argued.

Region's glorious maritime past

Steeped in the history of Sri Lanka-South India relations, Professor Pathmanathan said: " In ancient times, the southern-most part of India and Sri Lanka had formed a single trading unit.There were close connections between the ports in South India and those in North West, and North East Sri Lanka".

"There was a substantial degree of trade between South India and Sri Lanka through the Palk Strait. The Medieval kings of Jaffna, the Ariya Chakravathis, were known as the Sethu Kaavalar or the Guardians of the Sethusamudram, as the Palk Strait and Palk Bay were known." "The title Sethu Kaavalar also symbolised the Jaffna kings' sentimental attachment to the sacred Hindu sites on the Rameswaram coast," Pathmanathan said.

On the other side of the Palk Strait, in Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu, the local ruling dynasty was known as the Sethupathi, the Lord of the Sethusamudram.

And according to Prof Pathmanathan, the Arab traveller, Ibn Batuta, who visited Jaffnapatnam in 1344 AD and stayed as a guest of the Ariya Chakravarthi, has said that the king spoke in Persian!

According to Ibn Batuta again, the king was conducting pearl fisheries and was exporting large quantities of cinnamon to the Indian coast, stretching from Quilon in present-day Kerala, to Nellurpatnam in present Andhra Pradesh.

Ibn Batuta further states that he had seen over a hundred ships belonging to the Jaffna Ariya Chankravarthi on the South Indian coast on their way to Yemen in Arabia.

According to Dr Naresha Duraiswamy, the Fifth Century Coptic monk, Indicopleustes, had described the port of Manthai on the Mannar coast in North West Sri Lanka, as an emporium linked to parts of the Coromandal and Malabar coasts of South India.

"The goods of the Far East were exchanged for those of the Near East in these ports. South Indian traders mediated the trans-shipment of merchandise. According to Sundaramurthi, Manthai port was crowded with ships belonging to different nations," Duraiswamy said in a personal communication to Hindustan Times.

"And the Arab travellers of the 10th century, Suleyman and Abu Zaid, had noted that the chief of Zapage (Jaffna) derived his income from shipping."

Duraiswamy went on to say that the ship construction industry continued in Kayts and Valvettithurai in Jaffna, till as recently as 1901.

"The early history of the Tamils of Northern Sri Lanka was linked to maritime trade," he asserted. It is this glorious tradition that may be revived if the ports of Northern Sri Lanka are revived as a fallout of India's Sethusamudram project.

It was the existence of maritime links across the Palk Strait, which brought the South Indian peninsular peoples, to Sri Lanka.

"Recent archaeological findings show that in the first three centuries before Christ, Tamil language was widely spoken in several parts of the island of Sri Lanka, like the North East, North West, North Central and South Eastern parts of the island, says Prof Pathmanathan.

Coins bearing Tamil names were found in the South East. Tamil Brahmi letters were seen in broken pottery, he notes.

"There was an overflow of megalithic people from peninsular India into Sri Lanka and they spoke what might be called proto-Tamil, with an admixture of certain features of Kannada and Telugu," Pathmanathan says.

Invasions from Tamil Nadu across the sea, were also not uncommon in the past.

Says Dr Duraiswamy: "Karikalan, the Chola king, captured the iron fort at Manthai on the Mannar coast in the first century AD. The Chera king Sengottuvan stormed Manthai in the second century."

"Several poems of the Tamil work Purananuru of the third century, are in honour of Chief Kumanan of Manthai," he points out.

The relations between the Tamils of Sri Lanka and the Tamils of peninsular India were very strong so long as maritime links existed.

"The maritime trade of Jaffna with South India and the rest of the world was so strong that even the mighty Portuguese and the Dutch, who ruled Jaffna in succession, could not stamp it out. But British rule brought about a major change," says Prof Pathmanathan.

British rule weakened ties

"The British developed Colombo, as the major port of the island of Ceylon, and neglected the development of the northern ports. The 20th century especially saw a sharp decline of the northern ports," Pathmanathan said.

"Trade links between South India and North Sri Lanka almost completely ceased particularly after Ceylon became independent in 1948. Post-independence Ceylonese or Sri Lankan governments continued to neglect the northern ports, preferring to bestow attention on Colombo exclusively," he observed.

Of course, governmental neglect of the Sri Lankan northern ports was not the only reason for the decline of trade between North Sri Lanka and South India

The nationalisation of import and export trade in Sri Lanka had led to a decline in private trade. And all the South India-North Sri Lanka trade was in private hands.

"This had an adverse impact on the economy and society of North Sri Lanka because legitimate trade was replaced by smuggling. Smuggling began to flourish," Pathmanathan noted.

Unfounded fears about Colombo port

The Sri Lankan historian had no hesitation in asserting that the fear that the development of the Tuticorin port in Tamil Nadu, as a result of the Sethusamudram canal, would hinder the growth of Colombo port, was "unfounded."

"The large carriers from South East Asia and the Far East will still call at Colombo by necessity. Similarly, ships from South East Asia and West Asia and Africa will be coming to Colombo because there is no prospect of these ships reaching South Indian ports," Prof Pathmanathan said.

In conclusion, Prof Pathmanathan's earnest plea to fellow Sri Lankans was: "All thinking people concerned about the welfare of society as a whole in Sri Lanka have an obligation to support projects and ventures from which the people of the country are destined to reap benefits."