ASI said, “The petitioners  have primarily relied upon the contents of the Valmiki Ramayana, the Ramcharitmanas by Tulasidas and other mythological texts,  which cannot be said to be [a] historical record..."

New Delhi: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has asserted in the Supreme Court that there is no evidence to prove that Ramar Sethu/Adam’s Bridge is man made.

It is a natural formation made up of shoals/sand bars, which are possessed of their particular shape and form due to wave action and sedimentation over several millennia.

In its affidavit filed in the Sethusamudram case on Wednesday, the ASI said, “The petitioners [Subramanian Swamy and others] while seeking relief [not to damage Ramar Sethu] have primarily relied upon the contents of the Valmiki Ramayana, the Ramcharitmanas by Tulasidas and other mythological texts, which admittedly form an important part of ancient Indian literature, but which cannot be said to be [a] historical record to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the characters or the occurrence of the events depicted therein.”

Acting on Dr. Swamy’s application, the court on August 31 restrained the Centre and the Sethusamudram Corporation from causing any damage to Adam’s Bridge. In its affidavit, the Centre said Adam’s Bridge was not man made.

The ASI, in its reply, said: “The ASI is aware of and duly respects the deep religious import bestowed upon these texts by the Hindu community across the globe; it is also submitted that the study of human history, which is the primary object of the ASI, like other sciences and fields of study must be carried out in a scientific manner, using available technological aids, and its findings must be based on tangible material evidence.”

The ASI said, “The petitioners have relied upon a series of maps of medieval and pre-Independence India, which admittedly do refer to the formation known as Adam’s Bridge. However, a mere named reference cannot conclusively prove the fact that the formation is actually a man-made structure. The existence of human remains, whether in the form of bones, etc, or in the form of other artefacts, is primary to prove archaeologically the existence and veracity of a historical fact. No such human remains have been discovered at the site of the formation known as Adam’s Bridge.”

The ASI said the study conducted by the Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, conclusively established that Adam’s Bridge was not a man-made structure and that it actually comprised 103 small patch reefs lying in a linear pattern with reef crest, sand cays and intermittent deep channels.

“NASA images misread”

“The petitioners have relied upon imagery of Adam’s Bridge supplied by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA, captured by several NASA space capsules and space shuttles. The petitioners have misread and misinterpreted these images to contend that the naturally occurring formations shown in these images are man made and more specifically constructed by Lord Rama,” the ASI said.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/13/stories/2007091357790100.htm

Comments

Add New Search RSS

Write comment
Name:
Title:

Powered by JoomlaCommentCopyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.Homepage: http://cavo.co.nr/