30 March, 2012

Rameshwaram Ramsetu Protection Movement

Rameshwaram Ramsetu Protection Movement,
12, MV Naidu Street, Chennai 600031

Chennai
29 March 2012

To:

Director General, ASI, New Delhi,
Director, NMMA, New Delhi

Respected Director RS Fonia, Respected Director General Dr. Gautam Sengupta,

In continuation of our letter of 28 March 2012 (appended for ready reference together with attachments), we submit for your consideration a detailed document based on an International Seminar held in Chennai on May 12, 2007 and followed by the largest public gathering on 31 December 2007 in Rohini Park, Delhi in support of the movement for protection of the national monuments.

The detailed document based on the International Seminar of May 12, 2007 contains archaeological, marine-archaeological, scientific, historical, cultural heritage information with supports our request to you to enter Rameshwaram Island, Gulf of Mannar and Rama Setu in the National Register of Monuments and Antiquity. The document is attached (and also embedded herein) for ready reference. They are also available online: 

We assume that the Register gives as much importance to Antiquity as stipulated in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and related criteria for registering a national monument and antiquity. We further request that in addition to declaring these as National Monuments, UNESCO should be requested to declare these as World Heritage Monuments as was done for the Majuri Island National Monument. These monuments mentioned by us and in the document attached are world treasure, world treasure by all standards of international conventions related to World Heritage and Underwater Cultural Heritage. In one place called Keezhakkarai alone, there are s'ankha industrial heritage monuments accounting for an annual turnover of over Rs. 25 crores by the pearl-divers, fisherfolk, coastal people safeguarding the nation's antiquity. As you know, without s'ankha bangle no marriage is complete in Bengal or Orissa. S'ankha (turbinella pyrum) are taken to Paschim Bangla for making s'ankha bangles for young brides.

Thanking you for your consideration and hoping that the submissions made by us and the documents will receive due attention and consideration and action taken to declare them as National Monuments and World Heritage.

With the best regards,

Sincerely yours,

S. Kalyanaraman, Ph.D.
President, Rameshwaram Ramasetu Protection Movement,
Chennai 600031.
29 March 2012.

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