Fact Check: Centre never denied the existence of the Ram Setu bridge

New Delhi, Dec 23: No conclusive proof of Ram Setu: Govt in Parliament read a headline by The Telegraph.

The article gave an impression that the Centre has denied the existence of the Ram Setu, the important and historical bridge built by the army of Lord Ram between India and Sri Lanka.

The response by Union Minister, Jitendra Singh in Parliament was in response to a question asked by MP Anil Desai. The question was also verbally asked by BJP MP Kartikeya Sharma, who wanted to know if the government was making any efforts to conduct a scientific assessment of India's past.

While the article in The Telegraph tried to suggest that the government had dismissed the existence of Ram Setu, that is not what Singh had said. Singh said in response to Sharma's query, " I am glad to share with him that the department of space is engaged in this. As far as the question that was asked, we have certain limitations in discovering that (Ram Setu) because the history dates back two more than 18,000 years. If you go by history, the bridge was about 56 kilometres long," Singh also said.

He also said, ' so what I am trying to say in short is that it is hard to pinpoint the exact structure that existed there. However there is some kind of indication, direct or indirect that those structures have existed.'

Yes to some extent through space technology, we have been able to discover pieces and islands, some kind of limestone shoals, which of course cannot be accurately said to be remnants parts of a bridge, the minister said.

Hence to conclude that the Centre said that there is no conclusive proof of Ram Setu is wrong. What the minister said that was the Ram Setu existed at the said location. However since it was over 18,000 years old, the means to find the proof has not yet yielded results. He said that they were trying to get evidence, but are not denying the existence. The minister clearly said that there was a 56 kilometre long bridge which is evident by the continuity of structures at the locations.

In January 2021, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) approved a project to determine the age of the Ram Setu. Scientists will be working on the project and will help determine the age of the Ramayana period, the report also said.