Hindu Literalism in the Media

What's new in religion? Any wacky aeronautical goat sacrifices out there? No? How 'bout this article from the Beeb?

The Indian government has withdrawn a controversial report submitted in court earlier this week which questioned the existence of the Hindu god Ram.

Oh, Christ. No, wait, let me rephrase that. Oh...Haruman?

The report was presented to the Supreme Court on Wednesday in connection with a case against a proposed shipping canal project between India and Sri Lanka.
Hindu hardliners say the project will destroy what they say is a bridge built by Ram and his army of monkeys.
Scientists and archaeologists say the Ram Setu (Lord Ram's bridge) - or Adam's Bridge as it is sometimes called - is a natural formation of sand and stones.

That's right, gentle reader,

In their report submitted to the court, the government and the Archaeological Survey of India questioned the belief, saying it was solely based on the Hindu mythological epic Ramayana.
They said there was no scientific evidence to prove that the events described in Ramayana ever took place or that the characters depicted in the epic were real.

Is there any kind of empty assertion that can be made that would allow a partisan political group make hay with this, and maybe even stir up some divisiveness?

Hindu activists say the bridge was built by Lord Ram's monkey army to travel to Sri Lanka and has religious significance.
In the last two days, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a scathing attack on the government for questioning the "faith of the million".

So what does the government do: about face! Some work is continuing but not without touching Ram's bridge.

Once complete, the canal will reduce the travel time for ships by hundreds of miles and is expected to boost the economic and industrial development of the region.

By the way, there's no hope for anyone in the Asian sub-continent if any attempt at developmnet will lead to this kind of crap. Seriously, muzzle stupid fucks like the BJP if you want to have a chance.

--  From: 	The Eternal Gaijin 	Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan 	"Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."