About the Book The Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project, inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 2, 2005, has been hitting media headlines. By creating a navigable route around the peninsula within Indian territorial waters, it would reduce sailing time and lead to fuel savings. It would be a catalyst for the economic transformation of Southern Tamil Nadu. It would confer immense strategic advantages in the context of the emergence of Sea Tigers as a fighting force. On the other hand, a vocal group of environmentalists argue that it could lead to irreparable damage of marine ecology and deprive thousands of fishermen of their livelihood. This timely publication provides divergent perspectives on the subject.
About the Authors Dr. E.K.G. NAMBIAR took his Ph.D in History from the prestigious Institute of Economics of the World Socialist System, the USSR Academy of Sciences. His area of specialization is International Relations. He has worked as a post-doctoral fellow under CSIR and UGC. He has published many articles on both national and international problems. He has widely travelled over Asia and Europe. Dr. Nambiar is currently working as Professor and Head of the Kunhali Marakkar Centre for West Asian Studies, University of Calicut.
V. SURYANARAYAN is one of India's leading specialists in South and Southeast Asian Studies. He brings to bear in his teaching and research, keen insights in history, political science and international relations For more than two decades, he was associated with the Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Madras first as the founding Director and later as Senior Professor. He is the first Professor for Maritime Studies and Research in Calicut University. A well known political commentator, he is the author of number of books, monographs and articles in leading research journals and popular newspaper.
Preface The Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project aims at creating a navigation channel from the Indian Ocean to the Bay of Bengal through the Gulf of Mannar, Adam's Bridge, the Palk Bay and the Palk Strait within Indian waters. India today does not have a continuous navigable route around the peninsula within her territorial waters, due to the presence of a shallow patch, called Adam's Bridge, at Pamban where the average depth is about three meters. The Sethusamudram Project aims at developing a navigation channel, 12m deep and 300m wide, by dredging the sea-bed at Adam's Bridge and at some stretches of Palk Bay and Palk Strait. In the Gulf of Mannar and at other stretches of the Palk Bay, the channel will utilize the natural depth.
The proposal to construct this navigable route had been a matter of debate for a long time. In that sense, the project is veritably a dream come true. However, there had been criticisms against this project from several quarters. The most strident opposition comes from a local group of environmentalists who argue that the project would adversely affect the region's bio-diversity and cause irreparable damage to the livelihood of thousands of Indian fishermen. Concern has also been voiced by certain sections in Sri Lanka that though the project is in Indian waters, it would have off-putting impact on Sri Lanka and bring about strains in India-Sri Lanka relations. It is in the context of its contemporary relevance.
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