Are Hindus really this gullible?

One of the email chain mails doing the rounds at the moment starts with a glaring headline “NASA renames Raamaayan Bridge to Adams Bridge-(swamee shree ji ) We should not let them.”

The body of the chain letter reads…

“We all Indians know that there is a varadi (bridge) between India and Sri Lanka which was constructed by Vanara Sena in Treta Yuga. But now, NASA people find it that it is there and they have named is as ‘Adam Bridge’.

Is it correct to call the ancient bridge with that new and alien name? Think of it. Will they ever accept if we change the name of ‘London Bridge’ as ‘Laxman Jhoolaa’

It is a pure Christian Cheat.

So now, we will spread the truth all over the world. Do your contribution, send this to everybody.”

Apart of raising a smile at the delightful translation, it occurred to me to question whether Hindus are really this gullible?

A quick wikipedia search reveals some interesting facts:

1) Adam's Bridge (Tamil: āthām pālam), also known as Rama's Bridge or Ram Setu (Tamil: irāmar pālam, Sanskrit: rāmasetu), is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka. Geological evidence indicates that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka.

2) The bridge was first mentioned in Valmiki's ancient Sanskrit epic, Ramayana

3) The name Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu (Sanskrit; setu: bridge) was given to this bridge of shoals in Rameshwaram, as Hindu legend identifies it with the bridge built by the Vanara (monkey-men) army of Rama , which he used to reach Sri Lanka and rescue his wife Sita from the Rakshasa king, Ravana, as stated in the Sanskrit epic Ramayana. It is called as Adam's Bridge in the west and the name probably comes from an Islamic legend, according to which Adam used the bridge to reach Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka, where he stood repentant on one foot for 1,000 years, leaving a large hollow mark resembling a footprint. Both the peak and the bridge are named after this legend.

4) Subsequent research by Indian scientists suggests that Rama's bridge is a natural geographical feature which formed some 17 million years ago (i.e. pre dates the Ramayana).

5) Certain historical inscriptions, old travel guides, old dictionary references and some old maps have reinforced the religious and geographical belief of this structure being the ancient bridge that is considered with great regard by the Hindus in the Indian Subcontinent. NASA distanced itself from the claims (of the fact that it is a man-made bridge) saying that what had been captured was nothing more than a 30-km-long, naturally occurring chain of sandbanks

So…
a) NASA did not name it Adams Bridge, merely labelling it based on contemporary Islamic legend. The bridge/sandbank has several names with most people using the terms Rama’s Bridge.
b) NASA does not believe that it is a man-made bridge, merely a chain of sandbanks
c) NASA took the satellite photos in 2002, so it only took 7 years for the ‘Christian Conspiracy’ theory to arise!

And since when have we worried about what things are called?

Mumbai was called Bombay, Vadodara was called Baroda, Kolkata was Calcutta, Chennai was Madras…need I go on? We Asians also do a fine job butchering good English names: who hasn’t heard of Toolsi Hill (Tulse Hill), Streathaam (Streatham) and Ply-mouth for Plymouth? Victoria always gets called Wicktoria, Waterloo unfortunately becomes Vaterloo and any fool knows that it’s damn phool! In fact, any telephone message left with my older relatives needs the services of a gifted translator to be at all intelligible.

Given that the Hindu mythology stretches back thousands of years, isn’t the mere fact that Ram Setu (Rama’s bridge) exists and can be seen from space a delicious reinforcement of the legend? Perhaps we should just thank NASA for the gorgeous photos and forget about fanning the flames about this non-existent “Christian Conspiracy”?

Click here to read the Wikipedia entry on Adam's bridge.
Click here to read the Redhotcurry article 'Rama's bridge to Lanka is real' (12 May 2005).