Shipping plan in lap of the gods

INDIA'S government is being accused of blasphemy after claiming Hinduism's most important texts do not prove the existence of Hindu gods.

The government made the claim in a statement to the Supreme Court, which is hearing a dispute over India's plan to bore a shipping lane through a ridge of rock and sand between India and Sri Lanka, which some Hindus believe was built by a god.

The Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas, two religious texts, recount the life of Lord Ram, a god said to have commanded his army of monkeys to build a bridge to Sri Lanka to rescue his kidnapped wife, Sita.

But the secular government says the ridge was moulded by the ocean tides.

The main opposition party, the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accused the government of blasphemy and appeasing other religions.

Its leader, LK Advani, said the affidavit showed "contempt for millions of Hindus in India and abroad".

The law lMinister, HR Bharadwaj, said that the government would file a new affidavit.

"This must have been a lapse in the drafting," he said. "We respect the religious beliefs of all people."