Kerala Disaster: How natural calamities are turned into act of God

Kerala is facing the wrath of gods for being a non-conformist state in the so-called Hindu parlance. Since Beef is not banned in Kerala and people at large consume beef, which is the cheapest source of protein, Indra Dev has taken his umbrage and deluged Kerala with his wrath. Whether Indra Dev actually lashed out his rage on hapless victims in Kerala is a matter of religious debate. But yes, what has happened in Kerala is nothing more than manmade crisis, which is now being given a tone ‘very unprecedented’. Savor this too, where are all the others who senselessly converted people of Kerala to Christianity or Islam, why are they not coming forward to help the flood-affected populace, why is it that 2000 Sangh Parivar Sevaks from RSS and other affiliates, are the only people apart from Indian Army saving the dying people of Kerala.

These are some of the messages, which are doing the rounds in various WhatsApp groups and Facebook. If you thought Kerala was a first of its kind, be reminded post Nepal earthquake, which saw thousands death and millions displaced, the messages on WhatsApp were on these lines. Had Nepal continued as a Hindu Rashtra, Sheshnag wouldn't have been angered into shaking his head in disdain. That Maoists and other left-oriented parties decided to strip Nepal off its Hindu identity, the earthquake was the punishment waiting to be inflicted on the people. Lakhs of people who had for generations lived in Nepal and have had ties and families in India lamented the loss of Hindu Nation tag on Nepal and these messages feed on this sense of insecurity and alienation.

Such is the state of fanatic propaganda that one wonders how natural calamities, mostly manmade, are being turned into an act of God and as deliverance of punishment for being Un-Hindu.

Read | Kerala Floods LIVE updates: Train services partially restored in rain-battered state

Surprisingly, no messages are exchanged or talked about when cloudburst in Uttarakhand virtually swept away the Kedarnath temple. Had it not been for the huge boulder that protected the divine temple, the Kedarnath temple would have been lost to all devotees. However, at that point some religious minded people had made a point that relocation of temple for the upcoming hydropower project had displeased the goddess and her wrath had wrecked havoc in the Kedar Valley. But as it was tad difficult to portrait then government of Uttarakhand as Anti-Hindu, the natural calamity was not propagated as the wrath of God.

No such difficulties in present-day Kerala. First, it’s a Left Front government, which is in power. Second, Muslims and Christians are no pushover in the state. Therefore, Gods are angry - very angry, because what Kerala is doing today is so - so Un-Hindu.

Such trivialisation or perversion of manmade inflicted natural catastrophe to suit a political narrative is nothing short of deceit and manipulation.     

Let’s first get the human interference angle sorted in the current crisis faced by Kerala. Since the 60s known environmentalists, social activists and ecologists about preserving the Western and Eastern Ghats are making a clarion call. It's a declared fact that both Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats are ecologically sensitive zones.

Construction of huge dams linking irrigation projects and hydropower projects, rail projects; unhindered mining and subsequent blasts and rampant building construction will destroy the eco-system and in turn unleash a natural calamity unprecedented. Still successive state governments, aided and abated by the successive Central governments have plundered the delicate eco-system.

Read | Karnataka Floods: 4,300 people rescued in Kodagu; scores still stranded

Land mafia, mining mafia, corrupt state political class and non-chalant central leaderships have ensured that Kerala would suffer the wrath of nature when the tipping balance is undone. The deluge that washed away Kerala is because of reasons mentioned above, not because of unforeseen circumstances. The ball started rolling from the Environment Ministry at the Centre and stopped at the tourist hungry local population who believed in milking the natural resources to fulfill their lust for money. And who is suffering today - the very people who disregarded their natural environment. Those sitting in their air-conditioned offices in Delhi or for that matter even in Thiruvananthapuram are enjoying their cool coconut water. It is the people at large who have faced the deluge, who have lost thousands of homes, crores worth livelihood and hundreds of the dead or missing family members.

Yet, no one seems to be talking about setting up an enquiry commission on the causes of this sudden deluge. Environmental scientists are not being tasked with the enterprise to finding a long term and lasting solution for this manmade crisis and massive environmental plunder. Nor is there any sense of initiating a national debate of the urgent need to contain and battle pollution, environmental degradation and massive loot of natural resources by a select few.

But do we have in its place. We as a nation, which just a few days ago celebrated its 72nd Independence Day, we are finding shelter in the oft used and abused term - act of God. We are not liberating our hapless poor from misery and misinformation, we are actually telling them - if you continue to eat beef, God will punish you. We are telling them, science is dead, scientific reasoning never existed - we are telling them dogma and paranoia rule the roost and if they are believers of religion other than Hinduism, they have to face the wrath of God. We the people of India have willed upon those whom we call "Malyallis" that a Left Front government will only bring misfortune, so bring a Hindu government and see how the Hindu religion protects you from the Act of God.

(The writer is Managing Editor, News Nation Network)