Drought is a reality in Tamil Nadu. But no one is taking it seriously
BARRING ANXIOUS EXPERTS ON THE WEATHER AND FARMING, SEVERAL NGOS, DEEPLY COMMITTED COLUMNISTS LIKE P SAINATH AND SOCIAL ACTIVISTS LIKE YOGENDRA YADAV OF SWARAJ ABHIYAN, WE ARE IN A COLLECTIVE DENIAL ABOUT THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE CRISIS
water there is for our needs in the affected areas for the coming weeks. No one seems to be telling Chennai or Bengaluru, for instance, what they should do over the immediate or short term future. Should they go in for water rationing , water cuts? Should water be stopped for ‘ornamental’ and leisure purposes like gardening, swimming, fountains ? Will industries using water and electricity in prodigal quantities go in for a voluntary cut ?
No one is taking us into what may be called ‘drought data’.To alert is not to alarm.
The Sabanayagam-Mahadevan warnings given over private conversations, substantiated by the Venkatachalapathy input, reflect what experts have been saying for the last several months, namely, that panjam is not on its way but is already here. Panjam in all its dire heartlessness. cratic means, not mob justice. This is no better than Pakistanis murdering Hindus on suspicion of ‘blasphemy’. In headlines around the world, Indian politicians are seen as caring more for the safety of cows than women.
Of course Hindus have the right to worship the cow and protect it from harm if they believe it is holy. And as a vegetarian, I also believe eating meat is wrong (as do many Sikhs). So in principle I actually agree with the gau-rakshaks.
But this is no more than a campaign of hate and intimidation against a religious group. This is Hindutva’s way of striking at Pakistan. The cow vigilantes hate Aurangzeb and all he stood for, but they have become him.
Sikhs, Christians and others should see it as a warning. The Hindutva movement needs to keep creating controversies to polarise the nation. Like a parasite it will grow by consuming its victim and then moving to the next one.
A famous European quote comes to mind. After the Second World War a German priest spoke of his regret in not opposing Hitler earlier. He wrote: “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists and the same happened. Then the Jews.Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.”
India’s religious minorities have always been suspicious of Hindutva, aware that one day they could be on the receiving end of its intolerance. That day is arriving faster than they realise.