Invoke Gods to manage Disaster

It was a shoddy prayer that President Trump offered for recovery and restitution from the devastation wrecked by Hurricane Harvey. I doubt if he invoked the right Gods. He should have relied on his friend Modi, who could have sent a team of Pandits from Varanasi, the latter's own constituency. The Pandits would have enjoyed a foreign trip on state expense, and Harvey would have met more than its match in the power-packed invocations to Indra.

Well I never thought that American people would have to resort to such hypocrisy, particularly when they have moved so far away from nature and its divinations. For us, it is still believable, as alongside our cosmic culture that is extremely elite, philosophical and more about the one-ness of man with God, there exists a ritualistic tradition that is replete with “karmakanda”. But that notwithstanding, Vedic Indians did invoke Nature Gods to ensure their wrath did not befall them. So I am in my right to ridicule the shoddy invocation done by Trump, in public gaze, when the Pandits of Benaras could have done so much better. 

But it is indeed admirable, the alacrity with which the president and Federal administration reacted on Harvey. The coordination between the Federal and State agencies was superb, and I wish, India would learn something from there. I also saw some good vibes between the wheel chair bound governor of Texas and the president Trump. Texas was the most affected by Harvey.

The states in India, hardly have a disaster response mechanism, and when the centre, lethargically steps in to participate in rescue, it is the centre that is leading the relief charge and the minions of the state, particularly the IAS scoot out of the ring and take on the mantle of merely scoring the points. What a travesty of the system this is, when in peace you rule, in times of need, you side-step and return only when all is well again.

Take another example. Baba of Dera Saccha Sauda. That the police ran away and was not able to quell the rioting, was caught on camera. The gathered swathes were too much for an untrained force to confront. About 50 people were killed in various incidents mostly in police firing, yet not one IPS officer scathed. The army was called in take charge and restore normalcy. Today most IPS officers are property brokers, getting murky deals brokered. Traveling abroad for training. Helping politicians to get votes or settle scores. The constables are working in homes of officers and gunners are escorting wives and mothers in shopping malls. How will such a force lift weapons overnight and rise to an occasion which is like a rebellion. We must sit back and think.