A heat wave that has broken the hate spell

By Deepika Bhan

This is one record that no Indian wants to be made, but the Sun God, who has always been generous with the Indian sub-continent, has made sure we bear witness to Northwest and Central India roasting in the worst heat wave in 122 years.

 

"Temperatures may pass the 50-degree Celsius mark in North India," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said. This is one prediction everyone wants to be proven wrong. But for a vegetable vendor, who religiously comes to the Friday market in a Noida sector, the 50-degree Celsius mark may fetch Rs 50 from a bet with a fellow fruit vendor. The vendor may or may not win the bet, but the heat wave has surely diverted the nation's attention from several precarious situations.

Perhaps, the nation should be grateful to the Sun God for allowing the diversion to happen at a crucial moment when the politics of hate politics seemed to overwhelm logic and the law.

Political and religious leaders, and even those holding ministerial posts, were adding fuel to the fire. MNS leader Raj Thackeray, who had gone dormant for some time, suddenly sprang a surprise with his May 3 loudspeaker threat. The Jharkhand Minorities and Backward Classes Minister Hafizul Hassan made a shocking statement: "Whatever the Central government is doing against us will cause them equal damage," he said. "If we make up 30 per cent of the population, you are 70 per cent."

Social media and WhatsApp groups went into a tizzy with all sorts of theories and propaganda. When it seemed to degenerate into a wordy free-for-all, the Sun God intervened.

Indians are great believers, there is no doubting that. How can one forget the observation made by the Delhi High Court at the height of the Covid crisis in April 2021? After looking at the precarious situation of hospitals in Delhi, an anguished bench observed: "We all know that this country is being run by God."

But, yes, God's doing may be the undoing of those with vested interests. The diversion may have come as the much needed breather, but the Sun God's 'benevolence' is literally raining fire on us.

Whether the mercury actually reaches and crosses 50 will depend on the Sun God, but political temperatures go up higher whenever there's load shedding. Most areas in the country are reeling under power cuts; both scheduled and unscheduled, stretching from six to 10 hours. Amid the power cuts and boiling heat, there has to be politics, with the opposition putting the entire blame on the Centre.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the power crisis and tweeted in Hindi: "The Prime Minister's promises and intentions have always been disconnected. Modiji, who will you blame for your failure in this power crisis? Nehruji or the states or people?"

Union Minister for Coal and Mines Prahlad Joshi, slamming Rahul for his remarks over the shortage of coal and power, retorted: "Rahul Gandhi has become a fake astrologer these days. Instead of telling what is going to happen due to the coal shortage in the country, he should tell the country about how big a coal scam happened during his government and how much loss the country had to incur because of this fraud."

The government and the opposition may trade barbs, but for the people the frequent power cuts are affecting their life. For the Bhatt family living in Jammu, it is a struggle to adjust life according to the power situation. Even though the official curtailment limit is six hours, the power supply remains off for over 10 hours, which means the drinking water supply also gets hampered.

"The government order is for six-hour cuts but unauthorised cuts are taking place for eight to nine hours," the Bhatts complain.

"After three days, drinking water was available today (Saturday) for water tanks on rooftops. Tube wells work only when the power supply is resumed. You can imagine how we are putting up with it. No electricity, no water. But what can we do?"

The pathetic situation prompted actress Bhasha Sumbli, last seen in 'The Kashmir Files', to tweet: "Why is JAMMU suffering INCESSANT POWER FAILURE? What's OUR FAULT? I've a 98 yr old grandma at home. Or is it some Conspiracy to force innocent public to vote for the 'free bijli ka wada wali' corrupt, dangerous, anti-national party into power in the near future?"

Whatever the reason for the frequent power supply breakdowns in several places, the people are reeling under the 'orange' alert issued by the weather department, warning people of a severe heat wave in many parts of the country.

For the fruit vendor in the Noida sector, however, people are buying more watermelons and muskmelons than ever. The vendor of vegetables next to his stall wants to lose his bet because he fears that if temperatures rise any further, prices may go up further, fewer people will venture out for vegetable shopping, and the searing heat will also reduce his hours of work. He's worried that as the water supply shrinks, people like him will have no choice but to return to their villages.

Hateful politics and propaganda may stop for a while because of the fury unleashed by the Sun God. It is also an indication of the extent to which we have upset the natural balance because of our thoughtless actions. The next time such a heat wave afflicts much of the country, we may not have to wait for 122 years. It may happen next year.

(Deepika Bhan can be reached at deepiks.b@ians.in)

Source: IANS