Kerala floods: For the 1924 floods, Gandhi said ‘more the aid, the merrier’

Kerala floods and the unprecedented devastation caused by incessant rain have been described as some kind of a man-made disaster.

Be that as it may be, we need to acknowledge that the world is already more vulnerable to natural disasters than it was in the 1970s of the last century. According to a report of the World Meteorological Organisation released in 2014, the world is confronting five times more disasters than it confronted in 1970s due to climate change.

Out of all these disasters floods and storms posed a bigger threat than other forms of disasters.

Calamitous flood fury of 1924 and Gandhi's appeal for more aid

It is worthwhile to peep into the history of Kerala and flag the devastating flood that occurred in 1924 which transformed Kerala into "a calamity zone". Historian Manu Pillai reflecting on the flood of 1924 in his book The Ivory Throne wrote, "It seems as if the skies had been ripped apart as the waters burst out endlessly, transforming the bountiful scene into one of catastrophe".

Mahatma Gandhi, in series of articles, outlined the severity of the flood and in one such piece dated August 3, 1924, he wrote, "The havoc in Malabar is like a fire in the sea and it is beyond the means of any private organization to relieve the people's suffering". In another article on "Malabar Floods" written on August 14, 1924, he observed, "The floods in the Southern Presidency are so vast in their magnitude that imagination refuses to picture them. They demonstrate man’s helplessness. Fruits of years of patient toil have been swept away in a moment. Help seems almost a mockery".

Stating that “the damage is too vast for sporadic or isolated effort" he prescribed for setting up of "Some agency that would command universal confidence to handle the work of relief”. He added that "... Congressmen should not hesitate to help British Government agency in the face of this awful calamity".

Appealing for relief from all quarters, Gandhiji observed "None should ask how much money would be needed" and affirmed that ‘The more the merrier’ is the rule which applies here".

In 2018, when Kerala was hit by the fury of the flood, the magnitude of which is more than the flood of 1924 "the more the merrier principle" for getting aid for Kerala was ignored by the Union Government, which has given a paltry sum to the state and created many road blocks to receive aid from abroad by citing the so called policy of 2004 not to receive foreign aid even though the National Disaster Management Plan of 2016 provides for acceptance of foreign aid in the event of natural disasters striking the state and different parts of India.

Better disaster preparedness reduced the extent of damage

The rainfall received in 1924 was much less than the rain fall that occurred in 2018. For instance while in 1924, 650 mm rain was received, in 2018 the quantity of rainfall was 2344 mm. Inspite of the much less rain fall of 1924 in relation to the rainfall of 2018, the deluge caused in 1924 was equal in importance to what Kerala is facing in 2018. However, the better preparedness of the regimes in the 21st century to cope up with the disasters after the enactment of National Disaster Management Act 2006 and National Disaster Management Plan of 2016 has enabled the Kerala to contain the deaths and loss of property to a great extent even as the State received more rainfall in 2018 than it received in 1924 when it faced the worst ever disaster. It is indicative of the better management of disaster even as the intensity of it was more severe than ever before.

Recurrent disasters caused by climate change

It is also a grim manifestation of the fact that world has become more disaster prone. The growing unity and solidarity so spontaneously shown by people in the rest of India and the world with the victims of disaster in Kerala affirm the vision of Jawaharlal Nehru who in his famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech said, "Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now and so also is disaster in this one world that can no longer be split into isolated fragments”.

The Chennai floods of 2015, the Kerala flood and other recent disasters occurring in different parts of India and the world have become a common theme in the 21st century. That common theme is nothing but the spiraling problem of climate change and global warming caused by excessive emission of carbon dioxide and green gases by humans.

At the climate change summit in Paris in 2015, the Chennai floods were cited as a reminder about the need to take urgent steps to address the problem and save the world from such recurring and impending disasters that arise out of excessive human activity and an unsustainable lifestyle and unsustainable development which was flagged by Gadgil Committee report in the context of Kerala and outlined the huge problems caused by mining, quarrying and real estate activities in ecologically sensitive regions of the state.

Mahatma Gandhi's reflections on Paris Havoc caused by floods in 1910

It is fascinating to note that the city of Paris faced flood-related devastation in 1910 and Mahatma Gandhi, spearheading the first satyagraha in South Africa, wrote an article called “Paris Havoc” on February 5, 1910, in Indian Opinion. Referring to the flooding of the river that washed away buildings and roads, Gandhiji wrote, “The people of Paris had built the city to last forever,” and sounded the cautionary note, “Nature has given a warning that even the whole of Paris may be destroyed.” Gandhiji then observed that Parisians would not realise the futility of rebuilding palatial structures and said, “Engineers, in their conceit, will have more grandiose plans now and pour out money like water, forgetting and making others forget the deluge; such is the obsession of present-day civilisation.”

Environment friendly architecture of development is a critical necessity

It is heartening to note that moderation of our lifestyle for reducing our carbon foot print is being highlighted now by world leaders. The “Paris Havoc” of 1910, the worst floods affecting many parts of Kerala in 1924, the Chennai havoc of 2015, the Paris climate change summit and the Kerala floods of 2018 and unprecedented disaster these wrought resoundingly teach the world that there’s no alternative to a simplification of lifestyle and environment friendly development model.

In the Chennai and Kerala context, it can be said that our ambitious plan for smart cities needs to embrace the issue of reviving water bodies and the channels that used to act as passages for the excess flow beyond city limits. The predatory commercial instincts of real-estate ventures and mining barons have converted water bodies, water passages and ecologically sensitive zones to residential plots and construction sites much against the sensible suggestions of environmentalists not to do so. The precedence given to commercial greed would obviously cause havoc.

It’s extremely important to have an architecture of town-planning and nation building in which nature’s scheme would be the central plank for growth and development. The alarming occurrence of natural disasters across the world is a warning that our modern civilisation is unsustainable.

The author was OSD and Press Secretary to President KR Narayanan and served as Director in Prime Minister's Office during 2004-2010