SOCIO-CULTURAL AND POLITICAL
ASPECTS
Quake breaks communal barriers. (The
Tribune, 29-01-01)
The earthquake has proved to be a mighty
leveller with people donating and receiving blood, cutting across the communal divide
between Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
The muslim youths hailing from Behrampura, Jamalpur and Kagdiwad localities of the
walled city have saved the lives of nearly 100 Hindu quake victims by donating their
blood.
…They were not only donating blood and helping in the shifting of the injured
to wards before and after surgeries but were also providing solace and food to the victims
and their relatives.
Ahmedabadis drive on with life (Times of
India, 30-01-01)
----The earthquake has been a great
leveller of sorts for this business hub of Gujarat. Not only in terms of levelling the
concrete jungle but also as a social leveller. For once, the rich and the mighty are
sharing space with pavement dwellers. The cosy luxurious apartments are now a dreaded site
for Amdavadis as they poured out on to the streets on Sunday for the third consecutive
night-out, shuddering at the thought of yet another quake.
…..Having shifted his family to a safer place in the city, Shah now chats with
his neighbours till sleep forces him into the confines of his sleek four-wheeler.
"The only silver lining, if you can call it that, is that I have come closer to my
neighbours whom I scarcely knew earlier. We live under the open sky like a huge joint
family, which is solidarity personified," says Shah.
Bhuj comes to terms with its tragedy
(Times of India, 14-02-01)
When Shakuntala Vajirani, 54, is put on
the cart waiting outside, it will be just another body for earthquake-devastated Bhuj. Not
far off, bulldozers are working on the rubble of Gokul Apartments, which it is feared, has
many more bodies to yield. And Vajirani can already see Bhuj coming to terms with the
loss.
Handcarts and pick-up vans pass by the street, ferrying household goods. Fearing
that their partially damaged houses could crumble in an aftershock, most people prefer to
remain away. But they have begun making forays into the deserted streets to retrieve their
household goods. Like the couple who pushed along their scooter, carting away the family's
television set. ``The labourers are charging 10 times the usual rates,'' Ishwar Soneji
complains.
….. After they have cremated Shakuntala, the Vajiranis will probably begin rebuilding
their lives. Like many other Sindhis, Prakash Vajirani's father came to Bhuj after the
Partition. ``This is the second time this is happening to us,'' he says.
….. As Vajirani waits, a woman older
than his dead aunt, hobbles across Mahadev Gate Chowk with a small bucket in hand and a
foot in plaster. Should she be doing this, we ask. ``I have rested for six days. I don't
like other people looking after me.'' So Kantiben Naranji Pallan hacked away most of the
plaster on her leg, picked her stick, and limped across to the lake to wash her clothes.
'Kutchis' stoic behaviour belies
nightmarish existence' (Times of India, 17-02-01)
A night in Bhuj is a nightmare not only
for the visitors, but also for the locals. "For a few days after the quake it was
very cold and chilly outside in the nights. We had few woollens to protect us. We stood
for hours in the queues to get a tent and some blankets for our family, but without
success. Finally, we ventured into our broken house and fetched some blankets", says
Dayaben Khatri, who sleeps in the premises of an old government office.
Despite the tragedy, people here have been able to maintain their calm. In fact the proud
and self-respecting Kutchis find it below their dignity to stand in queues for a tent.
"We don't need the tent, it in fact separates us from our neighbours. We are
comfortable below the tree, it protects us" says Ishwarbhai, who along with a dozen
neighbours, has taken refuge in a government office premise.
Quake-victims long for home (Times of
India, 14-02-01)
…..Life has yet to settle down for
these Kutchis who were brought by this voluntary agency to be looked after here till they
are well. But all is not yet hunkey-dory. Halima from Anjar lost seven members of her
family and has suffered nine fractures on her body. Her husband and four children have
survived. ``Will you give us a house? Will you give us money?" she wants to know,
eager to get back to Anjar. Close by, lies a young native of Bhachau, praying with his
beads. He lost his wife and kids, and only one son has survived. But he does not want to
talk about it. Face writ with fear he folds his hands as tears stream down his cheeks,
``Please leave me alone..."
``Tremor or no tremor, we want to go back home," is the common refrain of
these `visitors' to this part of the state.``What do we do here in Gujarat?" asks
Halima. ``After all, Kutch is our watan," asserts Narayanbhai.
Like they say in Kutchhi: ``Shiyale sorath bhalo, Unale Gujarat, chomahe Vagad bhalo,
Kutchh baare mah (Saurashtra is good for winters, Gujarat for summer, Vagad is good in
monsoons but Kutch is good throughout the year)."
'Life in the disaster zone' (Indian
Express 31-01-01)
Going by reports of lorries stacked with
relief material thundering past desperate villagers, it is the same story: of those out of
the loop being left neglected.
'Relief discrimination irks Lodia
villagers' (Indian Express, 8-02-01)
In the village which are the epicentre of
Republic Day's killer quake, relief operations have left many unhappy. According to
reports, Harijans and members of the minority community living in Lodia are not getting
their share of relief from the Ahir community, which dominates the village.
"We are poor people and have been living on the outskirts of the village. The
quake has destroyed our houses and we continue to live in the open," Harijan leaders
Govind Vira, Jiva Karman and Rana Rava Puja Rava said. They also complained that the
relief supplies have not been evenly distributed among all sections of the community.
Harijans and Muslims in nearby villages faced similar problems.
'Quake fails to set right castes' 'fault
lines' in Loria' (Times of India, 28-02-01)
Loria, which lost three of its
inhabitants in the earthquake, has begun to re-settle in bits and spurts and in tents- an
accommodation that the villagers seem to have taken a fancy to, but they appear to be
plagued with the Oliver Twist syndrome - they want more.
Ashok calls himself the "be-rojgaar" (jobless). He says he was working in
a private firm in Bhuj which collapsed and he has no job. The village has got cash doles
between Rs 1,200 and 2,000 per family, they have got tents, oil, wheat, rice and biscuits,
but they feel it is not adequate.
"For a family of six also it is Rs 2,000 and for a family of 14 also it is the
same sum", says Harisnhji Jadeja, the sarpanch of Jhura village where the Loria
syndrome is more magnified because its population is around 4,500.
Some like the 25-year-old Jetha even want to settle elsewhere. "But only if the rest
of them decide," he says. A strong caste consciousness dogs these villages with the
Darbars and Bhanushalis apparently dominating in the numbers game. The rest of the castes
comprise Dalits and Muslims.
"Our women never come out…those ones sitting there (pointing to a
distance) are Dalits", says Jadeja of Jhura, proudly. But when the IAF helicopter
lands several women and kids emerge from nowhere, to watch.
Ashok has another lament, "Many of us have not been issued ration cards for
seven years and thus many of us have not been given the cash dole and have forfeited our
share of the relief too"
But he admits that a village samiti has been set up in Bhuj to verify who were
listed among the beneficiaries of the public Distribution System and only they get the
cash doles.'
"We don't know what to do with these people, we have been trying to conduct a
survey about exactly how much damage has occurred in each family, even there they are not
ready to co-operate", says a member of this Delhi-based NGO.
This team had apparently contacted a Russian technical team which had agreed to
build the Loria houses with an earthquake resistant design, "but who's
interested?" they say.
The problem goes even deeper- the caste consciousness and the divisions. There are
many villagers who would love to re-settle where there was some water resource, but the
village is not able to come to a decision.
While the Darbars are not too ready to leave their home ground, there are many who
wish to move out, like the Muslims. "We don't want to go where the government wants
to rehabilitate us because that area floods during the monsoons", says Sahelwan,
another 70-year old from this village.
Loria is clearly divided along caste lines, even on these decisions and they feel
unsettled about it. The TOI team encountered many people in Loria who were just 'passing
by' to take a look at the IAF relief operations. When they were intercepted for the basic
queries, they just walked away mumbling, " we don't belong here!'.
"Where there are people, there are bound to be differences in opinions -
right?' snaps Ashok, after a brief tete-a tete. One wonders, are villages like Loria going
astray after the quake?
While on one hand this earthquake
proved to be a mighty leveller and a strong catalyst for mutual support within the
communities irrespective of caste and religion. It has demonstrated the self-pride of
Gujaratis in general and Kutchis in particular. On the other hand, one finds that there
has not been equitable response from those in power both from outside and from within the
communities. Some marginalised sections of the community have been left out. Also
caste-divisions are coming in way of collective decision-making amongst the villagers.
This is crucial if they have to make their voice heard to the decision makers while they
decide on their long-term rehabilitation.
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