Either as Vyeth or Hydaspes, Jhelum is Eternal

An editorial in the Greater Kashmir ponders about the future of a great river that sustains a shallow minded society

National Shame

Jhelum is not just a water body that needs attention of environmentalists. It is the repository of our history and ethos, emotions and imaginations, gossips and folktales; the popular culture of Kashmir is written over the drops of water that make Jhelum. Not only our nostalgia, but the harsh realities of life are all floating on the surface of this river. It is a part of our civilization as is Nile to Egypt and Indus to Sub-Continent.

Our apathy towards river Jhelum reflects the absence of consciousness at collective level. It is not like a slogan for any NGO, but a bitter truth that stares us all in the face. It speaks of the kind of people we have become. It is a grim reminder that unless we stand up for the things that are real, ambitious political goals, on both sides of the political divide, are far from doing any good to us. If the bounties of nature bestowed to us stand mercilessly spoiled at our hands, do we deserve respect and authority in the land; we don’t. Never. The photograph of river Jhelum that appeared on the front page of this newspaper on 22 July was enough to tell us in the face that as a people we have committed a grave crime against our own self. The repelling scene of the filth amassed around the pillars of a bridge on Jhelum hit like a deadly arrow in the bosom. And it is not the deliberate selection of the spot to earn attention. Take any patch of this long river body, the level of pollution is the same. Wherever the river passes through a populous area it is ‘gifted’ with polythene bags filled with domestic refuse, sewage, and all kinds of pollutants that we produce in the daily course of life. In our estimation we try to keep our compounds clean but we forget that our lifeline is getting choked.

The benign way to describe this attitude is to call such a people as uncivilized. There is no need to get angry over being called as uncivilized. It is not the cynicism of judgment but the expression of pain that is inflicted on seeing Jhelum as the dumping basin of the waste that Kashmiris produce. Before nature announces its final verdict and Jhelum becomes a thing of past the conscious amongst us must stand up to recompense the injustice inflicted on the river of Kashmir.

People irrespective of the divisions of politics, economy and ideology must join hands to save Jhelum. It is quite unfortunate that whenever we talk of environmental degradation only Dal lake becomes the centre of attraction. Jhelum rarely occupies the centre stage. The river in the backyard is crying for help and our indifference towards this dying water body has disastrous consequences. The government of the day has a huge role to play as the resources to clean up Jhelum can only be mustered by them. People, without politicizing the matter, can impress upon the government that thus far no further. The scheme of beautification of this river taken up by the previous government some years back must continue, with aggressive inputs, to give a sight soothing to eyes and not painfully repelling. For this purpose two things need to be ensured; one the term beautification needs to be replaced by revival, as it goes beyond the shallow and misleading politics. Second, the work on different patches of the river must involve the population of the respective areas.

Unless people get involved the desired level of results is not going to be achieved. From being some government scheme to prettify some selected portions of the embankments, government should think of converting it into a huge task of reviving a river that belongs to a people. This needs to be done before it is just water under the bridge.