Thread by @kikumbhar

Many might have heard of the recent disastrous flooding in parts of the Konkan region, incl in the city of Chiplun. Chiplun is where I grew up & where family & friends still live. It has been sobering to witness the disaster thru phone calls & whatsapp messages & pictures.

As usual, it was neighbors who helped neighbors. It was ordinary ppl who rose to the occasion, more than local govt or national response teams. Ppl rushed to help others & carry them to safer locales; brought food & water to the stranded; arranged for volunteers & local NGOs..

Those on the upper floors invited those on the lower floors to stay with them, while they all saw the latter's loved homes sweep away; others made lunch & breakfast for all. Folks with inverters allowed everyone to come charge their phones so they cud get in touch with loved ones

These r true stories, tho we shudnt romanticize them too much, since we kno how easily camaraderie & kindness among ppl can b polluted & corrupted by politicians, their IT cells & news channels. But then ther r ordinary ppl who have kept their माणुसकी (insaniyat) intact all along

The brave volunteers from this video r perhaps an example of that. They rushed to move Covid patients from a hospital where water suddenly reached dangerous levels, & helped shift them to a govt hospital nearby. I was v moved by this video.

What particularly stayed with me was one of the volunteers saying that it was a nice feeling to have been so helpful to others during such difficult times, & he hopes that if ever he needs help, ppl will do the same to him too.

If in future this person gets caught in a natural calamity, it is easy to see ppl coming to help him out. But what if someone in his family needs life-long diabetes medicines, or a major surgery? What if therz no govt school for his kid & he cant afford expensive private schools?

This becomes more relevant considerin that last week many of us were impressd wit & shared a speech by MP Majoj K Jha. We heard abou a concept which so many Indians hav forgotten (esp aft taking full advantage of it early in their lives): the welfare state

The British colonial govt, bc it wanted to hoard d largest possible amount of moolah for itself, made slim investments in public welfare (of Indians), leaving that to philanthropists & charitable orgs. For most desis, helping each other out was thus a moral & practical necessity

Our founders grew up in such a laissez-faire model, & realized that it was inadequate for India, & that it was fundamentally wrong. That is why they did away with dependence on random acts of charity and gave us a "welfare state."

In a welfare state the govt borrows money from ppl (otherwise known as taxes & cesses etc.), then uses and invests it in ways that make ppl's daily living easier & better: healthcare, education, clean air & water, electricity, etc..

Today when disasters strike India, we mobilize to raise funds, which is helpful - but only in the short run. As our founders wud'v said, scattered charity is not a sustainable solution for our country & its ppl. We need institutionalized, scaled-up charity - ie, the welfare state

Chiplun is devastated today. So many ppl have lost almost all their possessions to the flood. Businesses will take a lot of time to recover from the shock. And it is possible that Covid might capitalize on this disaster & wreak further havoc.

Many of us with connections to the city - me included - will fundraise & send money over to contribute towards recovery. But we all know that ppl r gonna need more than just money, & also that some or the other part of India will soon face another disaster, & then another.

So I request & invite folks to not only raise funds but also raise awareness. About our nation's original conception as a welfare state. As MP Jha said, let's ensure that governments work on the right to health and right to work, & not waste public money on divisive pet projects.

For example, ppl hav always resisted attempts by govts over the decades to sell our public hospitals to profit-making companies who will privatize them & make them inaccessible & more corrupt. But today, NITI Aayog is trying to take us down that terrible path yet again.

We cud help by saying loud & clear that we want govts to invest in, improve, & expand our healthcare facilities - not to shrink them & sell them off. It's horrific that govt plans to give away hospitals & centers which have taken decades, & crores of ppl's money, to build.

Evidence from every part of the world shows that medicine & public health rapidly deteriorate when profit-making private entities r allowed to dominate. I have worked at the Ratnagiri Civil Hospital near Chiplun & I know how imp it is for ppl in the region.

I shudder to think what will happen if some random private co. is given the right to do whatever it wants with it. (We anyway have seen companies with zero to little experience being given defence contracts & what not)

For one, we'll fail that volunteer from d above video who said he hopes when he's in need, someone will be there. If govt washes its hands off providing education, healthcare & jobs, & we let them do it, I'm afraid to say he & his family will simply be left to fend for themselves

Natural calamities cant b avoided. But the adversity that comes in their wake can v well be mitigated in advance. A person whose house was destroyed could somehow rebuild, but if at the same time they r forced to spend huge lots on medical expenses, it becomes a terrible deal

Lets not forget that our founders wer d first to use the phrase New India, & welfare is what made our country "new" in their eyes. Lets work & fight for the welfare state again. Lets make sure floods & other calamities stay acute disasters & not becom chronic long-drawn tragedies