On August 15, 2013, the Gujarat government carved out a new district from Jamnagar and christened it ‘Devbhumi Dwarka’. In our childhood, we were taught in Gujarat’s schools that gods reside in every single grain of wheat. So, amidst our household poverty, we would sprinkle flour from our meager meals into anthills upon returning from school. The notion that gods might have a separate, reserved territory is a rather novel discovery. According to the Tourism Commissioner, a staggering 28.4 million tourists visited this district last year. One wishes such meticulous counting was applied to the malnourished children in our "developing" Gujarat. Could it be that the gods are angered by these very children?
Consider this: in 2024, this very district was Gujarat’s greenest, receiving a whopping 258.2% of its normal rainfall. Yet, by 2026, it had become the state’s driest, parched with a mere 16.45% of rainfall. If the Gujarat government can carve out a separate realm for the gods, why can’t it summon the rain? Have the gods been enraged by the misdeeds of Gujarat’s rulers? History recounts the legend of Vir Megh Wahni, which tells of a seven-year drought in Patan caused by the atrocities of King Siddharaj Jaysingh. The drought was broken only when an innocent Dalit youth was brutally tortured, beheaded after being declared to possess thirty-two auspicious signs, and his blood was spilled upon the earth. Even today, the tradition of placing a brass pot and a coin in the foundation of a new house, in memory of Vir Megh Wahni, prevails in Gujarat and other states.
The politics of gods in India has not been the exclusive ‘reserve’ of the BJP; it can be wielded by anyone seeking supremacy. From 1951 to 1988—a span of 37 years—the Congress party won the Jamnagar Lok Sabha seat every time, save for one victory each by the Janata Party and the Swatantra Party. From 1989 to 2004, the seat shifted to the BJP. Then, from 2004 to 2013, the Indian National Congress reclaimed it. Yet, ever since the new district of ‘Devbhumi Dwarka’ was carved out of Jamnagar, the seat has remained firmly in the BJP’s grasp.
In January 1934, a devastating earthquake struck Bihar and Nepal, claiming 12,000 to 15,000 lives. Mahatma Gandhi attributed this calamity to the so-called ‘upper castes’ preventing Dalits from entering temples. Publicly criticizing Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore dismissed his assertion as ‘unscientific’. And he was right. This is precisely why the Indian Constitution, drafted under the chairmanship of Dr. Ambedkar, places special emphasis on cultivating a ‘scientific temper’. Politicians are merely playing the game of keeping the majority religious populace as ‘blind devotees’ in the name of God. The silver lining, perhaps, is that this legion of ‘blind devotees’—irrespective of caste, gender, or religion—has ironically forged a class that embraces equality without discrimination!
Let us turn to science. In the 16th century, fishermen in Peru—a South American country bordering the Pacific Ocean and home to the dense Amazon rainforests—noticed a peculiar natural phenomenon. Back then, temperatures were about a degree and a half lower than today. Around Christmas week, the normally cold waters of the Pacific Ocean would suddenly warm up, driving the fish into deeper waters. Since this occurred around the birth of Christ, they named it ‘El Niño’, meaning the Christ child. Rigorous scientific research on this subject was conducted between 1890 and 1920 by the English physicist Gilbert Walker, drawing global attention. In the 1960s, the Swedish-born meteorologist Jacob Bjerknes further alerted the world to El Niño and the Southern Oscillation.
The Southern Oscillation is nature’s unique play in the Pacific Ocean, which directly impacts the monsoon in our Gujarat. In the vast Pacific, there are two main actors: atmospheric pressure and the trade winds blowing from east to west. Normally, these two share a close bond. On one side of the Pacific (near Australia and Asia), air pressure is very low, while on the other (South America), it is very high. This difference causes the winds to rush forcefully from east to west, dragging the ocean’s warm waters toward Australia and India. This warm water spawns heavy clouds, bringing torrential rains to India and Gujarat. Science calls this normal state ‘La Niña’.
But every few years, when this close friendship falters and the two actors swap places—creating the Southern Oscillation—the air pressure suddenly drops near South America and rises near Australia. This shift weakens the east-to-west winds or even reverses their direction. Consequently, all the warm ocean water slides back toward the Americas instead of flowing toward India. This is when ‘El Niño’ is born in the Pacific.
With the warm water and moisture-laden clouds drifting far away, the monsoon winds arriving from the Arabian Sea lose their vital strength. As a result, in years when the Southern Oscillation reverses, Gujarat—especially Devbhumi Dwarka and Saurashtra—is plunged into severe drought-like conditions.
In short, the Southern Oscillation is nature’s swing: swing it one way, and it brings lush greenery and rain to Gujarat; swing it the other, and it brings a parching drought.
A nation’s progress and development stem solely from adopting a scientific temper. Sitting in giant cauldrons to pray will not summon the rain; it will only gather the dark clouds of superstition and backwardness. Unfortunately, to rake in more money, so-called prestigious newspapers continue to publish images that promote this very superstition.
This is precisely why Babasaheb Ambedkar gave us the clarion call to ‘Educate’, to lift the Dalits out of the dark well of backwardness.
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*Founder, Dalit Shakti Kendra and Navsarjan Trust, Gujarat
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