The Himalayan Pralay: Climate Crisis, Capitalism & Collective Resilience
हिमालयी प्रलय: जलवायु संकट, पूंजीवाद और सामूहिक लचीलापन
✍️ By Suryavanshi IAS | For UPSC Aspirants
🔰 Introduction: Mandi's Flood Wasn't a Surprise
परिचय: मंडी की बाढ़ कोई चौंकाने वाली घटना नहीं थी
On June 28, 2025, Himachal Pradesh witnessed catastrophic flooding — a result of cloudbursts, landslides, and glacial runoff in the Beas Basin. Over 100 lives lost, schools destroyed, highways swept away, orchards vanished.
❗This is not a freak event, but part of a climate pattern.❗यह एक असामान्य घटना नहीं, बल्कि एक जलवायु चक्र का हिस्सा है।
🌍 Contextual Relevance for UPSC
यूपीएससी के लिए प्रासंगिकता
| GS Paper | Topics Covered |
|---|---|
| GS1 | Geographical phenomena (landslides, cloudbursts), Himalayan ecology |
| GS3 | Disaster Management, Environment & Climate Change, Infrastructure |
| Essay | “Development vs Environment”, “Climate Justice”, “Himalayan Vulnerability” |
📉 Scientific Evidence: ‘New Normal’ in the Himalayas
वैज्ञानिक प्रमाण: हिमालय में ‘नया सामान्य’
-
Himalayan warming: Upper Himalayas have warmed by +1.8°C in 50 years (nearly double global avg).➤ हिमालय का तापमान औसत से दोगुनी गति से बढ़ रहा है।
-
Impact:🔹 More cloudbursts & landslides🔹 Glacial lakes at risk of bursting🔹 Erratic monsoons and flash floods
🌧️ What used to be “once-in-a-decade” events are now yearly occurrences.
⚠️ Anthropogenic (Human-Made) Legacy
मानवजनित (Anthropogenic) संकट
-
IPCC (2022–23): Climate change is now irreversible for many glaciers.
-
Committed warming: Even if we stop emissions today, existing damage continues.➤ भविष्य में हिमालय और अधिक अस्थिर होगा।
Climate disaster is no longer an emergency — it’s inherited reality.अब जलवायु आपदा सिर्फ आपात स्थिति नहीं, बल्कि पीढ़ियों की विरासत बन चुकी है।
👶 The “Disaster-Evolved” Generation
‘आपदा-अनुकूल’ पीढ़ी
| Born Before 1996 | Born After 1996 |
|---|---|
| Stable weather patterns | Unpredictable disasters |
| Normal school routines | Raincoats & first-aid in bags |
| Monsoon meant harvest | Now means fear of floods |
🧠 Key insight: For today’s children, disaster is routine, not exception.
🛠️ Material Extraction vs Mountain Spirituality
संसाधन दोहन बनाम हिमालय की पवित्रता
“All that is solid melts into air.” – Marx“जब पृथ्वी डगमगाने लगे, तो जल प्रवाहित हो उठता है।” – भागवत पुराण
🔨 What Went Wrong?
-
Hydropower blasting riverbeds
-
Roads cut across fragile slopes
-
Tourism-led pollution
-
Unplanned urbanisation
🚨 All in the name of “development”.
🔍 But these activities destroy mountain equilibrium — causing landslides, run-off, and floods.
🧬 Rebuilding for Resilience: Sustainable Alternatives
पुनर्निर्माण के लिए लचीलापन: सतत समाधान
✅ Eco-Engineered Solutions:
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Rapid runoff | Meandering water channels with native plants |
| Fragile settlements | Stone-buttressed terraces with rooted grasses |
| Landslide-prone roads | Slope drainage compliance, check-dams |
| Flash floods | Early warning systems + Marshlands |
🧾 These are not utopian ideas. SDMA reports already recommend them.
But ❌ most are not implemented due to lack of funding, coordination & political will.
🏛️ Institutional Paralysis
संस्थानिक जड़ता
📄 Himachal & Uttarakhand SDMAs have:
-
Hazard maps
-
Building vulnerability lists
-
Strategic disaster frameworks
❌ But lack:
-
Timelines
-
Budget
-
Local execution teams
"Knowledge exists, but willpower is absent."
🧠 Psychological Shift: Resilience as Muscle Memory
मनोवैज्ञानिक बदलाव: लचीलापन अब अभ्यास बन जाए
🏠 In many areas, emergency kits are now as common as ration cards.
But we must go further:
-
🧭 Regular community drills
-
📻 Local radio alert systems
-
📚 School awareness about what not to carry during evacuations
Real resilience = prepared people + prepared systems
🕊️ Liberation through Collective Action
सामूहिक प्रयासों से मुक्ति का मार्ग
✨ Religious & Philosophical Wisdom:
“लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु” – May all beings be happy and safe.Individual safety begins with communal infrastructure.
📖 Marx’s lesson:
Personal freedom without collective systems is a delusion.पूंजीवाद ने पहले समुदायों को तोड़ा, अब पर्वतों को तोड़ रहा है।
👥 So we need:
-
Community forests
-
Shared flood buffers
-
State-funded village terracing
-
Sustainable eco-tourism
🚨 Call to Action: A Pralay Foretold
चेतावनी: यह प्रलय पहले से ज्ञात था
✅ What Needs Urgent Action:
-
Disaster audits with implementation timelines
-
Climate-resilient infrastructure by design
-
Ban on construction near natural drainage
-
Investment in local ecological knowledge
📌 And above all, we must treat the Himalayas not as a resource, but as a living cosmos.
📝 For Essay & Ethics Papers:
💡 Essay Themes:
-
“Ecology vs Economy: The Himalayan Dilemma”
-
“Climate Crisis and Intergenerational Responsibility”
-
“Spiritual Ecology in Times of Material Collapse”
⚖️ Ethics Link:
-
Environmental Ethics
-
Intergenerational Equity
-
Collective Responsibility
📚 UPSC Practice Questions
🧠 Mains (GS3):
Q. Climate disasters in the Himalayas reflect a failure of both ecological planning and governance. Examine with reference to recent floods in Himachal Pradesh.
💡 GS1 (Geography):
Q. Discuss how climate change is altering the monsoon and glacial behaviour in the Himalayas.
❓Prelims MCQ:
🧾 Conclusion: Kalyug's Test, Capitalism’s Reckoning
निष्कर्ष: कलियुग की परीक्षा, पूंजीवाद का परीक्षण
“The Himalayan Pralay has arrived.”Whether we drown in it or rebuild from it is our collective decision.
No comments:
Post a Comment