Have a good look at the following qualifications:

An engineering graduate of IIT Roorkee

Ph.D from University of California, Berkeley

Design Engineer, Central Designs Directorate, Irrigation Department, U.P.

Professor & Head, Civil (and Environmental) Engg. Department IIT, Kanpur,

Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi

Director, Envirotech Instrument (P) Ltd, New Delhi

How much time and resources are required to raise such an accomplished professional? And if any nation does have professionals with such an extensive experience then should it be wasting them away by not paying attention to their findings and instead going ahead with its own “Group of Ministers” decisions? Something is seriously going wrong here.

I would like to believe that the wrong is on both the sides- the Professor who decides to go on a fast unto death for saving the river by demanding that the government stops the construction of dams (planned very close to the glacial origin of Bhagirathi river) and the Government which repeatedly fails to pay attention to the ground situation.

Prof. G.D Agrawal (Flickr Image: indiawaterportal)

As a professional, I am deeply concerned when Prof. G.D. Agrawal adopts fast unto death as a means to save Ganga from the imminent environmental hazards of these large dams. As much as I realize that it is his free will to adopt any means that he deems necessary and appropriate, I beg to differ from his chosen path. It is with great respect and admiration for him as an individual that I find this path to be inappropriate. He has tools much greater in strength than this. I would argue that there is an even better means which perhaps he has not considered. With his intellect and extensive experience he could raise a cadre of highly skilled young and motivated individuals and to mentor them for as long as life allows him to! This, in a time when professional ethics and concern for larger good of the society is waning in India’s colleges is much needed. No more does a kid in our colleges gets to know of and work on a real world problem. There is a sure crisis of leadership and mentors today!

For all we know, a nation’s surest way to progress and development is through its people. A group of hundred motivated and professionally qualified engineers like Prof. Agrawal instead of only one Prof. Agrawal have a much higher probability of bringing the change that his team of Swamis (Religious Teachers) and activists are fighting for. I cannot imagine Prof Amartya Sen sitting on a hunger strike for the cause of poor and hungry, on whom much of his research is based! As gently as I can put, I’d like to remind that times have changed. The Mahatma could sure move the powers ruling the land with his fasts. But it also was a time when respect and regard for leaders was the highest. It was a period when India was united in its cause to achieve independence. Times changed. Fasts transformed from being an act to express non co-operation to a peaceful agitation towards a demand. If you may recall what was to come of Potti Sriramulu in the agitation for a separate Andhra Pradesh state in 1952, not long after the Indian independence. A separate state sure was made but only after intense violence and unrest following Sriramulu’s death due to fast that he pursued for 58 days! Years later in 2009 it was repeated by K Chandrasekhar Rao for a separate Telangana state. And this time he was persuaded to break the fast only because there was a constant fear of a reprisal from his supporters in case he loses his life.  I believe that we do not have an environment where people understand the spirit of fast unto death.

I urge Prof Agarwal to leave the younger generation with at least one workable, non self destructive way to fight and change the wrongs in the country today. With this fast unto death, do you really believe that the Government and the bureaucrats who have planned these mega projects change? Do you sense any such possibility considering the current political scenario in India? Would that be after you are gone? Or would you be there to see that day? With all my years of  living in this country I think that there is a much greater possibility that it would be business as usual with or without you!

So why not help us when there is time. Why not show us, the young and early career professionals, the ropes? Mentor us to be able to plan these large scale projects better and execute with a great sense of concern and regard when the mantle rests on us.

For the end that we all wish to reach should we not be thinking about the means that we take to reach that end? I hope that this plea of a young person stepping into a career much similar to yours, urges you to re-examine for once the means adopted by you. The means which your supporters endorse but fail to realize that it could be potentially life threatening. As for you I can understand that your intense concern for Ganga overshadows everything else. If you ever thought that there are enough number of scientists and researchers who know about water resources engineering, environmental management etc then I must tell you that this isn’t true. The same old ideas and a remarkable indifference exist in the academia, research institutions and development organizations. While we examine what could be the possible ways to help this situation of developmental projects conflicting with community interests we also need you to explore if there can be still better ways of protesting against the Government’s activity in the name of development.

With the above I have tried to present all the reasons that I think exist for you to be with us. Would you like to propagate the gift of knowledge and the concern for humanity that you possess and which has become so rare around us today!