This year's drought condition, which has severely crippled life in Gujarat and Rajasthan, has seriously affected the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Haryana. This is probably the worst near-famine condition that has developed in independent India. It has affected crores of humans and livestock.

Despite such a grave disaster, the Vajpayee government refuses to treat this as a national calamity. The reasons are not far to see. If it is treated as a national calamity, then the central financial assistance would be in the nature of an outright grant. The Vajpayee government, under pressure from the IMF and World Bank, has virtually stopped all such assistance and, instead, is sanctioning advances under various heads to the state governments which have to be returned on a later date. Such subservience to the international predators of finance capital at the expense of the life of crores of Indian people is, indeed, most venal.

The ruling BJP's attitude to such large-scale human suffering is encapsulated in the following incident. With the municipal elections on in Jamnagar city in Gujarat, the BJP state government decided to divert water from a local dam that catered to the nearby villages, to the town to improve its electoral prospects. When farmers blocked the highway in protest against this, the police resorted to firing, killing three farmers. Such is the inhumanness of the RSS and its affiliates.

The worst aspect of this human tragedy is the fact that it could have easily been avoided. For years now, scientists have shown that it is possible for every village in the country to conserve sufficient rain water and prevent such extreme situations. However, with service to the people being farthest from the agenda of the present BJP-led government at the centre, no such efforts were made during the last couple of years.

Further, sufficient warning was given to the central government about the deteriorating conditions, particularly in Rajasthan. In November last year, the Rajasthan government ordered collection of girdawari (tehsildar's report on farm conditions). The findings were appalling -- 23,406 villages spread over 26 out of the 32 districts were found to be affected by drought conditions. The affected humans were put at 26.17 crores; livestock at 34.5 crores. The warning was sent to the central government in the beginning of November. The alarm was ignored. The BJP and its allies were more busy in trading ministries, buying for the spoils of office! Similarly, early warning bells were sounded in Andhra Pradesh in June 1999.

Having clearly ignored all these warnings, the Vajpayee government is now adopting a reprehensible attitude. It is a mockery to claim that by providing foodgrains at the prices for those below the poverty line, the government is providing relief. First, the crores of people languishing and battling for their existence are in no position to buy foodgrain. Secondly, after the recent price hikes, even those who work as daily wage labourers find it difficult to purchase the foodgrains. Under drought conditions, when agricultural incomes are nil, it is sheer foolishness to expect that people will have the money to buy foodgrain. Cosmetic publicity stunts and grandiose appeals to the people are not sufficient to relieve the agony of the people. What is required is rushing a relief on a war-footing -- provision of free food, drinking water, and fodder for cattle. Can this be expected from the Vajpayee government? A government that is more interested in granting tax exemption to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and hiking prices of essential commodities for the poor millions can hardly be expected to show even the elementary human response of providing relief to the people when they need it most.