For over 10 days now, Kashmir has been at the mercy of the Jhelum River which has submerged many parts of the city leading to a catastrophic situation. With over thousands killed and a million displaced, the floods have brought life to a standstill in the city.
The calamity was in the making for over 5 years as the Flood Control Department had warned the government of an impending flood in Srinagar which would submerge Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir under 150,000 cusecs of water. The Report had suggestions for an elaborate action plan for the government which was ignored by the local and central government.
Once the calamity took place, the Indian government took to blaming the people for not protecting themselves even after they had been intimidated about the floods 6 hours before the water swept the city. It was only after 3 days of incessant flooding that the Chief Minister of the State assembled his ministers for a meeting. Even then he did not conduct any relief activities for the people struck by the flood.
The primary reason for the floods is the ecological destruction that the Kashmir State government had allowed for the commercialization of wetlands and waterways originally part of the river.
Kashmir’s flood is a telltale sign of the Democratic Rulers in India and elsewhere. Despite the fact that India faces disasters due to floods almost every year during the rainy season, the attitude of its rulers have not changed a lot. In 2013, the Floods in UttarKhand state led to the death of several thousands and wanton destruction of property and lives.
Every time a calamity takes place, it only proves that democracy cannot produce politicians who will remove difficulties, hardship and pain from the people as an utmost obligation.
Even in America, a self-proclaimed champion of democracy and human rights, people are left to the mercy of natural disasters. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a Congressional investigation found that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and the Red Cross, “did not have a logistics capacity sophisticated enough to fully support the massive number of Gulf coast victims.” It placed responsibility for the disaster on all three levels of government, federal, state and local.
Islam has made politics as looking after the affairs of the Ummah and an obligation. Failure renders the ruler accountable on the Day of Judgment. That is why when Umar (ra) was appointed as the Khalifah, he said, “If an animal in the land of Iraq trips, I would be afraid that Allah سبحانه وتعالى would account me, for not fixing the road for it”.
What we must realize is that whether it is democracy or dictatorship, rulers do not consider themselves answerable in front of their people or their Creator, Allah سبحانه وتعالى. It is only the ruling system of Khilafah in which in which the Khalifah is answerable in front of the people and Allah سبحانه وتعالى. And accountability before Allah سبحانه وتعالى is the most severe.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
«مَا مِنْ وَالٍ يَلِي رَعِيَّةً مِنْ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَيَمُوتُ وَهُوَ غَاشٌّ لَهُمْ إِلَّا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ»
“There is no Wali who takes charge of Muslims and dies cheating them, except that Allah prohibits him paradise.” [Bukhari]
The solution for people lies in returning to Islam and taking the solutions from Islam. They should work to reestablish the righteous Khilafah, which will help and support us in removing our hardships.
Written for The Central Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir by
Abu Khaled Al Hejazi