The worst ever earthquake struck the state of Gujrat on 26th January killing more than 35000 people and devastating property worth Billions of Rupees. Most parts of the Kutch district were ruined by the killer quake that occurred while the nation was celebrating Republic Day on 26th January at 8.46 AM.

It is indisputably impossible to fathom the import of the training being imparted to the Swayamsevaks through RSS shakhas. Challenges faced during the natural or other calamities provide the right testing ground for the thus trained Swayamsevaks. The disaster management skills exhibited by the Swayamsevaks and Karyakartas during the most difficult and painful hours in Gujrat right after the dreadful tremors, is an excellent case in study.

Swayamsevaks in Radhanpur- the doorway to Kutch district from the north- received the information when people brought in a badly injured person at 10-30 AM. All the Doctors in the town were immediately contacted and invited to the Government hospital which itself was damaged. A medical camp was organized outside the hospital at 12.00 AM and all the Doctors started marathon working as more cases arrived. They even contacted the Depot manager of the Road Transport Corporation requesting him o send as many buses possible to the affected areas to carry back the patients. A batch of 6 Swayamsevaks was also sent with each bus. 500 People were served lunch at 1-00 PM. Villages which were not damaged were asked to send food daily for the relief camp, each village sending on a particular day. Milk flowed in such large quantity that they could not consume the same on the day. The team of Doctors was not sufficient to deal with the number of injured coming in. Swayamsevaks decided to send them to other towns like Patan, Deesa, Mehsana, Unjha, Palanpur, etc. While we visited the medial camp in Radhanpur on 5th February at 10=30 PM we were surprised to find all the Doctors doing their routine. Leading the team was Dr. Naulakha, Superintendent of the Government Hospital.

Rapar is the Tehsil which has borders with Pakistan on one side while Rajasthan on the other. This is one of the strategically important Tehsil. In this Tehsil 661 deaths have been recorded and 11000 injured have been provided medical treatment. The camp here started on 27th January and by that night more than 50 truckloads of relief material was distributed in the Tehsil. On 29th, 62 trucloads of material was dispatched to 97 villages. State Vice President of BJP Shri Suresh Bhai Gandhi is in charge of the relief camp here. 500 Swayamsevaks are engaged in the relief activity since then. 1000 people were fed daily for a week initially but 7 other organisations were awarded the activity after that. These organisations are feeding 15000 people daily till this date. A free supplies center has been established in the town for those who need the ration.

The relief operation was launched on 26th January itself in Bhachau, the worst affected town of Kutch. 50 Swayamsevaks from the adjoining village Kotda started the relief withing and hour of the devastation. The devastation is so complete in this Tehsil, that all the 71 villages in this unit have been devastated completely. Not a single house stands in this Tehsil that can be inhabited. 11000 people have been killed in this Tehsil out of a population of 1,50,000. It is almost impossible to determine the number of the injured in this Tehsil. Swayamsevaks extracted 800 bodies from the debris and saved at least 50 lives from the rubble. There is a possibility of recovering some more bodies in this Tehsil. Nearly 10000 Swayamsevaks are engaged in the rescue & relief activity in this Tehsil out which 5000 are directly working in the field while others are engaged in the relief camps. Packed food was provided for first three days to the survivors but was given up as other organisations also joined to serve food. 28 other organisations like Swaminarayana, Gayatri parivar, many Jain organisations, Lions Club, Rotary Club, Shiv Sena, Congress Party and other are serving in this Tehsil.

Jilla Sanghchalak Shri Champakbhai Kansara is a resident of the Bhachau town. His house stands totally devastated. Though he lost his elder daughter doing Post Graduation and his younger daughter is injured, Champakbhai is at the forefront of the relief activity.
There is life after devastation. This was amply proved when a lady delivered a baby boy in VHP hospital at Bhachau. The boy has been named ‘Shibir’ as he is born in a shibir. Another baby girl was born the next day and she is named ‘Dharati’ by the Swayamsevaks as she is born after the Dharatikamp (earthquake).

One of the worst affected towns was Anjaar. Swayamsevaks in Anjaar gathered together within half and hour of the quake and chalked out plan to survey the damage done by the quake. Some of them remained in the town while some others were asked to visit the adjoining villages and come back with the first hand information as early as possible. The relief work in Anjaar was so effective that the first Indian Air Force team stayed for a day in the RSS relief camp.

Right when Swayamsevaks in places like Radhanpur, Bhachau, Anjaar and other places were planning to serve the affected, the state headquarter in Ahmedabad got busy with planning the immediate relief though Kshetra Pracharak and Prant Pracharak were on tour. Chairman of State Transport Corporation was requested to send buses to the affected areas. The Chairman obliged and teams of Swayamsevaks with food packets and other first aid rushed to the districts. A team of Swayamsevaks also launched relief operation in Ahmedabad City itself as some parts of the city were badly damaged. Shri Narayanbhai Meghani led the rescue operation in the city. Apart from rescue & relief, swayamsevaks had to manage many other operations like receiving some of the rescue teams from abroad. A TV channel was providing people with Helpline to send help for the earthquake and when contacted gave the telephone number of RSS Vadodara Karyalaya- 338000/358000.

We can go on quoting such instances in almost all the places where RSS shakhas were active. However, a question hounds one’s mind that what inspired all these Swayamsevaks to launch the rescue operation so instantly? Who commanded them to serve the affected while their own houses were damaged or their kith and kin also had suffered? Rest of the people were just shell shocked and dumbstruck to witness the devastation. While Swayamsevaks visited the villages to get the first hand information, they were advised by the survivors not to enter the villages as more quakes were feared. This did not deter them from going in to the villages and inspiring others to join them.

Whether the media tries to hide the truth or distort it, all those whom we talked to during the tour had only praise for the Swayamsevaks who rushed in to help them in time with all that was possible. Swayamsevaks were the first to reach the villages or towns providing them with succour. We could talk to the affected families, Govt. officials, Army personnel, Muslims; other NGOs, some Spiritual organisations; Doctors involved in serving the injured, and even the Swayamsevaks themselves. Everybody applauded the efforts of the Swayamsevaks without exception.

The devastated town of Anjaar was handed over to Army for security and no one without permission can enter the town. This rule does not work for a Swayamsevak wearing a nicker. He is most welcome there. Such is the status of the Swayamsevak during the relief operation.

Kshetra Pracharak Shri Madhubhai Kulkarni emphatically challenged the report published in certain newspapers that people are going hungry, saying’ “It is our responsibility to feed the hungry and let any journalist show us one, we shall feed him.” This was the confidence expressed amongst all the Karyakartas. We questioned in many places whether some one has gone without food, but we did not find one.

Contrary to the reports that appeared in the media, all the Doctors working in the relief activity denied any probability of breaking an epidemic. Most of the serious cases were referred to RSS/VHP hospitals by all other organisations including Military personnel. After first aid these cases patients were then sent to better hospitals in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Mumbai or Pune.

Many villages of the district of Kutch have been supplied with potable water a few years back and the water supply will be reinstated soon. Government of Gujrat is working hard to reestablish the power supply soon.

Future Plans
The state unit of Sewa Bharati, RSS and VHP is planning future programmes. Sewa Bharati has proposed to adopt all the children orphaned in this earthquake. An Old Age home is also being proposed as many old people might have lost their families and will need some support. 25 villages will be rehabilitated in the quake affected areas of Kutch and adjoining districts. RSS- Sewa Bharati has submitted a proposal for the reconstruction maintaining that involvement of the Voluntary and NGOs will enhance the efficiency and participation of the local villagers and reduce the corruption. A hostel for students who are appearing for important examinations this year is also under consideration.

Sewa International UK and IDRF USA have also proposed to fund the reconstruction of some of the villages.