Indus gone Insane

By B. R. GOWANI

Reuters

As if Pakistan’s:
Chaotic birth
Confused childhood
1971 partition
Corrupt politicians
Rampant illiteracy
Perpetual poverty
Sectarian massacres
Drone attacks
Taleban violence
Minority miseries
Women’s inequality
and on

and on
Weren’t enough …

But now Nature strikes
In all its fury
As Monsoon overflows the Indus
not just a part
but the full length of it …

Rains are hammering
Floods are submerging
People are drowning
Diseases are invading
Problems are mounting
Needs are increasing
Donors are shirking

The prevailing beliefs

Pakistanis are “terrorists”
Terrorists can’t be victims
If not victims
Then why provide aid?

Can Nature be so cruel?
Yes, it can be …
It is …
It has neither sensing ability
Nor reasoning capability
Else,
It would surely have postponed this
For some other time
And would not have struck
The crushing blows to

People already on ground and prostrate

Sindhu, became
Hindu, became
Indus, became
Insane

B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com