Dreams from debris: The Morbi that made Narendra Modi

“Leadership is doing what is right when no one is watching”

Long before Narendra Modi became a household name, he did the unthinkable as a young pracharak, back in 1979. With  government machinery collapsing in the face of the Morbi dam disaster in a far-flung corner of Gujarat, the callow Modi rallied thousands of RSS volunteers against seemingly unsurmountable odds to save thousands of lives.

Across several chapters, the book “RESILIENT INDIA: How Modi Transformed India’s Disaster Management Paradigm”, constructs Modi’s  journey from a young volunteer in Morbi to becoming the impetus behind a new India’s resolute preparedness against natural disasters.

RESILIENT INDIA recounts Modi’s central role in rebuilding Gujarat following the deadly 2001 Kutch earthquake and his zealous efforts to raise the morale of the whole of Bharat during the dark days of the pandemic.

Delving deep into the experiences that helped build Modi’s inclusionary and multi-pronged approach, the book deploys first-hand narratives from administrators, banking heads, victims, as well as business and political leaders.

The beginning of a vision – Modi’s first brush with disaster management

The inspiring tale of a 29-year-old Modi, wading through sludge and animal carcasses in flood-ravaged Morbi, is not widely known. But the experience marked the beginning of a resolution that the future PM undertook to make the country resilient and prepared for unforeseen calamities.

The Morbi disaster, which was dubbed the world’s “worst dam burst” by the Guinness Book of Records, claimed nearly 20,000 lives. Although it happened over three decades after Independence, India had little to no systems in place to anticipate or respond to such adverse events.

Back then, even as a photograph of the Indira Gandhi covering her nose with a handkerchief as she surveyed the disaster site made headlines, a selfless Modi was leading his volunteers to clean the sludge and remove and cremate the decaying bodies, since even the local authorities refused to help, the book notes.

Modi personally managed the relief work, for fifty days at a stretch, raising almost Rs. 20 lakh (a huge amount at the time) for rebuilding homes and other restoration work.

Modi's out-of-the box ideas come to fore

Recounting a particular incident, the book states – "In one of the areas, a body was stuck in the sludge in a particularly unyielding way. As the others struggled to find a way, Narendra Modi managed to pull it off. He suggested that bodies could be wrapped in cloth so that they were not dismembered while being pulled up or lifted. This was useful, practical advice."

Rescue to Rebuild: Modi's journey

In the aftermath of the Morbi dam burst, Modi used his personal connections to gather skilled workers, electricians, technicians and plumbers to rebuild the damaged areas, notes the book. The chapter “The Tears of Morbi 1979” reveals several instances where Modi displayed great attention to detail to prevent outbreaks like cholera in the flood-hit areas.

From leading the rescue operations to initiating rebuilding measures, the Morbi tragedy planted the seeds of disaster management reform in the young Modi’s mind. It was here that he developed the invaluable personality trait of turning every disaster into an opportunity. Later, when he became the CM of Gujarat – and had the power to execute his unique, people-first vision –  Modi led the redevelopment of the earthquake-ravaged Kutch at a record pace.

Eventually, the 'Kutch model' was adopted around the world as an important learning in successfully rebuilding areas hit by natural disasters.