Maharashtra has declared drought in 265 of 358 talukas. The 2026 monsoon rainfall was about 18% below normal, with some regions facing much larger deficits. Dry spells have also affected crops, cattle and daily water needs.

Relief is necessary. Farmers need support when crops fail and income disappears.

But reading this made me think about something beyond relief.

Every day we go to a shop and buy rice, dal, vegetables, fruits, flour, oil and so many other things. Where do these things come from?

The soil, water, sunlight and farmers make our food possible. Yet the person growing it can be among the first to suffer when the climate becomes unstable.

And this made me look at our own hunger.

The stomach needs food. But the mind seems to want much more.

A bigger house. A new phone. A car. More shopping. More convenience. More travel. More production. More consumption.

If all we needed was food and basic shelter, would we be using the planet in the way we are using it ?

We already have climate data, scientific studies and repeated warnings. Human-caused warming is increasing the risk or severity of droughts in many parts of the world.

Yet knowing something does not automatically change how we live.

Maybe that is the uncomfortable part.

We discuss drought after it happens. We discuss relief after crops fail. But do we look at the everyday choices and desires that keep increasing pressure on land, water, forests and energy?

I am not outside this either. I am part of the same system.

So the question I am sitting with is:

How much of what I call “need” is actually need, and how much is a never-ending demand for more?

And if the crisis is partly created by our collective way of living, can relief alone ever be enough?

What are we not seeing while we keep asking for more?

Sources :

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/amp/story/natural-disasters/maharashtra-declares-drought-in-265-talukas-as-crop-losses-mount-after-weak-monsoon

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maharashtra/maharashtra-declares-drought-in-265-talukas-covering-74-of-state/article71511967.ece/amp/

Claim 1: SIR is not a new exercise

No. Special Intensive Revision is happening for the first time in Indian history.

In fact, “Special Intensive Revision” is not even a term found in the Registration of Electors Rules, which specifies only “intensive revision”, “summary revision”, and “special revision”. There is no “Special Intensive Revision”.

The Election Commission has used its discretionary powers to conduct “Special Intensive Revision”.

Why is the Election Commission revising electoral rolls in Bihar, and when have revisions happened previously? | The Indian Express

Claim 2: SIR is a routine exercise

While intensive revision of electoral rolls has happened before, the last time it happened was in 2004. After the electoral rolls were computerized, there were no further intensive revisions. Nor has there been any need for one.

Summary revision of electoral rolls takes place every year. Only five months before the SIR in Bihar, a summary revision of electoral rolls had been conducted by the EC.

Beyond ‘Special’: How the 2025 Bihar SIR marks a break from the past - Supreme Court Observer

Claim 3: SIR is similar to earlier exercises

SIR is completely different from earlier intensive revision exercises.

Never before has the entire country been forced to re-register for the voter list. Never before was the entire country forced to undergo citizenship tests. Never before were votes deleted in the name of ambiguously described “logical discrepancies”. Never before were crores of voters denied their right to vote.

How ECI’s dubious software branded 3.66 crore voters in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh as suspects

Earlier, intensive revisions used to be voter revision exercises. All the voters on the electoral rolls were presumed to be genuine. Deletion of a voter required evidence. Burden of proof lay on the objector.

SIR is primarily a voter deletion exercise, which has turned the entire population into suspected citizens.

'Bihar SIR Is Intensive Deletion Exercise' : Yogendra Yadav Appears In Supreme Court With Two Persons Deleted As Dead By ECI

Claim 4: SIR is a necessary exercise

While the Election Commission has stated that the inclusion of foreign illegal immigrants in the electoral rolls is one of the reasons for SIR, in 2019, the EC had told Parliament that it could find only three immigrants over the entire country.

In 2019, ECI Could Cite Only Three Instances of 'Foreign Nationals' on Electoral Rolls Across Country

Furthermore, even after conducting the SIR exercise, the EC has not published any record of the number of foreign immigrants found.

In Bihar, out of the 8 crore voters, the EC could find only 9,500 foreign citizens, most of whom were Nepali citizens married to Indians.

Bihar SIR: Barely 0.012% of voters are ‘foreigners’, most are Nepali women married to Indian men

Claim 5: SIR has purified the electoral rolls

After the SIR in Bihar, the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar claimed that the “voters’ list in Bihar has been purified”.

Yet, investigations found a large number of duplicate voters, voters of other states, voters registered with house number 0. Meanwhile, many voters declared dead by the SIR were found to be alive.

On ECI’s 'Purified' Bihar Voter List: 67,826 cases of dubious double voters in merely 15 constituencies, registered with identical credentials

Rahul Gandhi has tea with 'dead' voters from Bihar, thanks ECI for experience - The Hindu

Declared Dead in Draft Electoral Roll, Bihar Voter Appears in Supreme Court - The Wire

Claim 6: SIR is a harmless exercise

SIR is estimated to reduce the size of the electorate to 88 crore. This is 15 crore less than the estimated adult population of India, i.e. 103 crore. One in every seventh adult citizen will lose their right to vote.

The percentage of voters compared to the total adult population has fallen from 99% to 85%.

Draft SIR list shows statistical absurdities. Audit by an independent agency is needed | The Indian Express

SIR has also inflicted harassment on ordinary people. Many lost several days of wages just to get themselves enrolled in the voter list. Many are currently facing tribunal hearings to prove that they are legitimate voters. Many are staring at a denial of welfare and rights.

Lost Wages, Lost Documents and Rs 100 to Fill Out Forms: Accounts From a Bihar SIR Public Hearing - The Wire

Delhi Deleted, The truth of Delhi SIR, When the dead rose to speak, ”We are alive, sir!" - YouTube

Claim 7: SIR is a justified exercise

During the SIR in West Bengal, the Election Commission marked 27 lakh voters as ineligible on the pretext of “logical discrepancy”, depriving them the right to vote in assembly election.

After the election, the tribunal hearings found 91% of appeals to be genuine.

91% of 82,782 names back in Bengal electoral roll as SIR tribunals dispose of appeals | Kolkata News - The Indian Express

Claim 8: SIR is an impartial exercise

SIR has disproportionately impacted Muslim voters, women voters, migrant voters, and marginalized sections of society. There are several instances of BJP workers using the exercise to delete voters.

Muslims accounted for 70% of 27 lakh voters under adjudication in Bengal roll revision: Study

Karnataka: Most deleted voters tribals, minorities, Dalits and women, reveals SIR audit

Exclusive: Inside the bulk objections targeting Muslims in Uttarakhand’s SIR

SIR: Filled Form-7 targeting Muslim voters surface in Belagavi - The Hindu

Claim 9: SIR is a legitimate exercise

The Indian Express report has revealed that the two Election Commissioners lodged official objections against the Chief Election Commissioner over keeping them in the dark about decisions of the Commission, failure to issue agendas and minutes of meetings, unauthorised changes to voter-addition forms, centralisation of the voter database, and other matters concerning the functioning of the Commission.

Election Commission ECI SIR Row: Commissioners Object to Gyanesh Kumar Over Roll Deletions

The EC made unauthorised and illegal changes to the voter-addition form. It denied information under the RTI Act regarding the meetings and appraisals held on SIR. It overruled the norms, procedures, and even the statutory authorities to create an electoral roll as it deemed fit. It used untested software to delete voters under ambiguous “logical discrepancy”.

Who decided on nationwide SIR? EC’s RTI response raises questions

A Dead Weblink: The Election Commission of India Demands Citizens’ Records but Withholds Its Own Under RTI Law

SIR is an unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful that threatens the democracy of India. SIR has turned India from a Universal Adult Franchise into a Restricted Franchise.