A study rules out Kailash Mansarovar as a source of the Ganga but does that really affect our faith in it?
Does the Ganga, the river that holds our civilisational faith and pride, become any less significant because science shows that its origins are far removed from Kailash Mansarovar? Hindu religious texts believe that the Ganga descended from the locks of Shiva, and therefore, has a connection with his seat of divinity, Kailash Mansarovar. And though the river is seen emerging from Gomukh or the snout of the Gangotri glacier, long considered its source, over the years perception had gained ground that the two disparate water systems — the one fed by the glacier and the other by the Mansarovar lake — were linked somehow. This gained credence despite the over 200 km distance between them and the Himalayan gorges and peaks separating them. An investigation by scientists of the Roorkee-based National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) has merely confirmed what logic has long determined, that there is no connectivity between the two water systems. Now that scientists have found that there were significant variations in isotopic and physiochemical properties of the water collected from the two sites, suggesting no possibility of surface or sub-surface connectivity between the two, Gangotri continues to be the source of the river. Unless, there is a far-fetched link traced through the Ghaghara river, a tributary of the Ganga, which could have flowed out of the Mansarovar lake. Of course, going by geological history before the continental drift, there was a huge Indo-Siwalik river flowing which is believed to have broken into various water systems of the Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra and the lakes with the push of the fold mountain system of the Himalayas. Beyond the science, celebrated Hindu scholars too have never made much of the Mansarovar link, claiming Shiva, being the omniscient one, did not need to be at Mount Kailash to hold Ganga in his locks and could have manifested himself anywhere. They insist that the myth was just a metaphor and Shiva’s dreadlocks could mean the rugged ridges and cliffs of the Himalayas, considering he was perched on Kailash.
Clearly, belief systems are not ruffled by the scientific discovery, which has actually refuted claims by China as well as some foreign scientists that the Ganga did emanate from Mansarovar lake. China has for long been trying to claim supremacy of ownership of headwaters, particularly in the Tibetan plateau, which is considered the water sink of the world. It has been harnessing hydropower through dams and manipulating catchment areas by re-engineering flow patterns. Climate surveys project that major rivers running off the Himalayas, after increasing flows as glaciers melt, could lose 10-20 per cent of their flow by 2050, thereby resulting in water wars. Half of India’s water is linked to China, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra in particular. Adding Ganga to that list would have given it an edge in its water diplomacy, had it been linked to the Mansarovar lake located in Tibet. Over the last few years, China has been increasing control over cross-border water resources and hoping to use this precious resource of the earth in its negotiations with riparian neighbours. Diplomacy apart, what we indeed should worry about is that Gaumukh, which has developed cracks, and the Gangotri glacier, which is receding steadily, may end up drying out the river. Oxygen levels are already dipping downstream because of the pollutant overload and if we indeed want to renew our faith in our lifeline, we need to clean up and save it first.