Apprehensive of the possibility of the British completely damming the flow of Ganga
at Bhimgauda in Haridwar, Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya set up the Ganga Mahasabha
in 1905. Due to Mahamana’s efforts a massive public protest arose against the damming
of Mother Ganga and the British government had to buckle under the pressure. In
1916 an agreement was entered into with the British government that:
1. In future, the unchecked flow of Ganga will never be stopped. (the 1916 Agreement,
clause 32, para-I)
2. No decision on Ganga will be taken without the consent of the Hindu community.
(the 1916 Agreement, clause 32, para-2)
Under Mahamana’s leadership the-then Indian princes and Lala Sukhbir Singh, the
general secretary of Hindu Mahasabha, signed this agreement. This agreement is even
today preserved under section 363 of the Indian Constitution, but something that
the British government could not do has been done by the governments of free India.
Violating this agreement, Mother Ganga has been completely imprisoned in various
dams including the Tehri dam. Compared to 1916 the present crisis is extremely grave
because today due to pollution, encroachment, global warming and commercialization
the very existence of Mother Ganga has come under question. Therefore in 2005 the
Ganga Mahasabha was restructured. After the restructuring Ganga Mahasabha has been
playing the leading role in coordinating mass movements, public awareness campaigns
and various other efforts to protect Mother Ganga.