A film that explores the struggle of the people of the Narmada Valley against the big dams that threaten to submerge their lands and displace them from their homes, traditions and cultures

A documentary by Sanjay Kak
85 mins, English subtitles, 2002

Kak’s new film joins the growing filmic documentation of the struggle of the people of the Narmada Valley against the big dams that threaten to submerge their lands, displace them from their homes and slowly but surely, cut them off from their traditions and their cultures.

Since the 1950s, when Prime Minister Nehru declared big dams to be the ‘temples of modern India’ the Indian government has held a uni-dimensional stand on this mode of ‘development’. However, non-violent resistance has a long history in the sub-continent. As early as the 1920s Senapati Bapat led a similar movement against the construction of the Mulshi dam near Pune that submerged villages and displaced peoples.

The centre of the film is the Narmada Bachao Andolan and its dedication to non-violent and democratic means of resistance. The tireless efforts of the activists and the Indian government’s growing impatience with these (completely peaceful and legal) protests are the opposing poles that give the film its internal dynamic.

One of the most ironic sequences in the film is when the protestors are in New Delhi, hoping to meet the head of the World Bank. Fearing that the ‘mob’ may get unruly, the police turns a water cannon onto the demonstration, releasing water under pressure onto the very peoples who have come there to demand their right to control their own water.

Kak’s rhetorical commentary is aggressive and minces no words, but it works powerfully to make explicit the connections between the movement of global capital, the collusion of national governments and the exploitation of indigenous and marginalised peoples. For those who have been following this vibrant movement and its steady growth as a symbol of non-violent resistance as well as a symbol of grassroots protest against globalisation, there is nothing new in Words on Water. But for those who are fuzzy about the facts, the film encapsulates them and their consequences with eloquence and conviction.

The Indian Supreme Court recently lifted the stay on the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam, allowing the project to continue with impunity. The question that the movement and all that it stands for now faces is “What next? What now?” While the film does not answer these questions, the discussion it generates will, perhaps, indicate the way forward.

For more information, contact: Sanjay Kak
C4/4048 Vasant Kunj,
New Delhi 110 070.
India.
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