Ladenge, Jeetenge! Narmada Bachao Andolan at 25
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The Narmada Bachao Andolan movement is 25 years old. What started as a struggle in the Narmada valley has spread to every corner of the country and changed the definition of development, reports Kathyayini Chamaraj from the commemorative events that began on October 22 at Dhadgaon and concluded in Badwani on October 26
Cries of “Ladenge! Jeetenge!”, in at least 10 languages, reverberated through the Narmada valley recently at a commemorative event marking 25 years of the Narmada Bachao Andolan struggle.
It has been a memorable quarter-century since the Andolan ushered in a new epoch in the history of independent India. Contrary to the popular view that it is anti-development, the movement demands equitable and sustainable development, justice and proper rehabilitation for those displaced by huge projects. It has exposed the fake claims of rehabilitation, rampant corruption, and non-compliance with environmental and other laws. As official estimates themselves state, the project costs have far outstripped the claimed benefits, with just 10% of benefits being attained at a 10-times cost increase. Reports by expert committees recommend that all project work should be halted until full compliance is ensured.
We get off the train at Manmad, Maharashtra, with its curiously shaped hills, and travel overnight over the misty Satpura range, literally ‘cattle-class’, sitting cross-legged in trucks. We reach Dhadgaon in time for a rally and a public meeting. Then, it’s a short trip to the river bank at Belgaon where we board boats for a full-moon night ride on the serene and stately Narmada, flanked by hills on either side. We spend the night under the stars at the tribal village of Kakrana, and catch the sunrise over the Narmada. After a wash in the river, a tribal lady gives us sizzling cups of sweet black tea. It is another ride now in the ‘cattle-truck’ to Koteshwar for a stopover. Is there a place we can bathe? “Go take a dip in the river. That’s what everyone does here,” we are told. After a dip in the Narmada and a visit to the temple dedicated to the Goddess Narmada, it’s time for lunch. Everywhere, the ownership of the tribals of the event is evident as they offer up their homes and cook collectively for the more than 300 guests from all over India.
The guests get a taste of the hard life of the tribals, but experience their warmth. It is now a short haul to Badwani for another rally and public meeting.
There are leaders from across the country who have been spearheading similar struggles of farmers, landless peasants and tribals to protect their homes, lands, forests and riversagainst giant companies -- in Jharkhand, Niyamgiri in Orissa, Plachimada in Kerala, Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal, Khanjaulla in Delhi, Sompeta in Andhra Pradesh and others. The gathering highlighted the fact that what started in the Narmada valley as an impossible fight against forces as mighty as the World Bank has spread to every corner of the country, meeting with increasing success as several companies have had to withdraw from their projects. As Medha Patkar said: “It has not been a struggle only about increasing or decreasing a few feet of the dam. Those in power have failed to understand the struggle as one for humanism.”
For 25 years, for tribals and local people like Vimal Bhai, Shantabai Mokati, Kamala Yadav, Punya Wasave, Kailash Awasya, Gokhru Mangal and others: “Life has been a struggle and the struggle itself has become life.” Their stories of courage, commitment and sacrifice have been captured in a book, Plural Narratives from Narmada Valley, which was released on the occasion.
Swami Agnivesh stated that the current legislature and Parliament were “looters and criminals” who no longer represented the people and their aspirations; that people had no faith in these institutions and that there was a need to create alternative institutions.
Indeed, the gap between the needs and concerns of the people and the antics and preoccupations of politicians cannot be wider than it is now. It was acknowledged that the true heroes of independent India are the tribals and others of the Narmada valley who have upheld democracy and continued on the peaceful and non-violent Gandhian path of hunger strikes and jal samarpan, while those who claim to follow in Gandhi’s footsteps have long ago strayed from the path. The Andolan’s non-violence has been deeply spiritual as it has remained non-violent despite the violence unleashed against it and despite the violence being perpetrated by others around the country fighting similarly in the name of justice. And yet, the irony is that in the land of Gandhi the government pays no heed when peaceful means are used; it listens only when violent means are employed.
Another important aspect highlighted was the preoccupation of religious leaders with the issue of ‘masjid and mandir’, and their silence on the social injustice and environmental destruction happening all around the country in the name of development.
B D Sharma, former commissioner for SC/STs, and the first to file a case in court that what was happening in the Narmada valley was a violation of the Constitution, said that the tribals had shown tremendous courage and true sacrifice. Many of them had refused to take compensation money despite their lands having been submerged, on grounds that the land was their mother and that it could not be sold. This is in strong contrast to the ‘casino capitalism’ and daily gambling in land that our leaders and corporations are indulging in.
The final resolution at the gathering was that the way out of the mess was “people’s grassroots democracy that allows scope for people to participate directly and empower themselves”. The movement needed to organise jan sansads (people’s parliaments) in various parts of the country.
A jan sansad can be constituted by up to 400-500 people, 75% of whom can be chosen by consensus or elected by struggling, exploited and disadvantaged people, especially in areas threatened by projects causing resource loss and displacement. Elections can ideally be through the gram sabha or mohalla sabha. The remaining 25% can be activists, concerned citizens, and experts in various fields.
The mandate of the jan sansad would be to deal with decision-making on all development projects or processes of local planning, implementation and monitoring. Projects can either be resisted or approved. The jan sansad, after due deliberation, would evolve a collective view on issues that need to be acted upon by local representatives.
Faith in the success of people’s movements to bring about a change in the current paradigm of development and governance in India was expressed by Dayamani Barla, the fiery activist-journalist from Jharkhand: “Just as the Narmada begins as a small stream and becomes a flood before reaching the sea, the struggles from the various corners of the country will merge and become a force that the government cannot ignore.” There was also the assertion that the struggle would go on “as long as the Narmada flows”.
It was recognised that, in the history of the world, 25 years was a short time and that these events often appeared insignificant. But after 200-300 years, the importance of these struggles would be recognised and history would record them as landmarks that changed India’s destiny. As activist Kavita Srivastav said: “The NBA has changed the definition of development. But it is futile to try to convince the elite of the country about this. We may not have won yet, but we have come a long way.”
Vinay and Charul Mahajan put it a little more poetically:
”Mere sapnon ko jaanne ka huk re
kyun sadiyon se toot rahe hai
inhe sajne ka naam nahin.”
(“My dreams have a right to know why they have been shattering for years, and there’s no effort to fulfil them.”)
(Kathyayini Chamaraj is a freelance journalist based in Bangalore who has been writing for over 20 years on development issues for Deccan Herald, The Hindu, India Together, etc. She is also Executive Trustee of CIVIC, Bangalore)
Infochange News & Features, November 2010