When she is not travelling, Medha Patkar stays at Narmada Ashish, the headquarters of the Narmada Bachao Andolan at Badwani in Madhya Pradesh. In an interview with THE WEEK, she talks about why the movement is still relevant. Excerpts:
The movement has completed 31 years. Has it achieved something?
No doubt, we have achieved something.... Otherwise development was bulldozed into the valley. It was taken for granted that people, like natural resources-based communities or rural labour, need not be given any share in the development benefits. Not even be rehabilitated.
Could you elaborate on the achievements?
In the entire Narmada valley, there was a serious neglect of environmental issues. The development projects per se were accepted by all quarters. It was necessary to raise appropriate questions, starting with what is development and its concept and paradigm, and the democratic process that should go into it.
Have you abandoned the original issue, of rehabilitating the affected families, and taken up new ones?
See, we have not left something and gone into something else. Our position has always been the same. Although we are resourceless, everything we have is in kind. But we have never said no to any major issues related to the valley. So when the issue of sand mining came up, we went to the National Green Tribunal.
Most of the dams are built. What are you struggling against now?
In the project, they said that water is for irrigation. Now, all the water from the reservoirs is going to the industries instead of farmers.
The youngsters don’t seem to be interested in the movement.
There are so many youngsters working in our offices. It is the youth who becomes the force of our rallies when we protest in Delhi and Bhopal. However, it is true that careerism has taken its toll on social activism.
Has it reached the fatigue phase?
We have to think about our strategies. Every phase, you cannot have the same story. Every time you cannot fast; you have to change. Even Gandhiji had to change his strategy against the British. We need to take into account the readiness of the people and the state’s response. There is no point in approaching governments that don’t talk.
Many activists have entered politics. Has it impacted the NBA?
All those who were associated with the movement are in various social fields. But they keep in touch with us.
What is the future of the movement?
The constructive part of the movement should have been expanded more. We built jeevanshalas for children. We also got some fishing rights and formed five cooperatives. However, we could have expanded the organic farming and set up small-scale industries. Through struggle we have achieved mobilisation of masses, but we could not change the paradigm.
