Lesser known history of struggle against Sardar Sarovar dam, as told by two Adivasi leaders

By Nandini Oza*
‘LaDha Narmadecha’, my book in Marathi, is based on the oral history of two senior Adivasi leaders of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), Keshavbhau Vasave and Kevalsingh Vasave. It has just been published by Rajhans Prakashan, Pune. This oral history consists of long interviews with the senior activists.
The oral history of Keshavbhau and Kevalsingh deals with the lesser known history of the struggle against the Sardar Sarovar Dam Project (SSP) that is to displace/submerge 245 villages on the banks of the mighty river Narmada in the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Thousands of other people are being affected as a result of related works like the project colony, canals and the downstream of the dam in the State of Gujarat. Over five lakh people are to be displaced or severely affected by this project in the three States.

The narration by Kevalsingh and Keshavbhau gives insight into one of the most powerful movements of the country against one of the most controversial mega dam projects of independent India. It spans over several decades of this struggle to save a river and for life.

One importance of the oral history is that besides the struggle against the mega dam, Keshavbhau and Kevalsingh share their own lives as the senior activists of the Narmada Bachao Andolan. They talk about their community, culture, traditions, beliefs, sustainable livelihood they once practiced on the banks of the Narmada and challenges there in.

They talk about the impact the dam has had on their lives, the trauma of displacement and the life in the resettlement sites post submergence of their villages in the dam waters. They reflect on their struggle against destructive development that has gone on for many years now as well as the future challenges.

One reason for bringing out the oral history of Keshavbhau and Kevalsingh at this juncture is that their struggle against their personal as well as collective dispossession is still very much on. Attention needs to be drawn and support needs to be given to them in every possible way so that the serious pending issues of those already displaced by the SSP are taken up urgently and earnestly towards some resolution.
Furthermore while Dalit literature/ biographies/ autobiographies are available, there is not enough of such work as far as Adivasi leaders and their contemporary struggles are concerned as narrated by them. Hence it is important to bring to the fore the struggle of people in the Narmada valley from which lessons can be drawn by future struggles for equality, justice and sustainable development.

This is particularly necessary when we as a nation march ahead ruthlessly with the slogan of “development”. The oral history of Keshavbhau and Kevalsingh reminds us what “development” means to the Adivasi, indigenous, and farming communities of our country. And what is it that they believe constitutes development. It also reminds us that beautiful and flowing rivers across the country are being irreversibly destroyed by building dams and more dams.
“LaDha Narmadecha” gives insight into all of this and much more by sharing the enduring struggle of the people of the Narmada Valley against the destructive Sardar Sarovar Dam and to save from its shackles the revered river Narmada.
---
*Independent researcher and activist, formerly with the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Blog: http://nandinikoza.blogspot.in/

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Subject to geological upheaval, the time to listen to the Himalayas has already passed

By Rajkumar Sinha* The people of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, who have somehow survived the onslaught of reckless development so far, are crying out in despair that within the next ten to fifteen years their very existence will vanish. If one carefully follows the news coming from these two Himalayan states these days, this painful cry does not appear exaggerated. How did these prosperous and peaceful states reach such a tragic condition? What feats of our policymakers and politicians pushed these states to the brink of destruction?

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

'Centre criminally negligent': SKM demands national disaster declaration in flood-hit states

By A Representative The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has urged the Centre to immediately declare the recent floods and landslides in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Haryana as a national disaster, warning that the delay in doing so has deepened the suffering of the affected population.

Counterview

Search This Blog