Save Narmada Movement

The Save Narmada Movement (Narmada Bachao Andolan) is a non-governmental organization dedicated to simultaneously stopping the destruction of indigenous peoples' land through the construction of superdams and to ensuring that any benefits from the construction of such projects are distributed equitably among the people of the affected region. During its 20-year history, it has moved from being a local movement opposed to a single project to becoming an integral part of the “fourth world,” or indigenous peoples' movement.

The Narmada Dam Project, which lies on the Narmada River in Gujarat, India, involves the construction of two superdams, Sardar Sarovar and Narmada Sagar. The project was originally conceived by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961; however, the plan was not approved by the Indian and Madhya Pradeshi governments until 1979. That plan involved the construction of two dams more than 130 meters high, and the displacement and relocation of up to 300,000 indigenous peoples living along the Narmada River. Once a US$450 million loan was secured from the World Bank, the project was set to move ahead in 1987, after the Narmada Waters Dispute Tribunal approved a relocation and rehabilitation plan for the estimated 207,500 affected people in the area to be submerged.

With the approval of the dam project in 1979, a number of local NGOs coalesced to form Narmada Bachao Andolan. This organization was fronted by Baba Amte and Medha Patkar, a social scientist on the faculty of the Tata Institute for Social Sciences, who left her post and became immersed in the indigenous communities of the Narmada. The movement began a series of legal challenges to the project in Madhya Pradeshi and Indian courts, and eventually took their case to U.N. agencies, including the International Labour Organization and the World Commission on Dams, on which Patkar served as a commissioner. While the project moved forward in India, these legal cases found that the development of the project violated basic notions of human rights, including the right to be consulted on and participate in the creation of development projects.

Patkar has been the most prominent activist face of Narmada Bachao Andolan, regularly engaging in both public protests and private hunger strikes to publicize her struggle. Patkar and other members of the movement have relied heavily on Gandhian satyagraha (nonviolent resistance) tactics for the activist branch of the movement. She has also taken the unique approach of becoming involved in the very international organizations, such as the World Commission on Dams, which could potentially negatively impact on her struggle. However, other famous figures, such as the novelist Arundhati Roy, have also come out on the side of Narmada Bachao Andolan, helping to broaden the audience of potential supporters for this resistance movement.

In 1984, a member of Oxfam U.K. became involved in Narmada Bachao Andolan, helping to internationalize the movement. By organizing a variety of conferences to present issues related to the struggles of indigenous peoples, as well as creating networks for the transnational conveyance of information about issues facing indigenous peoples, the newly internationalized movement paved the way for such movements as the Zapatista National Liberation [Page 1268]Movement (EZLN) and the World Social Forum. Movements such as these have taken on a multilevel approach to resisting the arbitrary use of power, organizing people at the local level, struggling within national legal frameworks, and relying on international organizations such as the United Nations and generally accepted notions of human rights to work to achieve their goals.

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