THE NARMADA VALLEY

                  IN THE VALLEY OF THE VOICELESS

     Narmada is the great Indian river that flows 1,312 kms through the heart of the subcontinent, dividing the northern country from the southern peninsula. From time immemorial, it has served as a religious destination where pilgrims head to wash their sins in its sacred waters. But in the more recent past, the mystic nature of the river has been shrouded by sociological and environmental concerns of the most serious nature.

      The late 1980's mark the beginning of the nightmare for the river valley folk. The Government Authorities raised the curtains on the Narmada Valley Development Plan, proposing a series of dams - 30 big dams, 135 medium dams and 3000 small dams - across the length of the river Narmada and its tributaries. Apart from drastically disturbing the ecosystem and the wildlife therein, millions of people whose lives were built around the river and its lush forests were displaced and left destitute without home and occupation. Despite grave warnings and negative reports mid-way from various commissions, including the Morse team deputed by the World Bank, the Government went ahead with the dam building to serve its own capitalist interests. The end result was that its promises of resettling villagers, providing drinking water and irrigation resources proved to be empty mirages for the most part. The damages wreaked grew to giant proportions while the benefits in comparison were puny midgets that did little to justify their own existence.

     It did not help matters that the villagers ejected from their traditional settlements were mostly tribal and Dalit folk, inconversant with the ways of bureaucracy and organized dissent. Leading the protest movement in their cause through a slew of non-violent demonstrations is noted activist group Narmada Bachao Andolan(NBA), whose founder Medha Patkar has conducted many an indefinite hunger strike to bring their cause to justice.

     A detailed record of the facts and figures involved are available in Arundhati Roy's monumental piece No Greater Good, where the hidden truths of the injustices endured by the Narmada Valley people are exposed to public scrutiny. The photographs were taken in the year 2004 across the valleys of Narmada.

Text: Shivashakthi