Direct Action in India

Yesterday (6th September 2002), more than 800 adivasis, peasants, women and
children of Nimad region (affected by the Sardar Sarovar project) blocked
all traffic on the State Highway 26 (connecting Khandwa {M.P.} to Baroda
{Guj}) at village Chikhalda for the entire day. This was done to protest
the illegal and inhuman submergence of the adivasi regions, imminent
submergence of Nimad and the pathetic and untruthful attitude of the
Digvijay Singh. At the end of the day the people demanded that the
Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) of tehsil Kukshi face the people and
receive a memorandum for Digvijay Singh. The people of village Chikhalda,
which is affected at the present dam height (95m), also blocked all lanes
and by-lanes of the village preventing any traffic flow from either side
also protesting the untruthful claims of Digvijay Singh and NVDA that their
village was resettled.

It would be recalled that submergence, first between 20th and 21st August
and then between 2nd and 3rd September, has caused large-scale devastation
in the adivasi regions. The 100% adivasi villages of Maharashtra, Gujarat
and Alirajpur tehsil villages in Madhya Pradesh have faced unprecedented
devastation as raging waters submerged their houses and lands, destroyed
their crops and in one case swept away livestock. The submergence of
agricultural lands means total loss of crops. This will have yearlong
impact on the adivasis since the adivasis practice one-crop rain-fed
agriculture, implying that they will be without any food grains for the
entire year. This submergence and the losses suffered yet again prove that
the rehabilitation of these families has not been completed. It exposes the
lies of the Governments in claiming that resettlement has been completed.

The daylong chakka jam was an expression of the anger experienced by the
people at the illegal means being adopted to evict them from their lands
and houses. Representatives from every village participated and spoke with
brave gusto against Digvijay Singh's oppressive and hypocritical practices.
On one hand he talks of Dalit Agenda, broadly about the uplifting of
oppressed people, while on the other, he has actively participated and
sanctioned the submergence of the adivasi villages even when they have not
been resettled. Then he has the audacity to claim that they have encroached
on Government land. Smt Sajjanbai of village Pipri challenged the chief
minister to come to the Valley and utter these words. Shri Jagdish Patel of
village Kadmal, warned the chief minister that if things do not change he
would have to face the consequences in the coming elections in the State.

Late in the evening the SDM had to face the people and accept the
memorandum for the chief minister. While handing over the memorandum Shri
Ashish Mandloi warned the administration that there is still time for
Government to change its present policies failing which it would have to
contend with a very angry Nimad capable of any form of resistance.



Sukumar M.K. Clifton D' Rozario Rakesh
Khanna Vinod Patwa