Medha Patkar

Baba Amte, the Inspiring Gardener

An Ambdedkarite by philosophy and a Gandhian by his political actions, Baba devoted his life to antyodaya – uplifting the most oppressed.

“I am not a sadhubaba,” Baba Amte always made it a point to assert. An Ambdedkarite by philosophy and a Gandhian by his political actions, Baba devoted his life to antyodaya – uplifting the most oppressed. Baba was a nickname from childhood, and Muralidhar Devidas Amte wore his religion lightly. He would often tell his followers and admirers that he was neither a saintly person nor a pretentious monk. He didn’t pray or plead, certainly not before any court of power. Baba was an advocate by profession till he began a path of advocacy.

“Charity destroys, work builds,” was Baba’s credo. His was a mission to motivate, rejuvenate and empower. He planted a seed each at Anandvan, a centre for leprosy patients, and at Hemalkas and Ashokvan, centres for tribals, that grew into trees, tall and rooted. Anyone who has visited these places would see in their working the very rare combination of a fantastic visionary and a great activist.

Everyone at these centres was inspired when Baba worked with his hands in the soil, when he built structures and planted trees. He often likened his mission to that of the gardener’s or farmer’s – creating an organic farm or a green cover over barren land. He continued to spread his message even when confined to his bed in the last few years of his life. A Marathi poem which Baba often recited captured his indomitable person, rather aptly – “Shrunkjala Payi Ashaley, Me gatiche geet gai (Let there be shackles on my feet, I still sing the song of progress).” But Baba was no poet, and his vision was not utopic. Prosperity for him meant the nurture of both human and natural resources. Nature for him was a companion, not a commodity or a tourist’s abode. He was a soldier of conscience, in his own words.

Also Read: Gadchiroli Ground Zero: The Adivasi Struggle Against ‘Development’ That Displaces

Baba moved out of his ashram to violence-hit Punjab, the dam-hit Narmada valley and to communal riots-affected bastis in Mumbai. When he moved, he was not alone. Thousands of youth joined him on his Bharat Jodo movements from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in 1985 and Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh in 1988. The movements were his ways of inspiring people towards a casteless, secular and integrated India. They were also borne out of a deep-rooted belief in the essential unity of humankind.

But Baba was not just a moral supporter of struggling farmers and labourers. In March, 1989, he brought his vision of alternative politics and economy to the Narmada valley. He could see through the politics of profit over people. In spite of being treated as a celebrity and feted, both nationally and internationally, he stayed within the battleground with his uncompromising vision. His dialogues with chief ministers exemplified his understanding of Indian democracy: the chief minister had to be engaged with because he was a mass leader. He was always for influencing politics and draw strategies for alliances. He knew that the liberalised economy and corporatised polity had to be taken on at several fronts. But while he was ready to engage with the powers that be, Baba never swayed from his commitment to ecologically sustainable ways of life and livelihoods. He returned his awards when he was challenged by the state on the Narmada front.

His uncompromising attitude sometimes lost him supporters. But his opposition to big dams was unwavering; at Bhopalapatnam, Ichampally, and in the Narmada valley. While his wife Sadhanatai stood by him all through his tumultuous life, he inspired his sons Vikas and Prakash along with their wives, all of whom are medical graduates, to take to selfless service. Baba has also left behind empowered activists whom he inspired through a unique series of youth camps. We in India are often guilty of eulogising people, but it can be said without doubt that Baba exemplified the humanitarian politics of Gandhiji.

Medha Patkar is with the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the National Alliance of People’s Movements.

This article first appeared on DownToEarth. Read the original article here.

Statue of Unity: An Open Letter to Sardar Patel by Medha Patkar

Your generation was aware of two vices – corruption and communalism. The spirit behind your then sermons is needed today.

Respected Sardar Patelji, Namaskar!

Wherever you may be, as our leader of the Freedom Movement, your soul, I know, rests here on the motherland whose beloved son you have always been. Your act of freeing India from the shackles of royal states and estates and of freeing the farmers from the oppressive tax laws of the British regime is unprecedented even to this day. As the first home minister of the first government of Independent India, your firm, non-communal and social approach to the unparalleled violence and the relief work thereafter, was appreciated by none else than Mahatmaji as unique, despite the controversy created by some.

You stood tall in the historical freedom struggle of India as Sardar. But you know, while throwing your legacy by the way side, a 182 meter-high statue of yours is being unveiled in a few days to be the tallest in the world! Can you imagine who has built your new avatar? Many Chinese and some local Adivasi and national labourers have worked overnight on the ‘Sadhu Bet’, a hillock with Adivasi deity of their faith. You would surely ask, on whose land would this statue stand? Whose plan was this? This land, river, forest that your avatar is going to stand on, belongs to Adivasis. The very same people your government and then leaders, Mahatma to Pandit Nehru recognised as villagers with rights, as republics and offered security through Panchsheel. The forefathers of the Indian Constitution, with Babasaheb at the helm, also granted them right to peace and good government, through the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution and later, the PESA Act towards self-reliance.

You would surely watch from the highland, the scene down into the River Narmada and its banks to the basin wide and far. Your vision will find their huts and hamlets in the hills and hillocks one of which was Varata Bawa Tekri under your feet. Do remember the days when you carried out the operation to integrate the princely states with delicacy and democracy, to make most of them sacrifice voluntarily for unity. By the way, your avatar is also claimed to be for the same goal, unity…yet with the insanity of impinging upon not just their land but also their rights. Would you ever think of using ‘force’ against these simple and least monetised, self-reliant people, as had to be done against the princely state of Junagadh then?

Sardar, these Adivasis also belong to the farming community you recognised as the contributors who feed and need to lead. Today, if only you know the reasons behind their laying life and cuddling death, you would have taken to the same task and struggle, combing villages and fields as in August 1942. But the most shocking for you, who acquired royal properties, dealt with transfers, created ‘privy purses,’ would be to know the ways and means of transferring today the life supporting resources of the very brethren you fought for, receiving acclaim for the social movement you built. Non-cooperation was the non-violent tool you exercised, under the guidance of Bapu then.

Also read: Reconfiguring India’s Nationalism, One Grand Statue at a Time

The same tool is now a weapon in the hands of the Indian rulers, practising neo-colonial ideals. They do not bring in the horses or the Sepoys or take over properties of the rich and the mighty. They take over the very life line: land, water, river, forest and fish of the weak and the marginalised. Could you ever dream of the Indian State – the ICS cadres who you were treated as the ‘Patron Saint’ of, and the cabinet members, you warned against ‘partiality and corruptibility’ and incited against a path of rectitude in your speech on April 21, 1947 – assuming itself to be powerful enough to not only tax farmers but also exploit them through low prices for the produce and extract GST from small traders and evict the market infrastructure of the poor, the hawkers, in the name of huge, gigantic infrastructure? Is your legacy at stake, Sardar? How could they tolerate suicides by lakhs of farmers?

Do please have a look on your left and you will find the six-lane highway running up to 120 km in length parallel to Narmada. Lakhs of trees, more than 100-years-old, within the last year had to make way for this highway. People of Rajpipla, once a princely state that is recorded in history for having defeated Aurangzeb’s forces are compelled to be mute spectators, having no channel to vent their Mann ki Baat.

You, Sardar, once the chairman of the committees responsible for minorities, tribals, excluded areas and fundamental rights must also know that when your avatar will be well lit and decorated, the tribal communities, being repressed and oppressed, are to be thrown into darkness. Their lands, in six villages not even legally acquired, following British law of 1894, but simply taken over, paying a paltry sum of Rs 80 to Rs 200 per acre in 1961, are now being diverted for luxurious hotels named after ‘Shreshtha Bharath’ or Swaminarayan Complex and even a museum with their own remnants.

You, who were successful in recovering the farmlands for the farmers refusing to pay the oppressive tax would come down to support these tribals who are not granted anything as per the new law of 2013, nor are gifted with alternative land but are being made to accept a Rs 7 lakh package which they too are non-cooperating with. You were at the forefront of such a struggle and having threatened to leave Congress, had made your party accept the path of non-violent yet militant battle that led you into jail in 1940 and a solid mass protest in 1942, with shutdown of none less than civil services! With your ability to organise the countrymen as also to face the onslaught of the imperialist forces, you could certainly challenge the present powers, the creators of your avatar, vouching for unity, but practising divide and rule tactics and promoting or allowing brutality, while denying diversity of creed, culture and religion.

Kripalani (L) with Sardar Vallabhai Patel and Manibehn Patel. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

If only you would take a step forward and downward into the valley of Narmada, you would surely be overwhelmed with the simplicity of these nature-based generations-old communities, of Adivasis, farmers and fishworkers. Many of them had already lost their lands as it was acquired by the state for the Dam, again in your name, Sardar Sarovar, without paying them compensation worth a rupee. They too walked in your steps, faced attacks, and were sent to jails. (Jail? You had called it a ‘place for peace’, in 1943, remember?) The government in 2013 issued orders and made promises to give land for land. But ultimately they are being cheated and evicted out of their balance land for tourism! Do please have an eye on these fast track operations around, as only you can stop them from further damage…only you can!

Sardar, the scale and impact of forcible encroachment upon the lives of the communities in this most ancient Narmada civilisation and the valley, can be seen by someone of your stature and perspective. No one can hold your hand today, but you could and would drag the sena/army of bureaucrats out of their villages with your ‘iron hand’ if only you witnessed their might against the toilers’ rights. Will you, our beloved leader, engage the powers that be in a thorough review and reflection? Gone are the days when yourself and Gandhiji had such a discourse on the floor of the jail and evolved a vision of swaraj and self-reliance, of agriculture and village republics. Gone are the days when you valued production by masses to ensure equity in both the economy and the social life.

I feel ashamed to tell you that there was no need to bring in 1,500 Chinese workers here while excluding local adivasis from Gujarat, your own state, many of whom are compelled to migrate and harvest sugarcane, working day and night. I feel shaken to share with you what is being planned and publicised in your name… Shopping malls, five or seven star hotels, luxurious guest houses, helipads, statewise bhavans on the river bank with all its paraphernalia the shops, markets, massive food plaza, food courts, walk ways, travelators and what not. All this when not less than 35,000 families, affected by the Dam in your name since years, are still awaiting full, fair and just rehabilitation. They never marketised Narmada, nor its water. They are damned by the Dam but are most awed and anguished to see their sacrifice being taken as a capital for the tourism industry and as everyone knows, political tourism too. They are sad that the farmers of Gujarat, the progeny of your movements are left high and dry… while the corporates reap huge benefits.

Your contribution to the farmers and vision of India are enshrined with that of Mahatmaji and Nehru in all our memories. You accepted Panditji, and vowed for unity within Congress. The common citizens of this country have no place in this gigantic play today, Sardar. All lights will be on you, the avatar, Sardar, while throwing everything that you practised and preached is intentionally left to the dark recesses of history books and the future of the Adivasis and this country is being sealed with the new paradigm.

Your generation was aware of two vices – corruption and communalism. The spirit behind your then sermons is needed today. Your NO to communalism reflected in your appeal to the religious leaders during communal violence following the partition that was inevitable. Your speeches across India and a letter to Golwalkar Guruji against the Hindu fundamentalist vision of RSS asking them to change and get integrated, is to be read and imbibed by every citizen of the country today. Those who are hiding behind your new Avatar, and marketing you, have never engaged themselves to understand your thoughts and your action to over come violence, to move from monarchies to democracy, from monopoly and hegemony to equity and fraternity. They do not visit the families of those lynched by mobs. They do not respect the resolutions of the adivasis. They do not value agriculture or the agriculturists. But they are staking a claim to your name, Sardar.

They hail the tallness of your Avatar while they are consumed in their own pettiness. Adivasis know all this. Evicted since 1961, the Adivasis can’t take it anymore. No Jaykaras ! No celebrations from them. They mourn, they protest, they condemn and challenge as they know their mother river, not just gods and goddesses but culture and nature, and their very life is threatened again and again. Their forefathers too had fought the British, and with their perseverance had held on to land then. They are in a new freedom struggle, asserting self-determination. They are not a part of this game in your name, worth Rs. 3,500 crores with about 200 crores illegally collected from public enterprises as CSR, as per a CAG report. What is CSR ? That will be for another letter on another day Sardar…

Your avatar shall stand tall, Sardar. In the midst of the river, on the Varata Bawa Tekri. We watch with hope that your Avatar shall watch over and stop all that is unjust, against unity, equity and sustainability. We seek the blessings and support of your iron hand for today and for ever. We look forward to having you there when adivasis raise their voice, amidst festive tourists who will gather on the 31st and everyday, with or without your legacy, but all vows for a new touristocracy. We know you alone will listen to the adi-vasis, their cry halt, inspiring them to fight for their rights and the Mother River’s too !. Narmada appeals to you, Sardar !

With respectful tribute,

Medha Patkar

Politics Over Narmada, Once Again

For those who have fought over the years, it is not just about the dam, but about the violence and the injustice, and the development paradigm debate – development for whom and at what cost – that makes the issue valid even today.

For those who have fought over the years, it is not just about the dam, but about the violence and the injustice, and the development paradigm debate – development for whom and at what cost – that makes the issue valid even today.

Rally in Khandwa in November 2008. Credit: narmada.org

On June 6, in the largest village of Nisarpur, which is facing submergence, a crowd of 7,000 people, largely women, renewed their pledge to neither move out nor permit forcible eviction by the state without complete resettlement and rehabilitation. Such determination is shown by Devram Kanera, an activist with the Narmada Bachao Andolan for last 32 years, but also by Pemal Bai, a woman agricultural labourer, who openly challenges the Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat government’s claims to give them a better life to replace their current environs and culture.

It is no one’s contention that the government will not be able to compensate for the loss of a way of life attached to the river Narmada, and the green cover and fertile black soil of Nimar sustaining the livelihoods of millions. The fact remains that the 40,000 families spread over the 214-kms submergence zone are facing state violence, just as police firing killed eight farmers in Mandsaur over last the few days. The only difference – it is a slow death, living in constant fear of being submerged and evicted. They have put their lives on hold for years now.

That’s the situation we are in today. The resettlement sites remain incomplete, while those completed on paper lack even the most basic amenities like water, electricity and sewage lines. There is no official clarity on the number of affected families since their numbers keep varying. In their most recent notification, dated May 25, 18,346 families have to vacate their homes and land. However, it needs to be noted that 15,496 families were declared unaffected way back in 2015, based on the back water level calculations done by a technical committee constituted by Narmada Control Authority (NCA).

The calculation done by the NCA was in complete violation of the calculations done by the agency responsible Central Water Commission in 1979, as per the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal. In addition, they also left out a large number of families saying they were temporarily affected and hence had no claim to R&R. This is a game of numbers that the NCA and the Narmada Valley Development Authority are used to playing, and this is something that the Supreme Court recorded in its 2005 judgement.

Our learning from our experience of 32 years of struggle from the local courts to the highest court of the land, and from interactions with several governments in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and at the Centre, is that whenever the authorities have shown political will, progress has been made towards the welfare of the affected families. But such moments have been rare.

Most times, politics was played with the lives of people, most visible when the ‘rally for the valley’ was stopped from entering Gujarat. The rally, which started on June 5, saw the participation of a few hundred supporters, senior activists, environmentalists, scientists, student volunteers and others. It ended with hundreds of them forming a human wall to assert the rights of the people and of the river Narmada.

The incident at the Gujarat border and the statement of the deputy chief minister only reminded us of the old days, when we faced unprecedented police brutality and hostility, and a politically motivated campaign by the parties in power. Unfortunately for them, the reality is very different today. The Narmada Bachao Andolan now has the support of Gujaratis, as a large number of people from Gujarat were part of the rally.

Our every prediction, from water utilisation and costs to the dam to its intended benefits, have come true. The canal network in Gujarat remains at less than 50%. Water meant for Kutch has been diverted to the Sabarmati river front and other cities; water has been snatched from farmers and given to the automobile industry, coca cola distilleries and other factories. The project affected families resettled in Gujarat have been out on the streets for the last one year demanding basic facilities at the rehabilitation sites.

Today, Gujarat has become a garrison state, with activists regularly being detained for 24 hours, before protests take place. This is what happened on June 7 when at the Kevadia colony, the oustees who wanted to meet us, had planned a public meeting. Till today, Lakhan Musafir, an activist with Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, remains illegally confined in Rajpipla sub-jail. He was picked up on June 6. This is an experience that has been shared widely by farmers and workers fighting state oppression in Gujarat – be it Mithi Virdi against the nuclear plant; or farmers opposing land grab in Dholera, or for special investment regions and industrial corridors; or Jignesh Mevani demanding land rights for Dalits.

As the elections approach in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, politics over the dam is going to get murkier. Today, our only demand is complete resettlement and rehabilitation for the people affected by the dam, but this is being hyped up as impacting the interests of Gujarat and its people.

The fact is, the government of the day is hurting the interests of the people, since it is a government that only cares for the interests of the Ambanis and Adanis. Its only interest is grabbing power at any cost, otherwise what justifies sanctioning Rs 3,000 crore for a Sardar Patel statue next to the dam site, violating environmental and other guidelines. The amount is nearly equal to what is required for the effective resettlement and rehabilitation of all people affected by the dam.

We can only infer that the completion of the Sardar Sarovar dam and the statue of Sardar Sarovar portray the fulfilling of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream, just before the Gujarat elections. So the elections can be fought over the grand achievement exhibited by the completion of the 38-year-old damn project, once the gates are closed and the dam reaches its full height of 138.68 metres.

For those of us who have fought over the years, it is not just about the dam, but about the violence and injustice, and the development paradigm debate, that makes the issue valid even today, when we face climate and civilisational crises. Development for whom? At what cost? And how?

Unless all of us rise above politics, the poorest of the poor will continue to remain outside the ambit of the fruits of development. Our struggle continues in a non-violent, democratic way – for justice, peace and freedom.

Medha Patkar is with the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the National Alliance of People’s Movements.