Binayak Sen gets bail.. finally....

It's taken 2 long years... May 14th 2007 was when he was arrested on various trumped up charges...

The slothful system that passes off for a judicial finally realizes that 2 years is long enough!!!

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200905251707.htm

Medha Patkar's Talk at Emory Univ, Atlanta, on March 22nd, 2009

Hard-hitting and pulling no punches, Medha Patkar stays true to her reputation and launches a scathing attack on the concept of big dams and even bigger development, the SEZ model, the need for a space to protest and raise the inconvenient questions.

Part -1

Part -2

P.S - FYI, these videos were recorded by the AID Atlanta chapter folks. 

Some insights garnered during an unforgettable afternoon with Medha Patkar in Atlanta.. (March 21st, 2009)..

I was in Atlanta this past weekend, where Medha Patkar gave a talk at the Emory University. Us AID vols also had the fantastic opportunity of interacting with her in a informal discussion for 2-3 hrs on Saturday afternoon.( we were at least 15 of us). Her passion and courage was there for all to see and inspiration was never in short supply. I did record most of her official talk at Emory, but I need to do some post-processing ( :D ) before uploading it somewhere. Hope to do that sometime this weekend. 

The following is some excerpts from that discussion. In most cases, I have written her opinions or at least my interpretation of her opinions.  Also, this is not a structured write-up and this is also not about the Narmada issue. Basically it's just a bunch of points put together in a fairly easy-to-read manner.

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Question from us- . Can a truly non-violent movement survive and achieve their goals? Won't the moderates get silenced easily?

Ans from Medhaji-  Only if the movement is truly mass-based. Needs an enormous base for it be a successful non-violent struggle. Unfortunately, quite a few Indian movements have a much bigger international support base as compared to a national support base. More national, provincial and local support is very essential to raise an issue and get it to reach the "powers that may be".

Q. What role do NGOs play in the current scenario (vis-a-vis development, activism etc)?

A. NGO's typically divided into 4 kinds:

1. Big and well-established (also read "pro-establishment") - Typically work on projects that help them garner the goodwill of people, well reputed, get a lot of funding from the govt and from corporates., do not get into activism-related issues, get invited by the govt to sit on committees forming policy and regulations, generall do not play a part in progressive legislations and prefer the status quo.

2. Funding agencies getting into field-work - Agencies which primarily used to fund small NGOs who would be working at the grass-roots level have started getting involved in field work. Has a created an uncomfortable situation where the person with the funds is the one deciding the "what-how-why"s of any project. 

3. Smaller NGOs working on a mix of projects and activism-related issues - Generally not afraid to get involved in activism too, but band-width, presence and funding is limited.

4. People's movements - Mass-based movements that struggle towards a certain cause. Activistic in nature. Most of these movements are very low on funds, but the high energy and enthusiasm of volunteers keep it going. 

                                Medhaji..... 

Some thoughts on the current development paradigm...

Role of the State - State is transferring the responsibilities to private interests. Rather than giving money, indispensable resouorces such as land, water are being given away to profit-driver interests. Instruments of low used for such things are typically a legacy of the British Raj, with some post-1947 amendments only making the situation worse. ( Example - Land Acquisition Act, 1894).

Nowadays, govt's onslaught is no longer obvious or  crude or extra-judiciary. It functions in perfectly legal ways. The basis for this is the law-building process, when various violations are legislated into place eg - SEZ act and amendments to the Land Acquisition Act) Thus, in the law-abiding phase ( the phase once these legislations are passed), any protests from victims become  violations of low. This form of legal framework goes against the constitutional framework for basic human rights. It also enables the killing of rural communities that have existed for generations. The costs/benefots analyses are typically done - but for whose benefit?

- This in short is today's living problem.

Role of private interests - Corporates also do not employ crude attacks on protestors. Initiate dialogues which are however imbued with false promises.More often than not, these natural resources are on sale without the original owner being anywhere in the picture. In most cases, corporates and real estate builders get the precise land chunks that they want, at ludicrous prices. Case in point being the current Bombay skyline, being heavily influenced by the mushrooming of skyscrapers in illegally procured land ( sometime as cheap of Re. 1 / acre). The upper ceiling ( for buying real estate) that used to be present, has all but vanished in most states, thus paving the way for even more such gross violations. Contrast this with the case where a group of organizations ( Medhaji was a part of it) tried to get 50 acres of land for a 50 yr lease period, at Rs. 40/acre - the file is stuck at some govt. office and is very slow to move.

 

With a poster displaying some of the ill-gotten chunks of the Mumbai skyline...

Compensation and Resettlement - Is a big sham in many cases. Rampant corruption has been unearthed in cases of financial compensation, to the tunes of many, many crores. Investigations are still going on.

W.r.t resettlement, many a time, govt. land is being sold as private sold. Your own land might be sold as many as 8 times, without you coming to know if it at all. Such is the sorry state of resettlement measures.

 

An animated Medhaji driving home a point rather forcefully...

Judiciary - In the current scenario, even some parts of the judiciary have gotten influenced by the corporate view of development, thus skewing judgements and swaying away from the famed neutrality. 

Globalization needs to be used to solve common international problems and not just for the increase of profits of a select few. Need to make the UN relevant and potent. Need to make international pressure work. Need to ask questions to the corporate head-honchos when they travel to the U.S. Also, corporates like Coca-Cola and Dow have to be questioned more in the U.S for their roles abroad.

Most poignant moment for me (Karthik) : The govt. had made faulty estimates about the Narmada submergence area, grossly underestimating the extent of future damage. A striking example: The small, yet efficient hydel project in Bhilgaon that was setup with the help of AID ( the Swades project) and which presented a fitting riposte to the grandiose, yet inefficient Sardar Sarovar dam, has now been completely destroyed. Submerged. :( 

 

                     Engrossed listeners.....

Final words - Medhaji quoted MLK Jr ( born in Atlanta )

" Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals"