THE FUND FOR PEACE GLOBALIZATION & HUMAN RIGHTS SERIES OLD GAME NEW RULES: HOW LINKAGES BETWEEN LOCAL AND GLOBAL INTEREST GROUPS PUT PRESSURE ON THE STATE
This paper examines the construction of large dams on the River Narmada in central India, and its impact on people living in the river valley. The paper discusses how the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), or Save Narmada Movement, marked a watershed in the history of the development of Social Movement Organizations in India, and illustrates how globalization of local movements can empower typically marginalized minority groups, changing the dynamic of inter- and intra-national relations. Introduction Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the explosion of telecommunications technologies, the monolithic and unitary characteristics of the nation-state have become somewhat less absolute. Today, multiple, transnational linkages have shifted the traditional dynamic between state and non-state actors, complicating international relations. Within this framework, NGOs with international memberships numbering in the millions have emerged as important actors. 1 This geo-political shift has impacts, both positive and negative, with respect to humanitarian and strategic security interests. One example of this is the internationalization of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), or Save the Narmada Movement, in India. Despite its being a local intra-state movement, it gained an enormous amount of leverage by linking with international environmental NGOs, such as Oxfam, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the International Rivers Network. 2 The engagement of the international organizations had the effect of accentuating local identities, which then gained leverage in negotiations with the state. The mantra of the Narmada Bachao Andolan became Hamara gaon mein hamara raj (Our villages, our rule). Such strong local identities in combination with the environmental NGOs produced a powerful antidevelopment movement in India and a delay in the procurement of the loan needed for the project. 3 Partnerships between local movements and international organizations are not always equal. Sometimes the balance tips one way or the other. Furthermore, the degree of perceived legitimacy of a particular movement depends on the observer s point of view. From one perspective, international organizations can exercise undue influence because of their larger resources and encourage movements supportive of their own agenda. From another, local groups leverage the resources of the international organizations to gain empowerment that they otherwise would not have in intra-state negotiations. Complicating the issue is the fact that even at the local level, interests are not monolithic. 4 In the case of any major development project, there will be winners and losers, raising questions about the appropriateness of a particular engagement. This tension, for better or for worse, is common in the globalized political environment. As Patrick McCully has noted, dam projects are especially conducive to this kind of controversy. By now, no major dam project is launched without encountering regionally and internationally Research Intern Nalanda Roy prepared this paper under the supervision of Nate Haken, Associate at The Fund for Peace, in the Spring of 2008 while a Masters candidate at the University of Toledo. Copyright 2008 by The Fund for Peace. The views expressed herein are the personal views of the author and are not intended to reflect the views of The Fund for Peace or participants in any of its projects.
coordinated resistance by a network of NGOs. 5 In the case of the Narmada River Valley project, this led to the World Bank withdrawing from the loan agreement in 1993, stating that the Indian government had not adequately dealt with the issues surrounding the resettlement of those who would be displaced. Bradford Morse, head of UNDP said, We think the Sardar Sarovar Projects are flawed, that resettlement and rehabilitation of all those displaced by the projects is not possible under prevailing circumstances, and that the environmental impacts of the projects have not been properly considered or adequately addressed. 6 The withdrawal of the World Bank slowed progress on the dam, although work on the project has continued, and the NBA continues to agitate for compensation. Many indigenous people claim that they are losing their land and livelihood due to large dams on the Narmada River. The NBA claims that nearly 35,000 families have not yet been rehabilitated even as their houses and fertile lands are being submerged due to the project. 7 Two hundred thousand people are still residing in the submergence area, as of this writing. In spite of the implementation of the Special Rehabilitation Package (SRP), which consists of land for 11,000 families, 90 resettlement sites, and the right to five acres of land for each affected family, the NBA claims that much remains to be attained. 8 The NBA is demanding: Land-based compensation for the affected families (especially those tribal minorities already affected) The dam should not be built higher than 122 meters The Special Rehabilitation Package should be cancelled Legal action against officials involved in corruption in the compensation process Background The Narmada Valley is a long hill range in the state of Madhya Pradesh and downstream from the border between Gujarat and Maharashtra (see Figure 1). It flows westward into the Arabian Sea. An initial study about a Narmada Valley Development Project" began in 1947, aiming to provide water and electricity for the purpose of development. Since then it has grown to a project comprising 30 large, 135 medium and 3,000 small dams. According to a 1959 plan, the biggest dam was to be the "Sardar Sarovar Project" (SSP), the full-scale construction of which started in 1987. 9 The Narmada Valley Development Plan is one of the world s most ambitious river valley projects in history. Some of the small and medium dams have already been completed (like the Bargi and the Tawa dams). And of the two mega-dams, only the Sardar Sarovar dam is under construction. Nearly 4,800,000 hectares of land in Gujarat provide drinking water to about 40 million people in 5,725 drought-prone villages and towns. The river produces about 1450 MW of electricity. The Gujarat government (the prime beneficiary of the project) argues that the dam would help channel water to the chronically drought-affected villages of Kutch and Saurashtra. The NBA says that the project has already led to the flooding of the valley thereby displacing nearly 400,000 people. Scholars like C.N. Subramanian argue that the project is a losing 2
proposition even from a capitalist point of view in that for every rupee invested in the project, there is a return of 88 paise (or 88 for ever dollar) 10 The non-monetized costs are, arguably, even higher. The reservoir alone will submerge about 600,000 hectares of land, of which more than half is forestland, important for bio-diversity. About 200,000 hectares of agricultural land are expected to be submerged, most of which are in Nimar, a fertile agricultural belt in the country. 11 The Narmada Sagar, upon whose completion the efficiency of the Sardar Sarovar is dependent, will submerge about 91,000 hectares of land, roughly half of it being agricultural land. Narmada River Map Figure 1: Reproduced with kind permission of International Rivers Network In the early 1980s a coalition between local civil society and international NGOs was formed in protest over the displacement of civilians and lack of adequate compensation. International NGOs include International River Networks, Environmental Defense Fund, Friends of the Earth, Amnesty International and Oxfam, which deal with the environment as well as human rights issues. 12 The Sardar Sarovar Dam Protest gained momentum in 1982 with the involvement of John Clark of Oxfam. With his involvement, the movement acquired an international following. He enlisted several environmental organizations, including the ones mentioned above, as well as Friends of the River Narmada. 13 The local movement, with the support of the international coalition of NGOs, was able to spread information throughout the world with hearings, symposiums, and tours. The campaign against the dam allied with other social movements, such as the fish workers movement in Madurai, as well as various organizations working for the rights of Dalits (lower-caste), women s groups, and advocates for ecological sustainability. 14 These movements fought for unorganized labor and were clustered under the umbrella of the National Alliance of People s Movements (NAPM). Most of these groups, which vary in size and capacity, have no direct links with any political parties, though some of them are on good terms with movements of the far left. Others have worked closely with the state administration. Medha Patkar, the leader of the NBA and the NAPM, traveled to the United States and spoke before a Congressional panel on two separate occasions. She raised awareness of the issue by speaking at the International Narmada Tokyo Symposium, hosted by Friends of the Earth in 3
Japan. After the Narmada Tokyo symposium, thousands condemned the project, causing the Japanese government s Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, a principle investor in the dam, to cease all support of the construction of Sardar Sarovar. 15 The NBA is a composite organization and movement, composed of organizations working with the stated purpose of bringing about social change and empowerment of the marginalized. In the early 1980s some NGOs working for the resettlement of the displaced people argued that adequate resettlement was not possible. Tribal people began to organize throughout the region, specifically at the Jhabhua district of Madhya Pradesh and the Dhule district of Maharashtra. A key event in the movement began when Medha Patkar shifted her focus to Nimar district of Madhya Pradesh in 1987 because Nimar was the richest tract to be submerged and had the most developed agriculture. 16 Two years later an estimated 50,000 people reportedly gathered at Harsud, a town that was to be submerged by the Narmada Sagar Dam to protest, and took an oath to prevent the construction of the dams, saying koi nahin hatega: bandh nahin banega! ( No one will move; the dam will not be built! ). This rally was also significant for mobilizing the liberal intelligentsia and the middle class. 17 The popular movement was a major factor in the 1993 withdrawal of the World Bank from one of its major projects in India, forcing the state to suspend the project. This movement was fuelled by those who were displaced: the villagers (rich and poor), the agricultural laborers, and the tribal people. If globalization empowered these typically marginalized people to undermine the designs of the state, it becomes of analytical interest to explore the logistics of how this came about, and what resources they were able to leverage. Sociologists, Mayer Zald and Roberta Garner, believe that for social movements to be successful, they need to control both internal factors and external factors. Internal factors bind groups together from the inside and include such things as shared goals and values. These are necessary for a movement to sustain itself over the long term. Internal factors like large membership, a dynamic leader as well as committed people were necessary for the success of the NBA movement. 18 However, maintaining an internally cohesive movement was difficult in this case because even within the local communities, winners and losers emerged in the process of compensation and resettlement. In the case of the Narmada River valley, the majority of those threatened with submergence were tribal minorities. As with many traditional communities worldwide, the life and culture of these people is inextricably linked to the hills and forests in which they live. To remove them from this environment is to threaten their means of livelihood. Most of the tribes (such as the Bhils and Bhilalas) are dependent on primitive agriculture, gathering forest produce and grazing livestock in the forests. However, because they lack official titles to their ancestral lands, they are effectively disqualified from compensation. In addition to the tribal minorities are the non-minority peasant villagers. Some of these are small-scale farmers, while others are relegated to the position of landless untouchable outcastes. Land compensation by the government has tended to be unequal among them because only those who have legal titles are eligible for compensation. People affected by the dam come from different backgrounds and have different economic interests. This necessitates a very inclusive agenda on the part of the NBA to keep it from 4
breaking apart. Consequently, the movement has had to tread lightly around internally controversial issues. 19 As Subramanian has said: There is no suggestion that the present ills may also be attributable to landlordism, unequal distribution of land, low wages, casteism and the oppression of dalits... In fact, the movement has been remarkably silent on issues that may cause ruptures within the bloc of classes that constitutes it. Considering the need to sustain such a bloc to fight the dam it may not be wrong to be silent on these issues. There have been some strains on the internal consolidation of the movement. Some communities, for instance, have cooperated with the state compensation programs more than others. Those who have not cooperated feel that these communities have sold out to patronage, coercion and corruption. 20 Another strain within the movement is that the mobilization of the working class and their support has been minimal, because there is little or no space for active participation of the industrial working class in the movement. Shared opposition to the dam, however, held the movement together, amidst all the opposing pressures and internal stresses. Because of the support of the middle class and the intelligentsia, the NBA was ultimately able to pressure the World Bank to withdraw its funding. The repeated threat of the leader Medha Patkar to fast until death or to drown herself in the Narmada also seems to have helped rally the intelligentsia and inspire people to join in the movement. 21 Hugh Brody, an independent review team member for the World Bank remarked, The politicians used drought-stricken populations to justify their big dams, despite knowing that the projects can never deliver. 22 Once the World Bank withdrew, the government of India financed the rest of the project itself. But since the government already had $250 million from the World Bank, it was legally obligated towards the Bank to carry out its obligations under the loan agreement. Ultimately, this case illustrates that sustained, broad support does not guarantee the success of a social movement. Despite the World Bank pullout, the Narmada cause has since run into certain obstacles. In 2000, the Indian Supreme Court ruled against the NBA s public litigation lawsuit filed against Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. After six years of deliberation, during which a stay order was issued on the construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam, the court decisively ruled in favor of the project s continuation, thereby allowing construction to proceed. It is an open question whether at the end of the day, the affected population would have been better off with the World Bank s continued involvement and oversight, given that the project has gone forward anyway, notwithstanding the social movement s opposition. All such ironies aside, this case study illustrates the fact that a local movement with the ideal configuration of internal factors can gain leverage by linking into external groups and resources. This flexibility (blurring the line between domestic and international issues) enabled it to thrive in the post-cold War globalized political environment. Perhaps the main reason for the longevity of the NBA is its international recognition. The NBA took off during the late 1980s when the global North-South conflict regarding environmental issues had sharpened. Protecting the environment in the global South became an agenda of international policy in the global 5
North. This led to the recognition and active support of the Narmada cause from governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) abroad. Conclusion In the post-cold War environment, local movements can now link up with foreign NGOs to leverage power in their domestic negotiations. This has altered the international system, and the NBA illustrates one example that seems to have empowered marginalized communities in a way that many observers deem to be positive. In other cases, violent conflict is exacerbated by these very same structural dynamics as Diaspora communities and affinity groups support rebel groups from abroad. 23 Although, the internationalization of local movements and the increasing interconnected world system has challenged state sovereignty, the state nevertheless remains the ultimate authority within its geographical territory. One effect of globalization on the state, however, is that now, for the state to effectively implement an agenda, it requires more buy-in on the part its constituents than may have been necessary in a previous era. The will of typically marginalized people in some countries is harder to ignore. 1 Holton, Robert. Globalization and the Nation-state, (London: Macmillan Press, 1998). 2 Gandhi, Ajay. Developing Compliance and Resistance: the State, Transnational Social Movements and Tribal Peoples Contesting India s Narmada Project. Global Networks, Vol. 3 No. 4 (2003) 481-495. 3 India Together. http://www.indiatogether.org/2005/dec/eco-damsnpv.htm 4 Bull, Hedly. The Anarchical Society, (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1977). 5 World in Transition: Strategies for managing global environmental risks, Annual Report 1998/ German Advisory Council on Global Change. Berlin, Springer 1998. 6 Horta, Korinna, The World Bank and the International Monitary Fund, in Werksman, Jacob, ed. Greening International Institutions (Law and Sustainable Development Series). Earthscan Publications, Ltd., London, 1996. 7 Baviskar, Amita. "In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts Over Development in the Narmada Valley," Sociological Bulletin, Vol. 45 No. 2 (1995). 8 Gandhi, Ajay. Developing Compliance and Resistance: the State, Transnational Social Movements and Tribal Peoples Contesting India s Narmada Project. Global Networks, Vol. 3 No. 4 (2003) 481-495. 9 Sardar Sarovar. Report of the Independent Review, (Commissioned by the World Bank, 1992). 10 Subramanian, C. N. Marxism, the Working Class Movement, and the Issues Raised By the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Revolutionary Democracy, Vol. 3 No. 1 (1997). 11 Gadgil, Madhav and Ramachandra Guha. "Ecology and Equity: the Use and Abuse of Nature in Contemporary India," Development and Change, Vol. 28 No. 1 (1995). 12 Spiro, Peter. "New Global Communities: Nongovernmental Organizations in International Decision-Making Institutions." The Washington Quarterly. Vol. 18 (1995) 45-56. 13 "People s Movements in Environmental Politics: A Critical Analysis of the Save Narmada Movement in India," Working Paper Series No. 242, Institute of Social Studies (The Hague: Netherlands, 1997). 14 "Environmental Movements in the South: Theories and Prospects" presented at the XIV World Congress of Sociology, Research Committee 47 (Montreal: Canada, 1998). 15 Medha Patkar. http://www.sawnet.org/whoswho/?patkar+medha. 16 The Sardar Sarovar Project Experiences with Resettlement and Rehabilitation. Tata Institute of Social Sciences, 1987-93. 6
17 Dwived, Ranjit. "Resisting Dams and Development : Contemporary Significance of the Campaign against the Narmada Projects in India," European Journal of Development Research. Vol. 10 No. 2 (1998). 18 Zald, Mayer and Roberta Ash Garner. Social Movement Organizations: Growth, Decay, and Change. In Mayer Zald and John McCarthy (Eds.), Social Movements in an Organizational Society: Collected Essays, (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1987) 121-141. 19 Subramanian, C. N. Marxism, the Working Class Movement, and the Issues Raised By the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Revolutionary Democracy, Vol. 3 No. 1 (1997). 20 Gandhi, Ajay. Developing Compliance and resistance: the State, Transnational Social Movements and Tribal Peoples Contesting India s Narmada Project. Global Networks, Vol. 3 No. 4 (2003) 481-495. 21 Ram, Rahul N. Muddy Waters: A Critical Assessment of the Benefits of the Sardar Sarovar Project, (1993) Monograph, Pune: Kalpavriksh. 22 Carroll, Bridgette. The Narmada Dam in India Power Point. Class URBS/GEOG 515: Race, Poverty and the Environment. Professor Raguel Pinderhughs. Urban Studies and Environmental Studies Program, San Francisco University (2004). 23 Collier, Paul. Economic Causes of Civil Conflict and Their Implications For Policy, World Bank, 15 June 2000, www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/diamond/wb.htm. 7