Drowned Out

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Transcript

Three choices. Move to the slums in the city, accept a place at a resettlement site or stay at home and drown.

The people of Jalsindhi in central India must make a decision fast. In the next few weeks, their village will disappear underwater as the giant Narmada Dam fills.

Bestselling author Arundhati Roy joins the fight against the dam and asks the difficult questions. Will the water go to poor farmers or to rich industrialists? What happened to the 16 million people displaced by fifty years of dam building? Why should I care?

DROWNED OUT follows the Jalsindhi villagers through hunger strikes, rallies, police brutality and a six-year Supreme Court case. It stays with them as the dam fills and the river starts to rise...

'The rising waters are the dramatic text and context through which Armstrong's beautifully made documentary on the villagers' loss of home, the costs exacted by development, and the diminution of democracy, unfolds. Loss provides the narrative arc, and Armstrong successfully manages to prevent it from swirling into some romanticized notion of primitive other, steering us towards a richly-hued sense of what Jalsindhi, as place, as home, as community means...and what it might mean to lose it.' Shelley Feldman, Cornell University and Gayatri Menon, Cornell University, Visual Anthropology

'Tradition and technology clash in a heart-breaking crisis that symbolizes the heart of modern Indian politics...Armstrong gracefully captures the soul of her subjects, along with the rich palette of their colorful lives. Viewers almost feel the river running through their toes.' Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars- as part of the DC Environmental Film Festival

'A film of enormous heart, grit and insight that is both taut political essay and enormously moving plea.' San Francisco International Film Festival Jury

'Of three recently produced documentary films on the ever-controversial Narmada dam, Armstrong's intimate portrayal of the people of Jalsindhi village comes closest to the genre of ethnographic film. Drowned Out serves as an ideal learning tool for applied anthropology courses that explore the dilemmas of development. The film moves between local and national-global issues, while emphasizing the importance of small, people-centered development over large megaprojects. It is a brilliant balance of investigative journalism and human pathos and will be useful for courses in applied anthropology, South Asia studies, and global- international development studies.' Nandini Gunewardena, University of California, Reviewed for American Anthropologist

'The DVD is, frankly, the most complete I have ever seen for a documentary feature, loaded with extras, all of which are of a high quality and all of which contribute to the story, the characters and the message of the film - there's not a superfluous special feature in the whole, succulent bunch.' DVD Outsider

'Documentaries rarely, if ever, come better than this. It is impossible to overstate that this is absolutely required viewing.' Royal Gazette (Bermuda)

'An inspiring record of a quite extraordinary campaign of mass resistance, at once angry, compassionate, disturbing and yet empowering, it makes for urgent and necessary viewing...Critics Choice' Time Out (London)

'A powerful and masterfully crafted study of a stand-off between the powerless and the powerful.' OneWorld Media Awards Jury

'If you see one doc at the SF International Film Festival, this should be it.' Kathleen Wilkinson, San Francisco Chronicle

'Combining compelling interview footage with creative visuals... This powerful documentary is highly recommended.' Video Librarian

'This intimate, urgent documentary unravels the question, 'Progress for whom?' ...Clear-eyed villagers inspire as they reach out and fight for their lives.' Kathleen Denny, San Francisco International Film Festival Program

'One real eye-opener was Drowned Out, a powerfully intimate report on a national catastrophe still evolving in India. Feisty young British filmmaker Franny Armstrong...makes a forceful case that the dam project, intended to bring water to arid parts of the country, is doing more harm than good with its inept, essentially heartless provisions for a primitive farming people whose traditions go back centuries.' Film Journal International

' is one of the best documentaries made about a dam or indeed any big development project. With accuracy, fairness and empathy, Drowned Out teases apart the strands of a long and complex story. It doesn't preach, it lets both sides of this epic struggle tell their story, but leaves the viewer with a stinging sense of injustice and venality. And it looks great.' Patrick McCully, International Rivers Network

'Quiet, fierce, beautiful.' New Internationalist

'A fascinating film that looks at the human cost of economic development in the name of poverty relief.' Edinburgh Filmhouse - Scotland

'The film highlights not just the Indian political power structure that makes it possible to displace millions, but also the human face of villagers asked to uproot their lives without assurance of reward.' India-West

'A thoughtfully presented account of how a tribal farming family decide to stay and drown in their home rather than relocate to a world where their skills would be useless. It's a troubling, thought-provoking story.' The Metro (Edinburgh) - Scotland

'Provides an insight as to how political decisions made without the knowledge or the consent of those who will be affected, have far reaching effects on people as well as the environment...A very thought provoking film that provides interesting topics for discussion as it poses questions such as 'development for whom, and at what cost?' ...Highly recommended for Asian studies' collections in high school, college and academic libraries.' Geetha Yapa, Educational Media Reviews Online

'Is it really 'progress' if millions must be forcefully dispossessed and lose their livelihood? Is it really democracy when desperate people are ignored despite a large body of evidence that their demands are reasonable? Questions about economic development and environmental ethics are raised in a powerful way. College students in several disciplines are likely to be engaged and challenged by this film.' Paul Conway, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, SUNY Oneonta

'Handsomely produced.' Phil Hall, Film Threat

'There are some films you want to recommend. But this is a film I'd beg people to go and see. It is that important, and it is that moving and inspiring.' Kevin Williamson, Rebel Inc Coffee Shop - UK

'Superb...The film is heart-wrenching as the wheels of privilege turn and crush those without money, education, or access to power. But it's also hugely inspiring to see the quiet, determined courage of common folk rise again and again to the challenge of self-determination and self-protection.' Ernest Hardy, Flaunt Magazine

Citation

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Main credits

Armstrong, Franny (film director)
Armstrong, Franny (film producer)
Wadia, Nina (narrator)

Other credits

Camera, Franny Armstrong, Ntennis Davi; editors, Gregers Sall, St. John O'Rourke; music, Chris Brierley, Alfie Thomas.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

Narmada dam,; Jalsindhi, Arundhati Roy, dam removal; "Drowned Out"; Bullfrog Films,doc; sociss

00:00:03.465 --> 00:00:05.940
[BULLFROG CROAKING]

00:00:10.395 --> 00:00:12.870
[PEOPLE CHANTING IN NON ENGLISH
SPEECH]

00:00:19.254 --> 00:00:22.733
[CLAPPING AND SINGING]

00:00:29.691 --> 00:00:31.679
[BOAT ENGINE]

00:00:38.637 --> 00:00:46.560
[MAN SINGING IN NON ENGLISH
SPEECH, GROUP ECHOING]

00:00:56.496 --> 00:00:58.468
[BOAT ENGINE]

00:01:11.286 --> 00:01:13.258
[BIRDS SCREECHING]

00:01:17.695 --> 00:01:19.667
[SINGING AND CLAPPING]

00:01:24.597 --> 00:01:58.994
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

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[PEOPLE YELLING]

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As a writer, I was
drawn towards it,

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because instinctively,
I knew that this

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was the heart of politics.

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This was the story
of modern India.

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[YELLING]

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The valley of the
River Narmada, where

00:03:07.410 --> 00:03:13.100
a simple story of land versus
water, strength versus power,

00:03:13.100 --> 00:03:15.845
reveals a dark secret hidden
in the promise of progress.

00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:54.110
This village will be drowned
in the next few weeks.

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Hundreds more will follow
over the coming years.

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The whole valley has lived
under sentence of death

00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:03.830
for half a century, ever
since a decision was made

00:04:03.830 --> 00:04:05.960
in Delhi to build a giant dam.

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Now, gentlemen, we are
observing the second largest dam

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of the world, in which the
volume of concrete to be placed

00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:22.155
is so large that you can have
it roll around only the equator.

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The land is 1.2 kilometer
land, 455 meters high.

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And the bridge is 124 meters
in the middle portion.

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Luharia and Bulgi Sonkaria
know that the house

00:05:00.880 --> 00:05:03.880
they share with their three
sons will soon be gone.

00:05:03.880 --> 00:05:06.850
But the family does not intend
to go down without a fight.

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The Sonkarias live in
the central Indian state

00:05:48.010 --> 00:05:50.680
of Madhya Pradesh
in Jalsindhi village

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on the north bank of
the River Narmada.

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35 kilometers downstream, in the
neighboring state of Gujarat,

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the Narmada meets the country's
largest construction project,

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the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

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This dam represents that
our Indian engineers

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have also technical know-how
for such a mega-project.

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This is the
foundation stone laid

00:06:24.410 --> 00:06:32.170
by Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru on 5th April, 1961.

00:06:32.170 --> 00:06:35.620
This is a dream of
Sardar [INAUDIBLE] Patel

00:06:35.620 --> 00:06:37.960
and [INAUDIBLE]
Jawaharlal Nehru.

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And now, we are fulfilling
this dream by constructing it,

00:06:43.130 --> 00:06:44.240
Sardar Sarovar project.

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The Adivasi are India's
indigenous people.

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Their relationship to the
land has remained essentially

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unchanged for 1,000 years.

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Like his father and
grandfather before him,

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Luharia is the village healer.

00:08:31.922 --> 00:08:35.380
[BEATING DRUMS]

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The sacred Narmada
River is worshiped

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along her entire length.

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Legend has it that, whereas
one must bathe in the Ganges

00:08:48.530 --> 00:08:51.680
to purify the soul, one need
only look at the Narmada.

00:08:54.420 --> 00:08:56.372
[BOAT ENGINE]

00:08:58.812 --> 00:09:01.252
[YELLING]

00:09:06.620 --> 00:09:08.572
[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]

00:09:08.572 --> 00:09:12.580
But government planners see
the river very differently.

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They envisage a giant staircase
of reservoirs, held in place

00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:18.900
by more than 3,000 dams.

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It is the largest river
development project

00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:25.790
ever undertaken
anywhere in the world.

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Sardar Sarovar is the keystone.

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It sits at the western
foot of the project,

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and will hold up the
entire staircase.

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In my opinion, there should
be small dams, medium dams,

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and the mega dams on
the river for all India

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so that we can be
self-sufficient,

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in power, and in full.

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This project aims to provide
electricity, irrigation,

00:09:57.020 --> 00:09:59.640
and drinking water to 10s
of millions of people.

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That is the government's
confident claim.

00:10:05.450 --> 00:10:07.970
And it is fiercely defended
by Gujarat's Minister

00:10:07.970 --> 00:10:12.540
for Narmada Irrigation,
Mr. Jay Narayan Vyas.

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We are sure that we can--
if anybody else in the world

00:10:15.050 --> 00:10:16.690
can do it, we can do it better.

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[RINGING BELL]

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[TEACHER AND CHILDREN RECITING]

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[CHILDREN SINGING]

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35 kilometers downstream,
the Sardar Sarovar Dam

00:12:04.280 --> 00:12:08.000
has already blocked the flow of
the river, created a reservoir,

00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:09.365
and submerged two villages.

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During this year's
monsoon season,

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the reservoir will swell,
and Jalsindhi will go under.

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The dam currently stands at
two thirds its intended height.

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Once completed, the reservoir
will be 200 kilometers long,

00:12:30.570 --> 00:12:33.600
and 245 villages
will be submerged.

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The dam will then
divert the Narmada River

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into a huge canal system, which
aims to redistribute the water

00:12:42.140 --> 00:12:44.120
across Gujarat and Rajasthan.

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We are constructing one of
the largest canals ever being

00:12:51.830 --> 00:12:53.300
constructed in the world--

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458 kilometers long, 40,000
[INAUDIBLE] flow, line canal.

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I think this is a civil
engineering marvel.

00:13:00.830 --> 00:13:03.590
And rightly so, therefore,
the "Time Magazine"

00:13:03.590 --> 00:13:06.590
once upon a time described
this as one of the engineering

00:13:06.590 --> 00:13:09.768
wonders and [INAUDIBLE]
of the world.

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[CHEERING]

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If all goes to plan, the water
will travel 500 kilometers

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north, up to one of the world's
most drought-stricken regions.

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The ground water
level is dropping

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by about four feet every year.

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With no water, 10s of
thousands of people

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have been forced to
leave their homes.

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More than 200 villages
have been abandoned,

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the fields left
to turn to desert.

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Those who remain
in the drought area

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depend on the government's
emergency water supplies.

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The basic thing is that we want
to provide sustainable water

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supply for farmers, and
also the drinking water

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to 8,215 villages and 135
[INAUDIBLE] inhabitants.

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Not a single village
will be left out.

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Everybody will get
the drinking water.

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The price of bringing
water to the desert regions

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is being paid by families
like the Sonkarias.

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The water's now only a few
meters from their home,

00:15:11.850 --> 00:15:14.370
and they have been contacted
by the dam builders.

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The government
declares that everyone

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losing their land or their
home to the reservoir

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will be given a place
in a resettlement site.

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Luharia leaves the
valley to find out

00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:12.700
whether the reality matches
the government's promise.

00:16:17.056 --> 00:16:18.992
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:25.760
The resettlement
program of those

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ousted by the
construction of the dam

00:16:27.560 --> 00:16:30.980
has been clearly and adequately
chalked out by the government,

00:16:30.980 --> 00:16:34.910
offering the oustees an
extremely fair settlement.

00:16:34.910 --> 00:16:39.320
They are better off today
than they were earlier.

00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:45.800
We helped, so far, resettle
close to about 9,500 families.

00:16:45.800 --> 00:16:48.100
And they are happy.

00:16:48.100 --> 00:16:51.950
We are bringing them out in
a planned, organized manner,

00:16:51.950 --> 00:16:55.610
giving them the land to
till, also health facilities,

00:16:55.610 --> 00:16:57.550
future for children by
[INAUDIBLE] education

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facilities.

00:16:59.140 --> 00:17:01.430
We have given them
the best and put them

00:17:01.430 --> 00:17:03.950
in the bracket which
belongs to the best people.

00:17:03.950 --> 00:17:08.300
And we shall do that,
because they are our people.

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They are part of the
democratic center.

00:17:10.760 --> 00:17:13.178
We can't wish them away.

00:17:13.178 --> 00:17:15.658
[MUSIC PLAYING]

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Luharia has been offered
a place at Kavetta,

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about 75 kilometers
from Jalsindhi,

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which is already home to many
exiles from the Narmada Valley.

00:18:03.690 --> 00:18:06.207
Having lost their fertile
land on the river bank,

00:18:06.207 --> 00:18:08.790
the villagers are not impressed
with the quality of the fields

00:18:08.790 --> 00:18:10.920
here, nor the way
they were allocated.

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The Narmada villagers have
always been independent,

00:18:50.670 --> 00:18:54.690
taking what they need from
their land, river, and forest.

00:18:54.690 --> 00:18:59.160
But here, water comes in pipes,
medicine in tablets, and light

00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:00.720
through wires.

00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:02.700
Everything depends
on somebody else,

00:19:02.700 --> 00:19:04.970
and everything has
to be paid for--

00:19:04.970 --> 00:19:07.260
a harsh introduction
to the cash economy.

00:19:42.758 --> 00:19:45.228
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:55.210
The cornerstone of the
government's resettlement

00:19:55.210 --> 00:19:57.640
policy is that each
displaced family

00:19:57.640 --> 00:20:00.260
will receive a new plot
of land equal in size

00:20:00.260 --> 00:20:02.740
to that which they lose.

00:20:02.740 --> 00:20:06.210
But India is the most densely
populated country in the world,

00:20:06.210 --> 00:20:09.121
so finding fertile land
for everyone is not easy.

00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:14.180
Luharia has also
been offered a place

00:20:14.180 --> 00:20:16.650
at Parvetta, a
notorious resettlement

00:20:16.650 --> 00:20:21.600
site where 38 children died
within a year of arrival.

00:20:21.600 --> 00:20:24.190
This site has been
massively oversubscribed,

00:20:24.190 --> 00:20:25.890
and all the land
has long since gone.

00:20:29.210 --> 00:20:31.044
So Luharia heads for home.

00:21:31.450 --> 00:21:33.730
Even if a plot of
land were available,

00:21:33.730 --> 00:21:35.410
moving to a
resettlement site would

00:21:35.410 --> 00:21:39.010
separate Luharia and [INAUDIBLE]
from their extended family

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and the rest of their community.

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The Jalsindhi
villagers can expect

00:21:43.780 --> 00:21:46.280
to be split across
five or six sites.

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[BABY WHIMPERING]

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The villagers decide to
reject the new life offered

00:22:14.560 --> 00:22:16.900
by the government.

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They would rather stay
on their ancestral land

00:22:19.360 --> 00:22:20.830
and drown along with it.

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The start of the
three-month monsoon season,

00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:47.810
and villagers from
across the Narmada Valley

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begin to gather in Jalsindhi.

00:23:50.352 --> 00:23:53.240
Luharia's house is
lowest on the banks,

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and will be first
to be submerged,

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so it becomes the focal
point for a satyagraha,

00:23:58.160 --> 00:24:01.020
a form of nonviolent
protest originally devised

00:24:01.020 --> 00:24:02.010
by Mahatma Gandhi.

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The villagers intend to sit
together in Luharia's house

00:24:08.580 --> 00:24:09.668
and drown.

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[CHANTING]

00:24:33.060 --> 00:24:35.400
The villagers'
stand has given rise

00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:37.610
to a major social movement.

00:24:37.610 --> 00:24:40.410
The Save the Narmada
Campaign, or NBA,

00:24:40.410 --> 00:24:42.690
is led by a
researcher from Mumbai

00:24:42.690 --> 00:24:44.730
who visited the
valley 15 years ago

00:24:44.730 --> 00:24:46.700
and never went
home, Medha Patkar.

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The resolve of the villagers
was tested in 1999,

00:25:20.650 --> 00:25:24.780
when they stood in the
rising waters for 26 hours.

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But on that occasion, the
police intervened and arrested

00:25:27.970 --> 00:25:31.810
all those involved, breaking
up the satyagraha before anyone

00:25:31.810 --> 00:25:33.284
could drown.

00:25:33.284 --> 00:25:35.769
[CHEERING, CHANTING]

00:25:51.176 --> 00:25:53.661
[SINGING, CLAPPING]

00:26:41.070 --> 00:26:44.330
Arundhati Roy, India's
best-selling novelist

00:26:44.330 --> 00:26:46.670
and winner of the
prestigious Booker Prize,

00:26:46.670 --> 00:26:49.420
has dived headlong into the
campaign against the dam.

00:27:08.320 --> 00:27:11.140
It isn't as if
people who question

00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:13.330
this form of
development are people

00:27:13.330 --> 00:27:15.520
who are saying we
don't need electricity

00:27:15.520 --> 00:27:17.820
or that we don't
want irrigation--

00:27:17.820 --> 00:27:20.650
only saying that there are
better and more democratic

00:27:20.650 --> 00:27:21.820
means of achieving it.

00:27:24.730 --> 00:27:27.920
Nobody that you know
personally is paying the price.

00:27:27.920 --> 00:27:29.420
It's always someone else.

00:27:29.420 --> 00:27:33.140
And so as long as
that remains, there

00:27:33.140 --> 00:27:38.250
will never be the will to
look for an alternative.

00:27:38.250 --> 00:27:40.820
Arundhati's articulate
support has massively

00:27:40.820 --> 00:27:44.250
increased awareness
of the NBA's campaign.

00:27:44.250 --> 00:27:47.205
Her essays and articles
are published worldwide.

00:27:47.205 --> 00:27:49.790
Her arrests are front page news.

00:27:58.390 --> 00:28:01.600
And she takes every opportunity
to challenge the politicians

00:28:01.600 --> 00:28:03.820
responsible for the dam.

00:28:03.820 --> 00:28:07.602
Almost about $8.5 millions
have already gone into it.

00:28:07.602 --> 00:28:11.576
A country like India cannot
afford this kind of [INAUDIBLE]

00:28:11.576 --> 00:28:12.950
delay on this kind
of initiative.

00:28:12.950 --> 00:28:15.850
Stop being hypocritical
and just say, look,

00:28:15.850 --> 00:28:17.560
this many people
need to be dumped

00:28:17.560 --> 00:28:19.450
for the good of
that many people,

00:28:19.450 --> 00:28:21.070
and we'll decide who
these people are.

00:28:21.070 --> 00:28:24.010
You are absolutely wrong in
telling what you are telling.

00:28:24.010 --> 00:28:25.930
I beg to differ with you.

00:28:25.930 --> 00:28:28.120
Your reporting is
absolutely incorrect.

00:28:28.120 --> 00:28:30.340
This is absolutely unacceptable.

00:28:30.340 --> 00:28:32.120
Someone asked me
why I came here.

00:28:32.120 --> 00:28:35.610
I said, I just came here to
see what power smells like.

00:28:35.610 --> 00:28:36.850
Let me tell you, it stinks.

00:28:36.850 --> 00:28:37.844
It stinks.

00:28:37.844 --> 00:28:39.832
[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE]

00:28:50.766 --> 00:28:52.754
[ROOSTER CROWING]

00:29:01.740 --> 00:29:04.090
Feeling powerless
and frustrated,

00:29:04.090 --> 00:29:06.870
Luharia decides to make
one last attempt to reason

00:29:06.870 --> 00:29:08.510
with the government officials.

00:29:14.620 --> 00:29:17.680
He sets off on a five-hour
walk to the bus stop,

00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:21.137
heading into town to put his
case to the local magistrate.

00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:25.610
[HORN HONKING]

00:31:03.710 --> 00:31:05.115
[LAUGHING]

00:31:32.470 --> 00:31:36.530
The first rains of the monsoon
arrive later than usual.

00:31:36.530 --> 00:31:39.700
But the river quickly
starts to rise.

00:31:39.700 --> 00:31:43.060
If the rain continues
like this, 76 villages

00:31:43.060 --> 00:31:45.600
will be completely or
partially submerged

00:31:45.600 --> 00:31:48.250
over the next two months.

00:31:48.250 --> 00:31:49.930
There's nowhere for them to go.

00:31:49.930 --> 00:31:51.700
The waters are rising.

00:31:51.700 --> 00:31:54.430
And all of us are having
academic discussions about

00:31:54.430 --> 00:31:55.780
whether this is right or wrong.

00:31:55.780 --> 00:31:57.910
I don't know what to
say, except that this

00:31:57.910 --> 00:32:01.840
is a form of remote
controlled brutality

00:32:01.840 --> 00:32:04.310
which ought not to be happening.

00:32:04.310 --> 00:32:07.000
You know, there's
a kind of breaking

00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:09.460
of the volition of a
people involved here,

00:32:09.460 --> 00:32:11.290
where a state has
the power to say,

00:32:11.290 --> 00:32:15.640
we're going to take this river
from you and give it to you.

00:32:15.640 --> 00:32:20.440
We're going to reroute the
natural course of this river.

00:32:20.440 --> 00:32:23.770
So you have to ask, then,
development for whom?

00:32:23.770 --> 00:32:25.810
Who owns the river?

00:32:25.810 --> 00:32:27.370
Who owns the forest?

00:32:27.370 --> 00:32:29.260
Who owns the fish?

00:32:29.260 --> 00:32:31.060
[SHOUTING]

00:32:31.060 --> 00:32:34.690
The people of Jalsindhi have
no radios, no television,

00:32:34.690 --> 00:32:36.010
or newspapers.

00:32:36.010 --> 00:32:38.710
They don't even have
a postal service.

00:32:38.710 --> 00:32:40.940
Before the NBA
brought them together,

00:32:40.940 --> 00:32:45.240
few villagers would have known
that such things existed.

00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:48.010
But they have been quick to
learn how the media works.

00:32:48.010 --> 00:32:50.650
They know that when Arundhati
comes to the valley,

00:32:50.650 --> 00:32:52.520
the cameras will
not be far behind.

00:33:14.040 --> 00:33:16.055
[CHANTING]

00:33:24.300 --> 00:33:26.110
[SINGING, CLAPPING]

00:34:04.757 --> 00:34:07.242
[CHANTING]

00:34:12.710 --> 00:34:16.070
The NBA's campaign reached a
turning point in the late '80s,

00:34:16.070 --> 00:34:19.550
when they came head to
head with the World Bank.

00:34:19.550 --> 00:34:21.560
The bank had kickstarted
the dam project

00:34:21.560 --> 00:34:25.460
by loaning India $450 million.

00:34:25.460 --> 00:34:28.520
NBA leader Medha Patkar
was not impressed

00:34:28.520 --> 00:34:30.350
with their understanding
of the problems

00:34:30.350 --> 00:34:32.696
facing people like Luharia.

00:34:32.696 --> 00:34:37.159
We raised about 36 question
when we met them in Washington

00:34:37.159 --> 00:34:38.980
in 1987.

00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:40.560
And they had no answers.

00:34:40.560 --> 00:34:42.350
And we realized that
they even didn't

00:34:42.350 --> 00:34:46.580
know the complexity of the
social, cultural aspects

00:34:46.580 --> 00:34:48.469
of the populations
in the valley,

00:34:48.469 --> 00:34:52.110
but also the economics
of the project.

00:34:52.110 --> 00:34:55.280
The NBA forced the World
Bank to listen by launching

00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:57.440
another of Gandhi's protests--

00:34:57.440 --> 00:34:58.120
hunger strike.

00:35:02.064 --> 00:35:04.700
The [INAUDIBLE]
symbolizes the fact

00:35:04.700 --> 00:35:08.010
that this struggle
that we are facing

00:35:08.010 --> 00:35:11.800
is really an indefinite
one, and it's

00:35:11.800 --> 00:35:15.224
a question of life and death,
nothing less than that.

00:35:28.160 --> 00:35:31.580
After five protesters
had fasted for 22 days,

00:35:31.580 --> 00:35:34.160
the World Bank agreed
to the NBA's demand

00:35:34.160 --> 00:35:37.158
for an independent review of
the Sardar Sarovar Project.

00:35:52.100 --> 00:35:54.440
The World Bank sent
four experts to India

00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:57.380
to examine all major
aspects of the project.

00:35:57.380 --> 00:36:01.370
Investigating the human
cost was Dr. Hugh Brody.

00:36:01.370 --> 00:36:05.630
I think we came bit by bit to
see the scale of the problems.

00:36:05.630 --> 00:36:07.910
There wasn't a
moment of revelation.

00:36:07.910 --> 00:36:12.000
There wasn't any one thing
that I saw that made me think,

00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:14.260
oh, this is terrible.

00:36:14.260 --> 00:36:15.500
It wasn't like that.

00:36:15.500 --> 00:36:17.890
It was much more the
peeling of an onion.

00:36:24.990 --> 00:36:28.200
The review team set off on
an eight-month fact-finding

00:36:28.200 --> 00:36:29.880
mission.

00:36:29.880 --> 00:36:32.460
Their first discovery was that
when the government had given

00:36:32.460 --> 00:36:34.860
clearance to the
projects in the '80s,

00:36:34.860 --> 00:36:37.950
they had broken both their
own regulations and those

00:36:37.950 --> 00:36:39.390
of the World Bank.

00:36:39.390 --> 00:36:42.280
The project had never
been properly appraised.

00:36:42.280 --> 00:36:44.430
It's what I've often
referred to the original sin

00:36:44.430 --> 00:36:45.750
of the project.

00:36:45.750 --> 00:36:48.990
The basic facts, the basic
information about this project,

00:36:48.990 --> 00:36:52.020
had not been known when
the loan was agreed to,

00:36:52.020 --> 00:36:55.380
and indeed, was still not
known when we were working

00:36:55.380 --> 00:36:58.020
on the review in 1990, '91.

00:36:58.020 --> 00:37:01.590
And that means that
a project goes ahead

00:37:01.590 --> 00:37:05.640
in a rather terrifying
ignorance of what

00:37:05.640 --> 00:37:09.600
its most severe
consequences are going to be

00:37:09.600 --> 00:37:11.490
for vulnerable populations.

00:37:16.040 --> 00:37:18.830
We also found serious
problems with the resettlement

00:37:18.830 --> 00:37:22.220
and rehabilitation
plans, or lack of plans.

00:37:22.220 --> 00:37:25.060
There were far more people
than they were prepared for.

00:37:25.060 --> 00:37:28.850
And in Madhya Pradesh, there
just was not land available,

00:37:28.850 --> 00:37:32.660
and the rehabilitation
probably just could not happen.

00:37:32.660 --> 00:37:38.300
That was a very big finding,
and a very alarming one.

00:37:38.300 --> 00:37:40.040
The World Bank
consultants clearly

00:37:40.040 --> 00:37:43.400
found the resettlement
plan inadequate.

00:37:43.400 --> 00:37:45.170
Then, they discovered
a group of people

00:37:45.170 --> 00:37:47.350
who weren't being offered
any resettlement at all.

00:38:26.590 --> 00:38:31.690
The review team calculated that
140,000 farmers would lose land

00:38:31.690 --> 00:38:33.760
to the canal network.

00:38:33.760 --> 00:38:35.560
However, the government
still does not

00:38:35.560 --> 00:38:38.860
count these people
as project-affected.

00:38:38.860 --> 00:38:41.350
Nor do they include
10,000 fishing families

00:38:41.350 --> 00:38:43.442
living downstream of the dam.

00:39:37.250 --> 00:39:42.200
We concluded that the
projects were severely flawed

00:39:42.200 --> 00:39:44.160
as they stood.

00:39:44.160 --> 00:39:46.580
And we recommended that
the World Bank take

00:39:46.580 --> 00:39:48.710
a step backwards,
and they should

00:39:48.710 --> 00:39:53.949
pause and look very hard at what
to do now with this project.

00:39:53.949 --> 00:39:58.640
[DRUMMING, PIPES PLAYING]

00:39:58.640 --> 00:40:01.310
Nine months after the review
team published the Morse

00:40:01.310 --> 00:40:05.547
report, the World Bank withdrew
from the Narmada Project.

00:40:05.547 --> 00:40:07.982
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:40:14.800 --> 00:40:17.510
The Indian government
ignored all the criticisms,

00:40:17.510 --> 00:40:20.680
raised the money internally,
and continued construction

00:40:20.680 --> 00:40:22.680
on the dam.

00:40:22.680 --> 00:40:24.770
The Morse commission,
according to us,

00:40:24.770 --> 00:40:28.150
itself was a
misguided commission.

00:40:28.150 --> 00:40:31.120
We never accepted
Morse observation,

00:40:31.120 --> 00:40:35.050
which, according to us, had not
only incomplete, but erroneous.

00:40:35.050 --> 00:40:38.840
We felt that that it
was really a victory

00:40:38.840 --> 00:40:42.110
to have the World Bank
withdraw from the project.

00:40:42.110 --> 00:40:46.370
And we thought that we have
to now take up the challenge

00:40:46.370 --> 00:40:49.700
and challenge the
government in turn.

00:40:49.700 --> 00:40:53.240
So in May 1994, the NBA
launched a legal case

00:40:53.240 --> 00:40:56.930
against the dam at the
Supreme Court in Delhi.

00:40:56.930 --> 00:40:58.460
They argued that
the dam should not

00:40:58.460 --> 00:41:00.710
have been built before
the impact assessments had

00:41:00.710 --> 00:41:06.240
been carried out, and that it
should now be decommissioned.

00:41:06.240 --> 00:41:09.330
Six years later,
July 2000, evidence

00:41:09.330 --> 00:41:12.720
is still being heard
by three senior judges.

00:41:12.720 --> 00:41:15.390
Throughout this time,
construction work on the dam

00:41:15.390 --> 00:41:16.880
has been suspended.

00:41:39.688 --> 00:41:41.592
[PLAYING BELLS, SHOUTING]

00:41:46.830 --> 00:41:49.860
The satyagraha in Jalsindhi
is gathering strength,

00:41:49.860 --> 00:41:51.790
with more people
arriving all the time.

00:41:51.790 --> 00:41:54.105
[SINGING, CLAPPING]

00:41:55.960 --> 00:41:58.200
But the immediate
threat of submergence

00:41:58.200 --> 00:42:01.110
has receded due to an
extended break in the rain.

00:42:08.930 --> 00:42:11.180
As farmers, the
Jalsindhi villagers

00:42:11.180 --> 00:42:13.850
have always hoped
for a good monsoon.

00:42:13.850 --> 00:42:16.010
But since the dam
was built, the rain

00:42:16.010 --> 00:42:17.690
has become a treacherous friend.

00:42:52.130 --> 00:42:54.219
The Narmada has
risen several meters

00:42:54.219 --> 00:42:55.510
in the first few weeks of rain.

00:42:59.630 --> 00:43:03.050
Luharia's house is still
above the water level.

00:43:03.050 --> 00:43:05.830
But other parts of their
lives have already gone under.

00:44:02.241 --> 00:44:04.229
[SINGING]

00:44:05.230 --> 00:44:09.730
Time is running out for
the Jalsindhi villagers.

00:44:09.730 --> 00:44:13.870
But as their hopes
dwindle, their voices grow.

00:44:13.870 --> 00:44:17.110
The NBA has turned into one of
the biggest people's movements

00:44:17.110 --> 00:44:19.923
India has seen since
Gandhi swept the country

00:44:19.923 --> 00:44:23.310
to independence in 1948.

00:44:23.310 --> 00:44:26.320
And it is turning indigenous
farmers like Luharia

00:44:26.320 --> 00:44:27.880
into political activists.

00:45:23.650 --> 00:45:26.830
A rumor is circulating that the
Madhya Pradesh government has

00:45:26.830 --> 00:45:29.280
accepted that they do
not have enough land

00:45:29.280 --> 00:45:31.700
to resettle everybody.

00:45:31.700 --> 00:45:34.540
So the NBA has come to the
state capital of Bhopal

00:45:34.540 --> 00:45:36.211
to demand a meeting.

00:45:36.211 --> 00:45:38.666
[CHANTING, YELLING]

00:46:33.950 --> 00:46:36.070
The police succeed
in blocking the road

00:46:36.070 --> 00:46:38.740
to the chief minister's
house, so the protesters

00:46:38.740 --> 00:46:41.740
decide to sit down and wait
until he agrees to meet them.

00:47:09.000 --> 00:47:12.380
Luharia is risking
personal injury every time

00:47:12.380 --> 00:47:14.810
he goes on an NBA demo.

00:47:14.810 --> 00:47:18.260
There have been rapes,
beatings, baton charges,

00:47:18.260 --> 00:47:21.860
and countless arrests
and jail sentences.

00:47:21.860 --> 00:47:23.780
Nobody was killed
on this occasion,

00:47:23.780 --> 00:47:26.455
but two protesters
have been shot dead.

00:47:31.790 --> 00:47:33.730
[CHANTING]

00:47:35.690 --> 00:47:38.420
But this time, there's
little violence.

00:47:38.420 --> 00:47:41.750
At 10:30 PM, word has come
through that the chief minister

00:47:41.750 --> 00:47:44.240
will meet the
protesters, all of them,

00:47:44.240 --> 00:47:47.930
in the back garden of
his official residence.

00:47:47.930 --> 00:47:49.820
They have one question.

00:47:49.820 --> 00:47:52.801
Does the government have
enough land for everyone?

00:48:56.530 --> 00:48:59.520
[PEOPLE SPEAKING IN PROTEST]

00:48:59.520 --> 00:49:01.950
The chief minister has
admitted that there is not

00:49:01.950 --> 00:49:04.290
enough land for everyone.

00:49:04.290 --> 00:49:06.330
But the villagers have
heard many stories

00:49:06.330 --> 00:49:08.460
of what happens to
displaced people

00:49:08.460 --> 00:49:10.380
who only get cash compensation.

00:49:28.150 --> 00:49:31.420
[INAUDIBLE] and her
family live in the slums

00:49:31.420 --> 00:49:33.325
on the edge of a big city.

00:49:36.240 --> 00:49:39.320
They were displaced by the
first of the Narmada dams,

00:49:39.320 --> 00:49:43.250
the Bargi Dam back in 1990,
when their village [? Gumti ?]

00:49:43.250 --> 00:49:44.228
was submerged.

00:50:03.280 --> 00:50:05.140
They were given
cash compensation

00:50:05.140 --> 00:50:07.840
for their 14-acre
farm, but it wasn't

00:50:07.840 --> 00:50:09.856
enough to buy replacement land.

00:50:13.240 --> 00:50:15.320
[INAUDIBLE] son-in-law,
[INAUDIBLE],,

00:50:15.320 --> 00:50:17.170
believes they had no
option but to head

00:50:17.170 --> 00:50:18.620
for the city in search of work.

00:50:42.470 --> 00:50:45.080
If they lose their land, they
lose their resource base.

00:50:45.080 --> 00:50:47.780
They lose their food.

00:50:47.780 --> 00:50:50.940
Now, if you give them
alternative land,

00:50:50.940 --> 00:50:53.716
maybe you give them a
chance to do without.

00:50:53.716 --> 00:50:55.340
If you don't give
them alternative land

00:50:55.340 --> 00:50:56.756
but give them a
financial package,

00:50:56.756 --> 00:50:59.090
the chances are the
financial package is small,

00:50:59.090 --> 00:51:03.440
and it will certainly not
be enough to deal with even

00:51:03.440 --> 00:51:04.380
the relocation itself.

00:51:33.020 --> 00:51:37.880
Once they've lost their village
life, their tribal identity,

00:51:37.880 --> 00:51:40.810
their environment
in the river valley,

00:51:40.810 --> 00:51:43.640
they have lost what
makes them who they are.

00:51:43.640 --> 00:51:46.340
And they go to a
place, into a world,

00:51:46.340 --> 00:51:48.500
where the only thing
they have to offer

00:51:48.500 --> 00:51:49.858
is the strength of their hands.

00:51:49.858 --> 00:51:50.854
They can lift bricks.

00:51:50.854 --> 00:51:52.846
They can carry bags of cement.

00:51:52.846 --> 00:51:54.340
And they can dig roads.

00:52:26.780 --> 00:52:28.820
While [INAUDIBLE]
drives the rickshaw,

00:52:28.820 --> 00:52:31.100
his wife, [INAUDIBLE],,
stands on the street corner,

00:52:31.100 --> 00:52:34.940
hoping for work on
a building site.

00:52:34.940 --> 00:52:38.010
Between them, they
make about $1 per day.

00:52:38.010 --> 00:52:41.050
That has to support a family
of nine, including a friend who

00:52:41.050 --> 00:52:43.730
is unable to work, as
he has developed TB

00:52:43.730 --> 00:52:44.825
since moving to the slums.

00:53:34.240 --> 00:53:38.510
[INAUDIBLE] and [INAUDIBLE] land
has been completely submerged.

00:53:38.510 --> 00:53:41.470
Other village people chose
to stay behind rather than

00:53:41.470 --> 00:53:44.020
move to the slums in the city.

00:53:44.020 --> 00:53:46.720
They now find themselves
living on tiny islands

00:53:46.720 --> 00:53:49.250
in the vast reservoir
behind the dam.

00:54:32.756 --> 00:54:34.752
[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:54:36.748 --> 00:54:40.560
Here, at last, is proof that
nature holds no terrors when

00:54:40.560 --> 00:54:42.130
men organize themselves.

00:54:42.130 --> 00:54:44.910
It represents the
hopes and aspirations

00:54:44.910 --> 00:54:46.920
of the entire country.

00:54:46.920 --> 00:54:50.760
India's dam building dream
was launched back in the 1950s

00:54:50.760 --> 00:54:52.710
by Prime Minister Nehru.

00:54:52.710 --> 00:54:56.610
The 3,500 dams built
since then a worshipped

00:54:56.610 --> 00:54:59.880
as the symbol of progress
of 20th century India.

00:55:02.808 --> 00:55:05.248
[CHILDREN RECITING]

00:55:18.450 --> 00:55:20.380
But these textbooks
do not mention

00:55:20.380 --> 00:55:24.940
the true cost of half a
century of dam building.

00:55:24.940 --> 00:55:27.280
Children are not taught
that India's big dams

00:55:27.280 --> 00:55:30.420
have ruined the lives of
at least 16 million people.

00:55:47.570 --> 00:55:50.230
Luharia and Bulgi
are not tempted

00:55:50.230 --> 00:55:52.360
by life in the big city.

00:55:52.360 --> 00:55:55.510
They are adamant that they will
not accept cash compensation.

00:56:36.620 --> 00:56:40.080
The future for the tribal
people is not looking good.

00:56:40.080 --> 00:56:42.840
But whether they drown
or end up in the slums,

00:56:42.840 --> 00:56:45.390
not everything will be lost.

00:56:45.390 --> 00:56:49.590
This is a tribal art
called warli paintings.

00:56:49.590 --> 00:56:52.710
The gentleman, [INAUDIBLE],,
who has done this

00:56:52.710 --> 00:56:56.550
is a national award winner
artist who has done this.

00:56:56.550 --> 00:56:58.320
While the paintings
which you are

00:56:58.320 --> 00:57:00.870
seeing on this
site in color, this

00:57:00.870 --> 00:57:03.430
is the tribal art
from [? Gujarat ?]

00:57:03.430 --> 00:57:05.487
in the neighboring
state of Rajasthan.

00:57:09.070 --> 00:57:12.400
We offer water and
food for birds,

00:57:12.400 --> 00:57:15.740
because we believe that
every soul on this art

00:57:15.740 --> 00:57:17.620
deserves to be fed.

00:57:17.620 --> 00:57:18.490
And that God has--

00:57:18.490 --> 00:57:20.830
Mr. Vyas's house is not
currently threatened

00:57:20.830 --> 00:57:22.960
by any development projects.

00:57:22.960 --> 00:57:25.990
But he would be willing to
relocate if he were asked.

00:57:25.990 --> 00:57:28.390
Yes, if it was
for larger good, I

00:57:28.390 --> 00:57:32.440
would always be willing to go
through little inconvenience

00:57:32.440 --> 00:57:37.300
for much larger benefits
to my fellow [INAUDIBLE]..

00:57:37.300 --> 00:57:39.500
If it helps the
society that if you

00:57:39.500 --> 00:57:41.820
are to sacrifice a
little bit of your own,

00:57:41.820 --> 00:57:44.170
do it gladly,
willingly, smilingly.

00:57:59.750 --> 00:58:03.290
The government argues that
although 250,000 people will

00:58:03.290 --> 00:58:06.740
be displaced, this enormous
sacrifice is a fair price

00:58:06.740 --> 00:58:11.120
to pay for the 40 million people
who are supposed to benefit.

00:58:11.120 --> 00:58:13.040
When you talk
about people making

00:58:13.040 --> 00:58:16.000
a sacrifice for
the greater good,

00:58:16.000 --> 00:58:21.102
you can assume that the greater
good is there to be secured.

00:58:21.102 --> 00:58:22.810
Of course, there are
also tough questions

00:58:22.810 --> 00:58:23.768
to be asked about that.

00:58:23.768 --> 00:58:28.740
I mean, will this
irrigation project work?

00:58:28.740 --> 00:58:33.380
The first Narmada Dam, Bargi,
irrigates only 5% of the land

00:58:33.380 --> 00:58:35.000
that it was designed to.

00:58:35.000 --> 00:58:37.220
So its main benefit
was overestimated

00:58:37.220 --> 00:58:40.700
by a factor of 20.

00:58:40.700 --> 00:58:43.390
The human costs were
also miscalculated.

00:58:43.390 --> 00:58:47.230
An extra 61 villages were
accidentally submerged.

00:58:47.230 --> 00:58:50.140
This is the second tragedy
of the Narmada Project.

00:58:50.140 --> 00:58:55.510
When the dams don't deliver,
the sacrifices are in vain.

00:58:55.510 --> 00:58:58.540
And all the signs indicate
that the Sardar Sarovar

00:58:58.540 --> 00:59:01.080
Dam will follow Bargi's lead.

00:59:01.080 --> 00:59:04.510
We computer model
the river in order

00:59:04.510 --> 00:59:08.230
to predict some of the
hydrological consequences.

00:59:08.230 --> 00:59:12.100
And we found that the data
that we were provided with

00:59:12.100 --> 00:59:14.185
could not be computerizable.

00:59:14.185 --> 00:59:16.060
In other words, there
could be no such river.

00:59:16.060 --> 00:59:18.910
There was something wrong with
the data about the hydrology.

00:59:22.220 --> 00:59:24.270
There wasn't enough
flow in the river.

00:59:24.270 --> 00:59:27.540
There wouldn't be enough water
in the dam for the project, as

00:59:27.540 --> 00:59:30.060
designed, to work.

00:59:30.060 --> 00:59:33.600
The water would not flow
towards 75,000 kilometers

00:59:33.600 --> 00:59:36.000
of the canals, but
probably would only

00:59:36.000 --> 00:59:38.340
work in the lower part
of the main canal system.

00:59:41.320 --> 00:59:44.920
If the water only flows into the
lower part of the canal system,

00:59:44.920 --> 00:59:46.840
it will never reach
the first thirsty

00:59:46.840 --> 00:59:49.360
in the drought area
of the northwest.

00:59:49.360 --> 00:59:52.510
But it will reach the Golden
Corridor industrial belt

00:59:52.510 --> 00:59:53.987
and four large cities.

01:00:05.200 --> 01:00:08.380
Now, today, in areas where
we do not have water--

01:00:08.380 --> 01:00:11.330
adequate water, clean water--

01:00:11.330 --> 01:00:15.130
what happens is, though there
is potential for development,

01:00:15.130 --> 01:00:18.280
you see that development
does not come up.

01:00:18.280 --> 01:00:21.550
Now, when water will
reach these areas,

01:00:21.550 --> 01:00:24.130
it will mean there
will be greater

01:00:24.130 --> 01:00:28.050
potential for the growth and
development of those areas.

01:00:28.050 --> 01:00:29.660
We'll see more industries.

01:00:29.660 --> 01:00:32.590
We'll see more trade,
and business activities

01:00:32.590 --> 01:00:34.400
will come up.

01:00:34.400 --> 01:00:37.750
The drought has been
traditionally very strong

01:00:37.750 --> 01:00:42.640
in the chemical front,
chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

01:00:42.640 --> 01:00:49.910
And the chemical industry has to
depend quite heavily on water.

01:00:49.910 --> 01:00:53.210
Big agriculture is also
a thirsty business.

01:00:53.210 --> 01:00:55.550
Water-intensive cash
crops like sugarcane

01:00:55.550 --> 01:00:58.820
have not previously been a
good investment in this region.

01:00:58.820 --> 01:01:01.640
But with the Narmada water
just a few years away,

01:01:01.640 --> 01:01:03.740
many new sugar
processing factories

01:01:03.740 --> 01:01:04.948
are under construction.

01:01:10.110 --> 01:01:13.010
Government sell these
projects with the view

01:01:13.010 --> 01:01:16.170
that they are in the
interest of the people.

01:01:16.170 --> 01:01:17.880
And when you look
at them closely,

01:01:17.880 --> 01:01:20.490
it all too often looks
as though they're

01:01:20.490 --> 01:01:24.990
in the interests of engineering
interests, construction

01:01:24.990 --> 01:01:28.350
interests, and people who were
already fairly prosperous,

01:01:28.350 --> 01:01:31.710
rich farmers and industrialists.

01:01:31.710 --> 01:01:33.980
Now, that's not nobody.

01:01:33.980 --> 01:01:40.320
But it's not the group that's
used to justify the project.

01:01:40.320 --> 01:01:43.170
The commissioning of the
Sardar Sarovar Project

01:01:43.170 --> 01:01:48.420
is the beginning of
the end of thirst.

01:01:48.420 --> 01:01:51.480
Actually, when they started
building the Sardar Sarovar

01:01:51.480 --> 01:01:54.480
Dam, there was no mention
of drinking water.

01:01:54.480 --> 01:01:57.330
That was something that
was just thrown in later.

01:01:57.330 --> 01:01:59.190
Everything that
happens in India has

01:01:59.190 --> 01:02:00.990
to happen in the
name of the poor.

01:02:00.990 --> 01:02:02.650
It has to.

01:02:02.650 --> 01:02:04.560
This is, you know--
as I keep saying,

01:02:04.560 --> 01:02:06.910
there's a lot of
money in poverty.

01:02:06.910 --> 01:02:12.180
And that's why the drought
became the rallying point.

01:02:12.180 --> 01:02:15.160
There's nothing like the
emotive power of thirst.

01:02:18.690 --> 01:02:21.000
Water is scarce in Gujarat.

01:02:21.000 --> 01:02:25.950
But it is always available
to those who can afford it.

01:02:25.950 --> 01:02:28.680
16 water parks
operate here, even

01:02:28.680 --> 01:02:31.020
during the most severe drought.

01:02:31.020 --> 01:02:34.410
There are few regulations
ensuring water is used wisely,

01:02:34.410 --> 01:02:39.140
and little evidence of concerted
effort to alleviate thirst.

01:02:39.140 --> 01:02:41.880
Indeed, there is a darker
suspicion that those in power

01:02:41.880 --> 01:02:44.610
are pushing the Narmada
Project ahead in the face

01:02:44.610 --> 01:02:48.090
of the evidence that
it cannot deliver.

01:02:48.090 --> 01:02:50.180
You have to follow
the logic through,

01:02:50.180 --> 01:02:53.250
and then you see
what is happening.

01:02:53.250 --> 01:02:57.630
It's a way of capturing
the natural resources,

01:02:57.630 --> 01:03:02.480
taking it away from the poorest,
and giving it to the richest.

01:03:02.480 --> 01:03:05.610
And that's my primary
objection to it.

01:03:05.610 --> 01:03:09.720
It's a way of centralizing
authority and power.

01:03:09.720 --> 01:03:12.390
They promised clean water
to people who have no water.

01:03:12.390 --> 01:03:13.920
They promised
irrigation to people

01:03:13.920 --> 01:03:16.470
who are drought-vulnerable.

01:03:16.470 --> 01:03:20.030
They promised things
that all human beings

01:03:20.030 --> 01:03:22.020
long for if they
don't have them.

01:03:22.020 --> 01:03:27.000
It's one reason why, when they
are a trick, when in fact they

01:03:27.000 --> 01:03:29.974
will not deliver these things,
and when there are those

01:03:29.974 --> 01:03:32.140
in power who know they will
not deliver these things

01:03:32.140 --> 01:03:35.974
but don't say so, a
hideous evil is at work.

01:04:20.560 --> 01:04:23.010
[APPLAUSE]

01:04:24.490 --> 01:04:26.260
Ladies and gentlemen,
good morning,

01:04:26.260 --> 01:04:28.680
and welcome to the
press conference

01:04:28.680 --> 01:04:31.801
of the World Commission on Dams.

01:04:31.801 --> 01:04:33.669
[APPLAUSE]

01:04:34.610 --> 01:04:37.930
Launched by Nelson Mandela,
the World Commission on Dams

01:04:37.930 --> 01:04:41.260
brought all sides of the debate
together for the first time,

01:04:41.260 --> 01:04:45.290
including scientists, engineers,
dam builders, politicians,

01:04:45.290 --> 01:04:47.300
and the NBA.

01:04:47.300 --> 01:04:51.350
After three years studying
125 large dams worldwide,

01:04:51.350 --> 01:04:56.140
all the participants put their
names to the final report.

01:04:56.140 --> 01:05:01.490
The findings of the
commission basically

01:05:01.490 --> 01:05:05.710
were summarized in two
very simple sentences--

01:05:05.710 --> 01:05:08.260
first of all, the acknowledgment
that dams have delivered

01:05:08.260 --> 01:05:12.320
considerate benefits
for human development,

01:05:12.320 --> 01:05:16.000
but that in too many
cases, the price paid

01:05:16.000 --> 01:05:20.440
to secure those benefits
has been unacceptable,

01:05:20.440 --> 01:05:21.650
and often unnecessary.

01:05:24.250 --> 01:05:27.250
The commission did not say that
no more big dams should ever

01:05:27.250 --> 01:05:30.670
be built, but they recommended
that they be considered only

01:05:30.670 --> 01:05:32.530
as a last resort.

01:05:32.530 --> 01:05:35.200
Instead, local solutions
to water problems

01:05:35.200 --> 01:05:38.200
should be developed.

01:05:38.200 --> 01:05:40.240
In an issue like
this, everything

01:05:40.240 --> 01:05:45.310
has to be designed according to
the micro-climate of that area.

01:05:45.310 --> 01:05:48.040
You don't have this
one formula that's

01:05:48.040 --> 01:05:50.890
going to be the national
cure for big dams,

01:05:50.890 --> 01:05:51.885
another big solution.

01:05:51.885 --> 01:05:53.060
There isn't that.

01:05:53.060 --> 01:05:55.540
There's going to have
to be the ability

01:05:55.540 --> 01:05:58.950
to address the particular
needs of that particular place

01:05:58.950 --> 01:06:00.327
in a particular way.

01:06:04.000 --> 01:06:06.100
In Gujuarat's
drought-prone regions,

01:06:06.100 --> 01:06:10.190
there is mounting skepticism
about the Narmada Dams.

01:06:10.190 --> 01:06:12.718
So the people here have started
tackling their own water

01:06:12.718 --> 01:06:13.218
problems.

01:06:21.210 --> 01:06:23.310
This village, in the
heart of the drought area,

01:06:23.310 --> 01:06:25.770
now supplies all
its own water needs,

01:06:25.770 --> 01:06:30.240
and no longer relies on
the government tankers.

01:06:30.240 --> 01:06:34.590
Their mini dam cost $15,000
US, but funding local projects

01:06:34.590 --> 01:06:38.550
is difficult, as 85% of
Gujarat's irrigation budget

01:06:38.550 --> 01:06:41.250
is spent on Sardar
Sarovar, which will cost up

01:06:41.250 --> 01:06:43.183
to $8.5 billion US.

01:06:48.280 --> 01:06:53.690
We are losing 600
million rupees per day.

01:06:53.690 --> 01:06:57.970
Only the infrastructures
and the manpower

01:06:57.970 --> 01:07:02.020
are ready to start the
work at any moment.

01:07:02.020 --> 01:07:06.928
We are waiting for the green
signal of the Supreme Court.

01:07:12.910 --> 01:07:14.860
But the Jalsindhi
villagers are hoping

01:07:14.860 --> 01:07:17.430
for red light from
the Supreme Court,

01:07:17.430 --> 01:07:19.477
and that the dam
be decommissioned.

01:07:35.670 --> 01:07:38.340
And then, after six
long years in court,

01:07:38.340 --> 01:07:40.950
the waiting is finally over.

01:07:40.950 --> 01:07:45.540
The three judges deliver a
contentious split decision.

01:07:45.540 --> 01:07:48.570
One judge voted to stop
further work on the dam

01:07:48.570 --> 01:07:50.820
until detailed
assessments of its impact

01:07:50.820 --> 01:07:52.620
have been carried out.

01:07:52.620 --> 01:07:56.190
But the other two outvoted him
and gave permission for the dam

01:07:56.190 --> 01:07:59.670
to be built up to its
full height, on condition

01:07:59.670 --> 01:08:02.485
that resettlement is completed
before each five meter

01:08:02.485 --> 01:08:02.985
increase.

01:09:22.130 --> 01:09:24.800
I'm not weak, but
I feel, certainly,

01:09:24.800 --> 01:09:48.850
at this point, [INAUDIBLE]

01:09:48.850 --> 01:09:51.680
Arundhati's outspoken comments
will lead her into trouble

01:09:51.680 --> 01:09:53.720
with the Supreme Court
in the coming weeks.

01:09:56.280 --> 01:09:58.610
Meanwhile, the dam
builders waste no time

01:09:58.610 --> 01:10:00.500
in restarting the
construction work that

01:10:00.500 --> 01:10:03.190
was stopped for six years.

01:10:03.190 --> 01:10:05.670
[CHEERING]

01:10:29.490 --> 01:10:33.160
With the Supreme Court case lost
and the dam height increasing,

01:10:33.160 --> 01:10:37.160
the Jalsindhi villagers
have run out of options.

01:10:37.160 --> 01:10:39.940
But then the monsoon itself
brings an unexpected stay

01:10:39.940 --> 01:10:41.530
of execution.

01:10:41.530 --> 01:10:44.170
The rains are unusually
light this year,

01:10:44.170 --> 01:10:46.690
and the river stops
rising just six feet short

01:10:46.690 --> 01:10:48.610
of Luharia's house.

01:10:48.610 --> 01:10:51.920
The village is saved, at
least for another year.

01:12:04.440 --> 01:12:07.265
[CHILDREN SINGING AND CLAPPING]