Question

Write a brief note on Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Answer 1

Explanation :

1. NBA which stands for Narmada Bachao Andolan originated in the 1980s, is an Indian social movement led by native tribes, farmers, environmentalists, and human rights activists who oppose the construction of a number of big dams across the Narmada River as part of the Narmada Dam Project. The Narmada River passes through Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
2. Medha Patkar, a woman, led the initiative, which was accepted by poor indigenous people who had been displaced owing to dam construction. Whereas the Chipko movement had focused attention a decade before on safeguarding local people's access to forest resources, the NBA insisted that those whose rights to local resources could not be protected due to development – such as the construction of a dam – should be compensated and relocated. Economic justice is served in this way. In India, dam construction, like forest clear-cutting, has a long colonial and postcolonial history. By 1999, India has surpassed China and the United States as the world's third largest dam builder.
3. The NBA's complaints were specifically directed at the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), the second largest of 30 huge dams that were part of a broader plan to build 3,000 dams in India. The SSP now boasts one of the world's largest canal networks. The dam was built primarily to provide irrigation and drinking water, but it also generates electricity as part of a multipurpose dam and canal system
4. Initially, the focus of the movement was on preserving the trees and fauna that opponents of the dam believed would be flooded if the dam was built. NBA protests and demonstrations are held in a nonviolent manner. Hunger strikes, celebrity endorsements from the art and cinema worlds, and other such tactics are among them. In 1991, the movement's key leaders, Medha Patkar and Baba Amte, got the Right to Livelihood Award for their contributions to the Narmada Bachao Andolan. NGOs from all over the world are now supporting the Narmada Bachao Andolan.