Books

The Struggle for Narmada: An Oral History of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, by Adivasi Leaders Keshavbhau and Kevalsingh Vasave

This first English translation of the Marathi original Ladha Narmadecha bridges that gap and sees the Andolan from the eyes of the Adivasis who fought to save their forest, their land and their jeeva dori – river Narmada itself.

Nandini Oza – a full-time NBA activist for over twelve years – records this untold history of the Andolan in the voices of two pivotal Adivasi leaders: Keshavbhau and Kevalsingh Vasave. Both project-affected oustees whose homes and villages were submerged by the Sardar Sarovar Dam, they talk about the history of the struggle, their own roles in it, the impact of the dam and the Andolan on Adivasi lives, the trauma of displacement and life in the resettlement sites. They talk about Adivasi culture and their sustainable, eco-friendly livelihoods on the banks of the Narmada – now lost. They interrogate the destructive development continuing for decades, and outline future challenges for the movement.

Underlined by humility, candour, dignity and humour, these interviews contain vital lessons for mass movements striving to empower those on the margins of democracy. They also foreground the critical importance of oral history, and show us that listening to memory can be as much a political act as a transformational one; an invaluable volume for all activists, students of ecology, sociology, anthropology, development studies and human rights.

Foreword of the book is by one of the leading Oral Historians of India, Dr. Indira Chowdhury, founder director, Centre for Public History, Srishti-Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Srishti, Bengaluru. She is an oral historian, and former President of the International Oral History Association and of the Oral History Association of India. She is the author of The Frail Hero and Virile History: Gender and the Politics of Culture in Colonial Bengal (1998), and Growing the Tree of Science: Homi Bhabha and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (2016).

The book from Marathi to English has been translated by Swatija Manorama and Sushas Paranjape.

The book is available for purchase within India and out of India at:

https://orientblackswan.com/details?id=9789354422973

It is also available at:

The Struggle for Narmada: An Oral History of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, by Adivasi Leaders Keshavbhau and Kevalsingh Vasave: An Oral History of the … Leaders Keshavbhau and Kevalsingh Vasave : Oza, Nandini, Indira Chowdhury, Suhas Paranjape, Swatija Manorama: Amazon.in: Books

Book Reviews:

1. The Wire: This book review in The Wire, an important online publication is by Harini Nagendra who teaches ecology and sustainability at Azim Premji University. Harini herself is an author of books on diverse genres. In her review she captures the essence of the book and writes:

“The book has much to offer to diverse audiences. The narratives of these two Adivasi leaders are of immense significance for administrators and those wishing to enter the civil service, policy makers and planners, students of policy, development and sustainability; teachers and academics interested in social movements, justice, climate change and the environment – and indeed for all committed citizens… They help us understand India in all its complexity at a time of great change: when we need, more than ever before, to harness the power of the collective for the greater good of society…”

For full review click here

2. Frontline: This book review is by the senior journalist of Frontline, Lyla Bavadam. This  is a very important review as Frontline is read by serious and committed readers across the country. Lyla in her review writes:

“This book is a must-read for those who want to understand fully and appreciate how development is an antithesis of itself. It is a record of a terrible and shameful period in the country’s story of progress…”.

          For full review click here

3. Mongabay: Mongabay is a well-read science and environment web portal which publishes in several languages in over 60 countries. The articles that appear in Mongabay are then picked up by several others as stated on their website, “ Our articles are syndicated by dozens of local, national, regional, and international outlets ranging from National Geographic Indonesia to Smithsonian Magazine, extending our reach beyond our 8 million monthly web site visitors”. Mongabay India brings out news from India concerning environment. Senior journalist of Mongabay, Kundan Pandey reviewed The Struggle of Narmada and writes:

“ The book is a meticulous effort to tell the story of the NBA and highlight the role of tribal leaders and their struggles …The book beautifully throws pertinent questions to the readers –  “Whose development? Whose destruction?”

For full review click here

4. The Citizen: This book review is by Rajeev Khanna, a senior journalist with The Citizen and he writes:

“…Two recent examples are the farmers’ movement that compelled the union government to repeal three farm laws, and more recently the stalling of a river linking project in Maharashtra and Gujarat through a continuing struggle by Indigenous people of the region. But much before this came the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the Movement to Save the Narmada, which did much to redefine the “development model” of the land. A recently released book, The Struggle for Narmada, throws fresh light on many facets of one of the most powerful people’s movements of India”  

For full review click here

5. Book Excerpts in Scroll: Scroll carried important excerpts from the book while announcing the release of the book.

To read click here

6. CounrterView: This book review is by a senior journalist Rajiv Shah who is based in Gujarat and he writes:

“A new book, “The Struggle for Narmada: An Oral History of the Narmada Bachao Andolan”, authored by a former NBA activist Nandini Oza, has gone a long way to reveal the type of worldview held by the powers-that-be who wanted hundreds of villages submerged and lakhs, all in the name of development, in order to build what was qualified as the world’s largest dam on the perennial river Narmada.”

For full review click here

7. Mainstream Weekly: Book review by M R Narayan Swamy who writes:

“This book is a moving account of those who have always lived on the margins on democracy.”

For full review click here

8. The India Forum: Book review by Kalpana Sharma who writes:

“By presenting the oral history of this movement through long and detailed interviews with Kevalsingh and Keshavbhau Vasave, also from Nimgavhan, Nandini Oza gives us a different yet essential perspective on the Narmada Bachao Andolan.”

For full review click here

9. INSEE Journal : Book review by Thounaojam Somokanta who writes:

” Despite the existence of substantial literature and awidening body of work that critiques large dams in India…there remains little effort to explore and explain the Adivasi perspective on the debate surrounding large dams in India….The Adivasi voice, hence, has been sorely lacking in the narration of their own stories, anxieties, and travails,even as they have been central to evolving the challenge against large dams in India. Nandini Oza’s The Struggle for Narmada, however, attempts to admirably close this gap through a careful and systematic effort to record, document,and understand the hitherto unheard voices of the Adivasis, particularly regarding how they perceived their own role during the NBA campaign”

For full review click here

10. Live Mint Lounge: Interview on book by Rashmi Menon.

For full interview click here

11. The Telegraph: Book review by Anita Joshua who writes:

“Oza seeks to give credit where it is due through her oral history project.”

For full review click here

12. Sage Journal: Review by Subrata Sankar Bagchi and Satyaki Paul, Department of Anthropology, University of Calcutta and they write-

“This book (The Struggle for Narmada) provides us with an invaluable account of one of the most intensive struggles against organised dispossession, systematic displacement and legalised plundering of natural resources in the history of Independent India from the perspective of the grassroots Adivasi activists.”

For full review click here

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लढा नर्मदेचा (Ladha Narmadecha-The struggle for Narmada)

Ladha Narmadecha can be purchased at:

https://www.rajhansprakashan.com/product/ladha-narmadecha/Ladha Narmadecha – राजहंस प्रकाशन (rajhansprakashan.com)

For e-book: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rajhansprakashan.app

https://www.booksnama.com/client/book_detailed_view/3746

https://www.bookganga.com/eBooks/Books/Details/5635892871413182014

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Others

• Ladha Narmadecha will be translated and available in English- this is a work in progress.
• The second book based on these oral history recordings is of the narrations by Late Shri Girishbhai Patel that covers the social-political and developmental history of Gujarat since independence till 2017, with the Sardar Sarovar Project – Narmada Project central to the Gujarat Model and development paradigm. This book is a work in progress.