Village Kevadia, Kevadia Colony, Gujarat.
Muljibhai was a young man in 1961 when the foundation stone of the Navagam Dam (later the Sardar Sarovar dam) was laid by India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Nehru. It was then that the lands of six Adivasi villages were acquired for the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) colony which included lands of Muljibhai’s village Kevadia for the landing of Pandit Nehru’s helicopter. He personally witnessed Nehru’s coming to Kevadia and the foundation stone ceremony.
Muljibhai, a five time sarpanch (headman) of Kevadia, narrates the early history of the coming of Pandit Nehru to Kevadia, the laying of the foundation stone of the project by him, Pandit Nehru’s promises made to the adivasi people, the dispossession and acquisition of the scheduled tribe lands for the project colony, the early struggle by the people of the six villages, the response of the state, the change of priority and building of Ukai dam due to the interstate water dispute over SSP and the subsequent networking of Kevadia Colony affected people with Rajpipla Social Service Society, Lok Adhikar Sangh, and the formation of the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
Muljibhai’s interview helps us understand the emergence of the struggle in the Kevadia Colony affected villages of Gujarat since 1961 when adivasi lands were acquired for SSP colony and role of different people and organisations.
Interview Duration:
00:34:24
Language:
Audio in Gujarati, Subtitles in English
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