The resistance in the Narmada Valley due to land acquisition and displacement as a result of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) first took form in 1961 when the lands of 6 Adivasi Villages were acquired for Kevadia Colony, the project colony in Gujarat, now famous for the world’s tallest statute, the Statue of Unity. Later, in 1979, there was the powerful resistance in Madhya Pradesh demanding height reduction of the dam and then of course the Narmada Bachao Andolan that demanded stoppage of the project altogether. The struggle against the SSP is one of the longest anti dam struggles in the country today.
Here is an attempt to share the photos of some of the important members who have played a significant role in this resistance. I am first sharing the photos taken by me as part of my journey in recording the oral histories of the Narmada Struggle. These photos have been marked as @oralhistorynarmada. However, I have not been able to interview or photograph all those who have played an important part in the struggle, an impossible task in one’s life time. This is also because, a people’s movement as powerful as the Narmada struggle, spanning several decades has countless people who have played exemplary role in the struggle and it is an impossible to document the same.
Therefore I depend and share photos, the source of which is not known as of now to me. I mark these photos as from @NBACollection. But as and when the source of any photo will be shared with me, the credit will be duly given to the photographer.
The other issue in sharing the photos of the people, programs and the Narmada valley in the early years of the struggle is that there was no digital photography available. Cameras too were not common. Photos of people active back then, places and programs are not easily available. These memories are important to share in words as well as in photo frames as the Narmada River in itself, in its original form and the many beautiful villages on its banks have submerged and changed forever because of the SSP. Many of the founding members and active members of the movement are no more or are senior now. However some films were made on the movement, the River and its people in the 1990s and four film makers have very kindly given me permission to use still frames from their films of the people, the valley and the programs of those early years. These films and film makers are: 1. A Valley Refuses to Die by K P Sasi 2. Narmada Diary by Simantini Dhuru and Anand Patwardhan and 3. A Valley Rises by Ali Kazmi. The still frames of important members of the struggle from these films will be credited to the films here. Photos whose source is available will be credited accordingly and the rest will be credited to NBA collective, till such time the source is shared with me.
I will continue my effort to share photos of all those I am able to collect from supporters of the movement who have taken photos or filmed the valley and the struggle.
