Ahimsa Conversation #62 :
When people struggle for their own right to life, they have to honor the other’s right to life. Drawing on the years she spent as a full time activist of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, Nandini Oza delves into the complexities of choosing this path of action and the difficulties of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKLZMpuuntw&t=10s
Feedback on the talk:
* Debarshi Dasgupta @sanitydurast: Privileged, but saddened as well, to have heard @OzaNandini detail the death shroud that the Sardar Sarovar dam has cast on locals and their culture. Was touched particularly by the description of a dammed Narmada reservoir by a local as a “corpse that had bloated” Important that schools (as well as families) expose their children to such oral history accounts to help them develop a more nuanced and empathetic view of the “progress” we have made. Dams are more than just “temples of modern India”.
*Dr. Fleur D’Souza on Instagram mamathefleur: Wonderfully detailed introduction to the voiceless of the Narmada Valley.
*Anonymous: “Most comprehensive presentation on how oral history as a discipline can be useful, this should be put up on YouTube”.
Milli Sessions – IAW 2020
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Day 4 – Evidence and truth // On copyright and privacy
The session centred on silences and dilemmas within archival spaces. Panelists laid out the marginalised histories of Mental Health and anti-dam protests, emphasising on the role of ideology in shaping the scope and presentation of historical evidence. Questions from the audience then greatly added to the session, ranging from discussions on Manto, madness and partition to nation building and displacement. Panelists: Nandini Oza, Dr. Sanjeev Jain, NIMHANS, and Dr.Alok Sarin, Mental Health Activist:
