Submergence Village: Domkhedi, Maharashtra
3–4 minutes
“Our tongue was our only weapon”-
Dedlibai
Dedlibai was a key adivasi leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). Her village Domkhedi is one of the 33 villages in the submergence zone of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) in the state of Maharashtra. Dedlibai’s contribution to the NBA has been phenomenal. She had taken up several diverse responsibilities, ranging from mobilisation of the women in the remote adivasi villages affected by the SSP, to representing the NBA before government functionaries and committees. Dedlibai’s unique interview not only describes her own role but also how the adivasi women of the Narmada valley fought for their right to life, in spite of having no formal education and belonging to villages untouched by electricity and untouched by roads (until were built by the state only to be used to displace thousands of adivasi families).
“Our tongue was our only weapon”, Dedlibai sums up the non-violent struggle of the people on the banks of the River Narmada for their right to life against development induced displacement in this one profound and reflective statement. Being a woman leader and an affected person herself, she also talks about why women became an important part of the struggle against the gigantic dam, often leading the struggle from the frontlines. In this short excerpt from her longer interview, she details the struggle of scheduled tribe women, the challenges they faced as women during the course of the struggle and the state repression they faced including beatings, intimidation and jails. She talks of the difficulties that women endured as they travelled by trains and camped in the power centres of India like Delhi and Mumbai for justice and for their rights. She talks of how they had never been to such large cities before and the impact that being there had on the adivasi people’s minds and bodies when they had to camp for days on end in these congested, polluted cities for just a hearing from the power holders. She also remembers the martyrs of the movement including Rehmal Punya Vasave who lost his life in a police firing during the protests.
Dedlibai also throws light on the Adivasi way of life on the banks of the River Narmada, the agricultural practices they followed, their dependence on minor forest produce and how the SSP will destroy it all and even submerge their Gods and Goddesses.
The translation of this interview needed special expertise as it is in Pawari language, which has no written script and is spoken only in a limited region of the country. I therefore wish to specially acknowledge Rahul Banerjee for the translation of this interview.
Interview Duration: 0:53:00
Language: Pawari, Subtitles in English
Subtitles can be switched on and off by clicking ‘CC’ button at the bottom right of the video