Everybody loves a good fast

As for being 8216;8216;anti-activist8217;8217;, I have no hesitation in admitting that I view Ms Patkar8217;s brand of activism as dangerous. I am appalled by the idea of an individual, no matter how exalted, coercing the Government into changing course by 8216;8216;fasting unto death8217;8217;. It was wrong of the Prime Minister to submit to Ms Patkar8217;s bullying because it sets a bad precedent.

Let me add that I am against big dams because I believe that the environmental damage they do is greater than the benefits they provide, but I do not believe that they should be stopped once work on constructing them has begun. We cannot afford to waste thousands and thousands of crore rupees on delays and stoppages. I also believe that it is wrong for governments to compel ordinary people into giving up their land and homes without adequate compensation and rehabilitation. These things should be settled before our hard-earned money is poured into grandiose projects like Sardar Sarovar. There should be a hearing before the first ground is broken and everyone should have a chance to make their demands and air their grievances. Afterwards, anyone causing disruption should be locked up.

We cannot afford otherwise because where infrastructure is concerned India lags far behind the rest of the world, which on the ground means that millions of Indians continue to be denied bijli, sadak, paani8212;the fundamental requisites of the 21st century.

In the wall-to-wall coverage that Ms Patkar8217;s fast got, it disappointed me that nobody asked her where India is to get the additional 700,000 mega watts of electricity we need by yesterday if every Indian is to have the right to light a single low-watt bulb in his home. Would Medha Patkar or her new best friend, Aamir Khan, like to tell us where these 700,000 mega watts should come from?

Ms Patkar has now set off on a 8216;8216;pol khol abhiyan8217;8217;, a journey to expose the truth. What useful purpose will this serve? Would it not be more useful for her to investigate quietly, without fanfare, government claims on rehabilitation? Is the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh correct in saying that work on 75 of 86 rehabilitation sites has been completed? Is it true that the Madhya Pradesh government has already handed out compensation worth Rs 435.90 crore to 24,421 families? If Ms Patkar would concentrate her energies on finding out the truth behind these claims, her 8216;8216;pol khol yatra8217;8217; would be more than useful. But if all it is going to involve is more demonstrations in the streets then she is going to be viewed as the drama queen she often appears to be.

My other problem with Ms Patkar is that she appears to think poverty is a good thing. In far too many of the many interviews she gives she creates the impression that she represents the poor, innocent rural Indian in a battle against rich, ideologically deficient, urban Indians. What appears to have escaped her notice is that millions of urban Indians were rural till yesterday and remain in touch with their families who continue to live in the villages.

The battlelines she draws are artificial and based on divisions that have blurred as more and more people move to towns and cities. According to most estimates, more than half of India8217;s population will be living in urban centres by 2020, so these divisions will simply disappear. The big battle of the 21st century is the battle against poverty and not for the poor to remain poor.

If it is true that more than Rs 400 crore has been spent on the rehabilitation of 24,000 families then we should be able to see signs of it. Modern, urban settlements with TV antennas shining on shiny rooftops and urban services providing the jobs. If they do not exist, if dam victims have gone from poverty to desperate poverty then we need to know where the money has gone. Who better to find out and give us some pol khol than Ms Medha Patkar?

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