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Resources

Books World Bank Involvement
Audio Arundhati Roy's Greater Common Good
Video Baba Amte
Images PM-Medha Patkar correspondence
Interviews Debates involving Arundhati Roy
Alternatives Supreme Court Case
Relevant links Narmada skit

World Bank Involvement

At a point when the Ministry of Environments and Forests in India was unwilling to clear the Sardar Sarovar Project, the World Bank enabled the project to start with a loan of $450 million. After a massive campaign against the Bank's role in the project and its violation of its own guidelines, the Bank appointed an (unprecedented) Independent Commission to review the project. Instead of suggesting minor changes and adjustments, the commission recommended that the Bank withdraw from the project. The Bank finally had to bow to international pressure and quit the project. Read about the story behind the Bank's role in the SSP in the chapter on Narmada in Masters of Illusion : The World Bank and the Poverty of Nations" by Catherine Caufield.


Arundhati Roy's essay: The Greater Common Good

In 1999, writer Arundhati Roy wrote a celebrated essay, Greater Common Good in which she brilliantly vivisects the politics behind the Sardar Sarovar Project. The essay resulted in a great deal of discussion in the media.

In response to this essay, activist Gail Omvedt wrote an open letter to Arundhati Roy in which she critiqued the Narmada Bachao Andolan. This letter attracted many critical responses.
Gail Omvedt's open letter and responses

About a year later, environmental historian Ramachandra Guha critiqued Arundhati Roy's style and her politics. This article also attracted many responses including one from Arundhati herself.


Alternatives to Sardar Sarovar Project

Several alternatives to the large, centralised Sardar Sarovar Project have been proposed. Some material on these issues can be found in our ALTERNATIVES section.


Baba Amte

The movement against Sardar Sarovar gained immensely when noted social worker, Baba Amte added his moral support to the cause. To voice his protest against the dam, Baba moved to the banks of the Narmada and has vowed to drown there rather than move. Read about his fascinating life in Rajni Bakshi's recent book, "Bapu Kuti : Journeys In The Rediscovery Of Gandhi". Baba Amte's Vanaprastha.

Baba Amte was awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize in 1999. On the occasion of conferring the award to Baba Amte, President K.R.Narayanan made this speech.


Prime Minister's letter to Medha Patkar

In September, '99 while Narmada satyagrahis were in jail (this detention was determined to be illegal by the Courts), the Prime Minister of India, A B Vajpayee wrote a letter to Medha Patkar, one of the key activists of the Narmada Bachao Andolan.


Articles and interviews


Relevant links