Dear Mr. Pandit:
Thanks for the response.
>As regards cynical and taunting, the congratulatory messages
so far outnumber >the critical ones.
I will be much obliged if you would forward a few of which you
deem to be either the best or most representative of these supportive
or laudatory responses you received. I am not at all doubting your
veracity here, but I am curious about the 'QUALITY' of these
responses, which could be judged from the posts.
>My idea of perfect happiness is - seeing people
maintain a consistency in what >they say.
Good to know that. It certainly will make my day, if I can
contribute my little bit to a fellow human's happiness perfect. But as
you must have read in the prologue to my response, I do make
exceptions to my self-imposed detachments in instances involving the
life-conditions of fellow humans and my responsibilities as a
custodian of the ecosystems of the globe which we call home,
regardless of geographical distances or man-made boundaries.
But I agree, I know little about Sardar Sarovar, its dam height,
or the number of people it has displaced, how many more it will
displace still, the conditions and the degree of completion of
resettlements, the compliance with the govt. promises or the SC
decrees, or even the benefits derived from it. One thing that I read
that I keep thinking about is the failure of the concrete canal
shortly after its initiation, flooding some villages where no floods
happened before. I hope our expert engineers have since taken care of
the unfortunate glitch. If I were a praying man, I would also have
kept the silting of the reservoir in my prayers.
>I am keen to know what great personal risk they took
except the risks associated with frequent long distance flying across
time zones
Correct me please if I am wrong, but have not people been rounded
up by the police in addition to being treated to summary justice meted
out with the long bamboo 'dandas' ( sticks./batons) of the 'law'(?)?
Were not people imprisoned, time and again for having the temerity to
stand up for their rights? I could be wrong about this, but were there
instances of protesters bring shot too? Hope not. But I will pass on
the assault on the little people's integrity by people in high places
as anything of a personal risk, it coming with the territory. An
occupational risk if you will, involving with NGOs that dare to
question the wisdom of politicians or govt. engineers or
bureaucrats.
>Displacement issue was only an excuse to fight the dam.
Um, --- am I to infer here that raising the issue of displacement
of people, of the scale involved in, say the Sardar Sarovar case, was
a dirty trick played by these damned dam-damners? An underhanded ploy?
A blow below the belt to the plans of the big-thinkers attempting to
make India the super-power it deserves to be? Perhaps these displaced
people never had a life anyway, so why make it such an issue? After
all it is about making India big. Somebody has to pay the price! Why
not those who would not know the difference anyway?
I don't know Mr. Pandit. I like to think you are not thinking
like that. The Sariska post must have emanated from a temporary loss
of grip precipitated by an eruption of suppressed anger doing a slow
burn of your better self.
>a) The Sariska displacement is also of agrarian people from the land they live on and get their sustenance from. . . . etc. No difference.
It is the scale, Mr. Pandit. The numbers. And the
CONTEXT--avoidable/unavoidable.
>b) Unlike Gir forest which is the
ONLY home for Asiatic Lion, Sariska is not the ONLY tiger habitat. And
not even the largest. More tigers live elsewhere, in India.
>c) Very likely, there already
are no more tigers in Sariska.
I thought of that angle and was hoping you would not bring that
up. So you are arguing that it was an entirely avoidable, un-essential
displacement of the 11 villages, for whose plight your heart goes out.
But these damned dam-damning NGOs were no where to be seen fighting to
stop this abomination.
But somehow, Mr. P, your compassion does not ring true here.
And instead of persuading the fair minded to your point of view that
these NGOs are nothing but a bunch of hypocritical anti-development,
anti-dam rabble rousers, EVEN if they accept ALL dams uncritically as
icons of progress and as IWRS might peddle them; it does disservice to
your image, making you look like a spoilt brat,used to
deferential treatment, who goes about questioning the integrity of
those who look out for the rights of the dispossessed, if they get in
your way.
> But you answered it yourself when you agreed that displacement per se was never the issue. We are already in agreement on that.
I did not say that. But I did imply that NOT all displacements
are the same. We cannot purge the issue of its context to credibly
argue the point you do. That is the difference.
On a side note, even though we disagree on the role of these
ant-dam NGOs, I am sure you would agree that it was a sad day for
India to have discovered that tigers have been wiped out from Sariska.
I come from tiger country. As a child growing up in an environment
pock-marked with thick forests interspersed with small villages,
life's only fear was the thought of accosting one of these magnificent
animals. Never saw one in the wild, but my parents, and older
neighbors had plenty of stories to tell--of the symbiosis of
their existence with tigers ruling the jungles.And heard them
plenty,either in the evenings or a pre-dawn hours, their guttural
roars wafting miles thru the moist monsoon air that carries sounds far
and wide, chilling children's spines and driving dogs crazy. They are
gone now, most of them.A tragic loss. But an occasional stray one
still comes down from the Naga Hills, to terrify a villager, or lift a
cattle, and to re-ignite the lores that surround these magnificent
animals.
Best.
cm
At 8:58 PM -0700 7/20/05, IWRS Delhi Center wrote:
> Hello Mr. Pandit: Greetings from far off St. Louis. I presume it is you who generated this cynical and taunting post.
It was IWRS-DC. But I am an office bearer in it, and can reply to your points. As regards cynical and taunting, the congratulatory messages so far outnumber the critical ones.
>>Ordinarily I don't poke my nose into such things. It is far from the region I came from and have little knowledge of the people, terrain, its flora or fauna . . . .
Excellent. For you kind information, Sardar Sarovar is even farther away. I hope you will take the same stand that you have little knowledge of the people, terrain etc. - about Sardar Sarovar, and all river links/ dams/ canals etc. that are equally far or still farther, from the region you come from. My idea of perfect happiness is - seeing people maintain a consistency in what they say.
>>With that introduction, I must say I find this taunting of the people who have taken a stand, often at great personal risk, against the . . . .
I am keen to know what great personal risk they took except the risks associated with frequent long distance flying across time zones but there was no taunting. I was only bringing it to their notice that here is another displacement being planned. Isnt it unfair that no one is standing up for Sariska displaced ?. Why this step motherly treatment for them ?
>>It really ought not to take extraordinary intellectual abilities to make a distinction between displacement of agrarian people from the land they live on and get their sustenance from on account of avoidable, unnecessary or poorly conceived 'development' projects, such as high-dams and undertakings to save a species, such as tigers, from extinction.
You are right on the mark. That is precisely what my argument is. That displacement per se was never the issue. The issue was dam. Displacement issue was only an excuse to fight the dam. I fully agree.
However, please note:
a) The Sariska displacement is also of agrarian people from the land they live on and get their sustenance from. . . . etc. No difference.
b) Unlike Gir forest which is the ONLY home for Asiatic Lion, Sariska is not the ONLY tiger habitat. And not even the largest. More tigers live elsewhere, in India.
c) Very likely, there already are no more tigers in Sariska.
AND IN SAYING ALL THIS, I AM NOT PROTESTING AGAINST THE MOVE. I AM ONLY POINTING OUT INCONSISTENCIES IN THEIR STAND.
>>Furthermore, WHY exactly do you find it so horrible that these activists "---fight for exacting standards of rehab " for dam building displacement, . . .
Of course the dam displaced deserve exacting rehab package. Did I ever deny that ? I am going a step further and asking that ALL displaced deserve the same exacting rehab package. The question was, will the activist stand up for Sariska displaced ? But you answered it yourself when you agreed that displacement per se was never the issue. We are already in agreement on that.
PS: Thank for broadcasting your reply on the riverlinks yahoogroup. In the process my mail also gets broadcast, which I couldnt have done myself.
Chetan
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hello Mr. Pandit:Greetings from far off St. Louis.I presume it is you who generated this cynical and tauntingpost. Ordinarily I don't poke my nose into such things. It is far from the region I came from and have little knowledge of the people, terrain, its flora or fauna involved in this proposal for expanding Sariska which will involve displacement and relocation of villages. I am responding purely on humanitarian and ecological considerations; considerations that do and ought to transcend geographical boundaries. After all we are fellow humans and are ( or at least expected to be) custodians of this planet's flora and fauna -- its ecology.With that introduction, I must say I find this taunting of the people who have taken a stand, often at great personal risk, against the rampant displacement of some of your society's most vulnerable sectors, most unfortunate and unbecoming.It really ought not to take extraordinary intellectual abilities to make a distinction between displacement of agrarian people from the land they live on and get their sustenance from on account of avoidable, unnecessary or poorly conceived 'development' projects, such as high-dams and undertakings to save a species, such as tigers, from extinction. I am sure you have heard the phrase that 'extinction is forever'. It is much more than a cliche'. It is not something that is avoidable. There are no alternative solutions -- for example if the tigers of Sariska are gone for ever due to a loss of habitat, you could not argue that a few could be placed at Udaipur or in the Thar and start a new habitat. Or that house cats are but a cousin of tigers, an acceptable replacement.Similarly, if the riverlinkers go dam up the Manas river in Asssam or Arunachal and cut a 100 meter wide canal across the Tiger Reserve to ferry water to south India, you could not replace the loss by putting in a few extra tigers in some zoo.Therefore, regardless of whether those who stood up for the rights of displaced people on account of QUESTIONABLE 'development' /'infrastructure' projects oppose the Sariska expansion or not, you cannot get away with implying that they are mindless opponents of 'progress' or of ALL infrastructure projects.Furthermore, WHY exactly do you find it so horrible that these activists "---fight for exacting standards of rehab " for dam building displacement, that if they do not rise up with equal outrage for the Sariska displacements they could be held up to be hypocrites or mindless opponents of 'progress'? Is it unfair to hold the feet of those who promise fair rehab. to the fire, if they don't deliver? Do these displaced not count as humans deserving of the same quality of life that the beneficiaries of these so called 'infrastructure' projects seek? Are those displaced by dam-building children of some 'lesser gods' not deserving of receiving alternative accommodations conforming to "exacting standards"?>We will soon know.You might have to wait to find out if your disgruntlement is valid. But we won't need to wait to see the validity of your insinuations against the activists who stand for the rights of the displaced and the dispossessed.Best,Chandan MahantaAt 8:59 AM -0700 7/19/05, IWRS Delhi Center wrote:
Hindustan Times (New Delhi 19-7-2005) has reported that a decision has been taken to relocate 11 villages near Sariska, for which 222 Ha. forest land has been de-reserved.
(for overseas recipients of this mail, Sariska is a wildlife habitat and the purpose of relocation is to protect the wildlife therein). The interesting question now is, how do our Saviors of the Environment And Poor (SEAPs) handle this situation.
For almost two decades now, the SEAPs have been shouting themselves hoarse that people, and particularly the rural poor, ought not to be displaced from their land, no matter what the reason. Taking that stand was easy because invariably the reason was infrastructure development, like a dam, or an expressway, or improving Mumbai, etc.
Assuming their concern against displacement of people was genuine, it would be reasonable to expect them to take the same rigid stand against displacement this time too. So are they now going to file a PIL in the courts and get a stay order against the proposed displacement as they did in case of Sardar Sarovar dam ? Are they going to fight for the same exacting standards of rehab as was demanded in case of Sardar Sarovar, Tehri, Indira Sagar dams ? Are they going to flood the media space with the kind of essays as were written when the town of Harsud was relocated ?
When they opposed displacement then, there were many skeptics who said that all that was only a ploy to oppose infrastructure development in India. Well, now the SEAPs have an opportunity to prove the doubt mongers wrong, by taking up the cause of Sariska-displaced as vehemently as they did for dam-displaced.
The slogan then was Koi Nahi Hatega, Bandh Nahi Banega. Will it be now modified to Koi Nahi Hatega, Bagh Nahi Bachega ?
We will soon know.
IWRS-Delhi Center
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