Rumours are rife that Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may contest the Gujarat elections with Medha Patkar as its chief ministerial face. According to sources, the decision hasn’t been well-received by the party members themselves with reports of candidates threatening to quit. Anyhow the idea of activists entering mainstream politics sounds very problematic. The skill-set required to do constructive development and take all parties along is a must for politicians, whereas activists thrive on disrupting projects without proper information by making a cause out of environment concerns or local community’s concerns. Sometimes they also disrupt for the sake of disruption, leading to an entire industry of rent-a-cause activism globally.
Patkar herself undertook activism for a cause that later turned out to be an utterly misplaced activism costing time, money and of course development to the country. Her protests against the creation of Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD) on Narmada river stalled the project for six decades, leading the state of Gujarat to even lose the World Bank funding due to mounting pressure and finance it through expensive loans. In 2000, finally the Supreme Court took a call and gave a green light to the project saying its benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. After all, it was a project that would irrigate 21 lakh hectares of land in Gujarat and Rajasthan, provide drinking water to 2.5 crore people and generate 1450 MW of electricity.
Today SSD has become a shining example of development with water reaching drought-prone regions of Gujarat and even Rajasthan. Even the tribals whose cause she championed are happy with their resettlement package with many even becoming ‘crorepatis’ at prevailing market prices as proven in a study conducted by economist Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar. Interestingly, Swaminathan himself confessed that he was fooled by Medha Patkar in his column in Times of India this week.
Far-Left activism has done India more disservice than our anyway lethargic, populist, closet-socialist and sometimes even corrupt politicians. While Narmada Bachao Andolan became a massive success and launched Medha Patkar as the go-to-activist for anything that required bashing India on international forums, the success of SSD despite her misplaced activism has proven to be a huge slap on the face of everyone who sided with her. Yes, even the editors and journalists who love to project activists as the ultimate know-it-alls, instead of the real dispassionate experts.
Something similar happened with the Sterlite Copper plant in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi. The plant was first sealed in 2010 over protests by fishermen backed by the MDMK party. Later, the Supreme Court stayed the decision of the High Court that had ordered this sealing. But ultimately in 2018, the plant was shut after the company announced capacity enhancement plans and protests ensued. Since then, India has turned into a net importer of copper at a historically higher price when it was actually a net exporter during the time the plant was allowed to function. According to a report funded by Niti Ayog and conducted by CUTS, a Jaipur-based think tank, it has caused a whopping loss of Rs 14,749 crore to the economy.
What’s ironic is that despite being declared an utter failure as an activist, Medha Patkar continues to remain relevant, as she expresses her opinion on the Sterlite plant as well, asking it to be shut forever. Vedanta that owns the plant has finally put it on sale even as the matter is still in Supreme Court. Though the face of Sterlite plant protests didn’t become as famous as Patkar, Fatima Babu, a retired professor-turned-activist, has many fans abroad. She was one of the petitioners who appealed against the plant in the court and led the charge on ground as well. Fatima used to teach English at a college in the same town. It is only in India that English professors seem to know more about the environment than experts themselves.
The author is a PhD in International Relations from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. Her research focuses on the political economy of South Asia and regional integration. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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