Medha Patkar


Medha Patkar is an Indian Social activist working on social issues for tribals, dalits, farmers, labourers and women facing injustice in India. She is an alumna of TISS, a premier institute of social science research in India.
Patkar is a founding member of Narmada Bachao Andolan in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. She is also one of the founders of the National Alliance of People's Movements, an alliance of hundreds of progressive people's organizations. In addition to the above, Patkar was a commissioner on the World Commission on Dams, which did thorough research on the environmental, social, political and economic aspects and impacts of the development of large dams globally and their alternatives. She was the national co-ordinator and then convenor of National Alliance of People's Movements for many years and now continues to be an advisor to NAPM. Under the banner of NAPM, she has participated in and supported various mass struggles across India against inequity, non-sustainability, displacement, and injustice in the name of development. She challenges Casteism, Communalism, and all forms of discrimination in her work. She has been a part of numerous teams and panels that work on initiating and formulating various national policies and enactments including those related to land acquisition, unorganized sector workers, hawkers, slum-dwellers and forest-dweller Adivasis. NAPM filed several public interest litigations including those against Adarsh society, Lavasa Megacity, Hiranandani and as well as other builders.
In 2000, Medha Patkar was included in the 100 heroes of the 20th century by Time. However, noted Economist Swaminathan has criticized Medha Patkar in hindsight, saying she was wrong on the Narmada project. The Then Prime Minister Modi said that Medha Patkar and her “urban Naxal” friends had opposed and delayed the Narmada project that had greatly benefited Gujarat.” Expansion of the project in subsequent years has further brought further benefits from the dam, with irrigation water now available throughout the year to farmers across the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
In July 2024, Medha Patkar was sentenced to five months jail and was ordered to pay 10 lakh rupees compensation in a defamation case filed by the then Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Vinai Kumar Saxena by a Delhi court. The sentence was also suspended by the court for one month.

Early and personal life

Medha Patkar was born as Medha Khanolkar on 1 December 1954 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, the daughter of Vasant Khanolkar, a freedom fighter, and labour union leader, and his wife Indumati Khanolkar, a gazetted officer in the Post and Telegraphs Department. She has one brother, Mahesh Khanolkar, an architect.
Medha Khanolkar earned an MA in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She was married for seven years but the marriage ended in divorce.

Career as an activist

Medha Patkar worked with voluntary organizations in Mumbai's slums for 5 years and tribal districts of North-East districts of Gujarat for three years. She worked as a member of the faculty at Tata Institute of Social Sciences but left her position to take up the fieldwork. She was a Ph.D. scholar at TISS, studying Economics development and its impact on traditional societies. After working up to M.Phil. level she left her unfinished Ph.D. when she became immersed in her work with the tribal and peasant communities in the Narmada valley spread over three states.

About Narmada Bachao Andolan

Narmada Bachao Andolan is a social movement protesting against the dam on river Narmada which began in 1985 consisting of Adivasis, farmers, fish workers, labourers, and others in the Narmada valley along with the intellectuals including environmentalists, human rights activists, Scientists, academics, artists who stand for just and sustainable development. Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat is one of the biggest dams on Narmada where the non-violent people's struggle has questioned social and environmental costs, undemocratic planning, and unjust distribution of benefits. The struggle is still on in the Sardar Sarovar affected areas and also other large and medium dams on Narmada and its tributaries. It has led to thousands of project-affected families receiving land-based rehabilitation and continues to fight against submergence and displacement without rehabilitation of more than 40,000 families residing in these submergence areas of Sardar Sarovar to date. Few of the claims and critique on economic, social, and environmental aspects of the Sardar Sarovar and Narmada valley development project stand vindicated today. Patkar has also questioned the wisdom of the currently popular developmental strategy of linking rivers in India as a means to address issues of water shortage.
NBA has been running Jeevan shalas- schools of life, since 1992. NBA also successfully established and managed a micro-hydro projects which got submerged due to the flood in the Narmada Valley.
Critics argue that dam's benefits include provision of drinking water, power generation and irrigation facilities. However, it is believed that the campaign, led by the NBA activists, has held up the project's completion, and NBA supporters have attacked on local people who accepted compensation for moving. Others have argued that the Narmada Dam protesters are little more than environmental extremists, who use pseudoscientific agitprop to scuttle the development of the region and that the dam will provide agricultural benefits to millions of poor in India. There had also been instances of the NBA activists turning violent and attacking rehabilitation officer from Narmada Valley Development Authority, which caused damage to the contractor's machinery.
The NBA has been accused of lying under oath in court about land ownership in areas affected by the dam. The Supreme Court has mulled perjury charges against the group.

Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan

It is a struggle for housing rights in Mumbai, started in 2005, and continues to fight for the rights of slum-dwellers and those created by the builders in various rehabilitation and re-development projects. It all began when the government of Maharashtra demolished 75,000 houses of the poor in 2005, against its promises before the election. Strong people's movement was founded by Medha Patkar and others when she gave the slogan in a large public meeting at Azaad Maidaan Mumbai. It was through mass action that the communities were rebuilt on the same sites and continued to assert and attain their right to shelter water, electricity, sanitation, and livelihood. As members of working-class GBGBA respect the slum-dwellers for contribution to the life of the city and involve them inequitable and inclusive planning for urban development.

National Alliance of People's Movements

The National Alliance of People's Movements is an alliance of people's movements in India, with the stated aim of working on a range of issues related to socio-economic justice, political justice, and equity. Medha Patkar founded the National Alliance of People's Movements with the objective of "facilitating unity and providing strength to peoples' movements in India, fighting against oppression, further questioning the current development model to work towards a just alternative". She is the national convener of the NAPM.

Tata Nano Plant Singur

started constructing a factory to manufacture their $2,500 car, the Tata Nano at Singur. She protested against the setting up of the plant at Singur, West Bengal. Patkar's convoy was assaulted, allegedly by CPI activists, at Kapaseberia in East Midnapore district while on her way to strife-torn Nandigram. At the height of the agitation, Ratan Tata had made remarks questioning the source of funds of the agitators. In October 2008 Tata announced that the factory would not be completed and that the production of the Nano will be set up in Sanand, Gujarat.

Nandigram land grab resistance (2007)

She participated in and initiated various supportive actions including a fast during Diwali in Kolkata, mass-mobilization, complaints at various national fora, and building support of intellectuals and various citizens across the country. The battle was ultimately won in favor of the local people who had to lay their lives in large numbers during state violence.

Lavasa

is a project by Hindustan Construction Corporation, in Maharashtra. It is a yet-to-be-completed city. Lavasa Project is criticized by P. Sainath for unjust use of water in a worst-hit farmer suicide state. Medha Patkar with villagers of Lavasa protested for the environmental damage in Nagpur. She also filed a PIL in Supreme Court against the Lavasa project.

Golibar Demolition

Demolition took place on 2 and 3 April 2013 in the Golibar area, Mumbai, Maharashtra evicting 43 houses and displacing more than 200 people. the whole project is to displace thousands of families and 50–100 years old communities that are demanding in-situ and participatory housing rights. Medha Patkar with more than 500 slum dwellers set on indefinite fast to protest against any further demolition until the inquiry into the matter is completed. Patkar has alleged corruption and "atrocities" by builders in the city's slum rehabilitation scheme and called for the halting of six projects by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority until a proper inquiry is conducted. The inquiry was conducted giving partial solutions hence communities continue with their struggle.

Save Sugar-Cooperatives Mission

To save the Sugar-Cooperative sector in Maharashtra from falling into the hands of politicians including tens of ministers in the Maharashtra cabinet till 2014, Medha Patkar organized protests. She explained that "the politicians are interested in the prime plots of land, old equipment, and machinery," of sugar co-operatives and accused the state government of selling assets of the industry at throw-away rates. A case against Girna Sugar factory at Malegaon, Nasik, Maharashtra and members of Chhagan Bhujbal Family pending before the Supreme court of India and the unused land of the factory is re-occupied and cultivated by the local farmers who were the donors of the cooperative that was privatized by the former minister purchasing it at a throwaway price.