Rediscovery of India
On the morning of 4th June 2003, as usual I started from my room to my lab. While stepping down the stairs of my hostel, I saw Sudeep hurrying towards me. He asked whether I was ready to accompany Dipankar to Nasik. On the previous day, he had asked me whether I could go with Dipankar to the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) Dharna (sit-in) site at Nasik. On the fifth day of the dharna by the tribals in the Narmada valley at Nasik, five main activists observed a 24-hour fast to demand the immediate steps for resettling 3000 families likely to be affected by the 100 meters height of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP). However, no relevant action was forthcoming on the part of the government despite the repeated pleas and explanations. Therefore, the NBA was compelled to announce the indefinite fast by its main activist, Medha Patkar, from 30th May. Medhaji was communicating with the NBA headquarters and sending press releases using a laptop. It crashed and so she needed a replacement as early as possible. So I started off with Sudeep to Supratik's home to get instructions for collecting the laptop from Dadar and taking it to Nasik. There I met Sreekant, who would be coming with me to Dadar to collect the laptop and from there to Dipankar's place. By around 12:30 pm we reached Dipankar's research lab and before leaving, Dipankar invited Sreekant also to join us.
We started from Thane by 1.00 pm in Dipankar's car. The journey was really interesting despite the hot summer. Once we entered the ghats, there was sudden change in the weather. There was cool breeze and it reduced the intensity of summer sun substantially. We talked about the big mountains on the wayside, read the interesting "highway preachings" on the highway, took a break of half an hour at Karsala for our lunch and reached the Dharna site at 3.45 pm. We parked our vehicle and took the laptop to Sanjay Sangvai whom we are asked to meet once we reached there. While talking with him, he told that they were anticipating a police action that evening and it would be better if we keep the laptop with us.
We could see Medhaji lying on the floor. A group of about more than 100 people was sitting in the dharna stall watching a documentary on NBA. Inside the stall, there was a photograph of Shobha Wagh, who worked in the tribal areas of Satpuda ranges in Narmada valley with grit and determination. She died as she was trapped in the silt and water of the Sardar Sarovar dam in Domkhedi (district Nandurbar) on Thursday, May 22. She was 25 and is survived by her aged parents, two sisters and one young brother. She was mainly working with the tribal villages in Maharashtra and the Jeevan Shalas (the schools) of the NBA. Very near to the Dharna site, there was another stall for the police.
Dipankar went inside the stall to collect some documents required for producing before the Chief Minister while visiting him to talk about the NBA issues. Sreekant and myself waited outside watching the documentary. Soon some school children started singing songs followed by the tribal youths. After that, representatives of various organizations and NGO's gave small speeches. Dipankar extended our support to the movement, when he was called to address the group. After we reached there, Medhaji was helped to go out twice to vomit. She was so weak that it required two persons to hold her. Soon a lady doctor arrived to examine her. She told her blood pressure was dangerously low. Around 5.00 pm police vans carrying about 250 policemen and lady constables started reaching the site. We could feel the tension building up. Four state transport buses and an ambulance also arrived soon. Police blocked the traffic by setting up barricades on the road. Smelling the intention of the police, the whole group inside the stall formed a human fortress around Medhaji and started shouting slogans. I asked Sreekant whether Dipankar had come out of the stall and his answer was negative. The police forcefully tried to break the human shield and in that process they pulled people and pushed them to the buses. I saw many willingly walking into the bus. Some tribal girls refused to enter the bus and caught hold of the poles in the stall. Woman constables pulled them by their hair and put them in the bus. Photographers and media persons were trying to take pictures and video by getting closer to the stall. They were asked to go away from there by the police. Finally 6 policewomen forcefully carried Medhaji to the ambulance and they took her to hospital. Sreekant and I were helplessly watching along with other spectators all those activities of police. I felt really sad and angry on seeing all those atrocities. The police and authorities were doing all these against a group that was protesting in the most peaceful way possible. I asked Sreekant whether Dipankar was inside the bus. Then he pointed me to the stall. Dipankar was holding some posters that were torn away by the police in the process of demolishing the Dharna stall. They took everything from the stall and threw inside the bus. Then we saw two policemen asking Dipankar to get inside the bus. They started pushing him towards the bus. Dipankar looked at us before he got inside the bus. We realised the time to extend our support to the movement has come. Both of us walked into the bus and sat. We were the last to enter and the buses started moving.
It was a 15 minutes ride from the dharna site. We were taken to the Deolali Police camp. Of course there was no facility to put 186 satyagrahis in the lock-up. So they took us to a ground in front of the family quarters. We alighted there and sat on the gravel ground. Soon one girl started shouting slogans. Her voice was so loud that she could address a crowd of 500 easily without a public announcement system. She started talking to the group in their tribal language. The tone of her speech was so inspiring that at the end, even though we didn't understand a single word, we applauded. She became the de facto leader of the group. Her name was Gitanjali and has been working in NBA for so many years. She talked with the police officials about the illegal aspect of the arrests. She asked the entire group not to reveal their identity, as the police had no right to arrest us without warrants. Soon some of the girls started singing their traditional songs. After sometime, some young men started dancing. Soon girls joined them and there was a cultural evening. We were really astonished to see the democracy and social interaction that existed in their society. I wondered whether the so-called urban girls would show the courage to sing and dance when they are under police custody. Soon Gitaji started addressing the whole group. She told that the government has approved the demands of NBA. There was a thunderous applause on hearing this. Then she asked Baba Adve to address the group. Even though he talked in Marathi, I could make out from the faces of the people that he was able to win their hearts. Then a middle-aged man stood up and talked about his experiences in NBA activities. All that time the policemen were listening. He told them that these arrests had become a routine for his people such that they have more idea about the procedures than the police. Gitaji asked, among us, who all were new to police station. We raised our hands. She welcomed us. We received her welcome with a big applause. She talked with the Commissioner and told him that since they had brought us here they have to make provision for the dinner to which the officer agreed promptly. A big tank full of water was brought in and within one hour we all were served a sumptuous meal of hot Pulav and Puri-bhaji by the police officers themselves. Tarpaulins and mattresses were brought from the buses and spread on the ground and we all prepared for our sleep. Once again police officers approached us to get our names. And this time, we agreed to give them our names. Suddenly the people who came with me became "Ravi Paranjape" and "Aditya Roy" and myself "RajKumar" in the police records. We got many new friends like Jayanthi Lal, Janab Thadvi and Chetan. One guy offered us a blanket. We tried to refuse that but were forced to use that after his persistent offer. The poor policemen and lady constables continued keeping watch on us. Thus under the safe protection of "Mumbai Police Sena" we all started to slumber. Around 12.15 am somebody complained stomachache and promptly doctors from the Government hospital were summoned. The whole station was busy preparing 186 personal bonds required for releasing us as soon as possible as they were completely aware of the problems of keeping people under custody for no reason. By 2.30 am they managed to get the thumb impressions and signatures of the entire group and took us back to the dharna site. I could see the relief in the faces of policemen once they left us there.
We were invited by Janab Thadvi to be his guests at his place. He took us to his home where we were served hot tea. He provided mattresses and pillows to sleep comfortably. In the morning we had breakfast with Thadvi and his friends. Thadvi is really an extraordinary person who has got in depth knowledge in Islamic as well as Hindu scriptures. But above all he is a great humanist who has very different perspectives on various aspects of life. Along with him, we started to the city hospital where Medhaji was admitted. We handed over the laptop to her. She told us that she wants to come to IIT and talk about the NBA activities. This we welcomed promptly. Before saying good-bye to her, once again we extended our support to her activities. We said good -bye to our friends Chetan and Thadvi and started our return journey. Once again we enjoyed the sweet, cool breeze, and nice food from the dhaba and reached Thane in the evening.
We started from Thane by 1.00 pm in Dipankar's car. The journey was really interesting despite the hot summer. Once we entered the ghats, there was sudden change in the weather. There was cool breeze and it reduced the intensity of summer sun substantially. We talked about the big mountains on the wayside, read the interesting "highway preachings" on the highway, took a break of half an hour at Karsala for our lunch and reached the Dharna site at 3.45 pm. We parked our vehicle and took the laptop to Sanjay Sangvai whom we are asked to meet once we reached there. While talking with him, he told that they were anticipating a police action that evening and it would be better if we keep the laptop with us.
We could see Medhaji lying on the floor. A group of about more than 100 people was sitting in the dharna stall watching a documentary on NBA. Inside the stall, there was a photograph of Shobha Wagh, who worked in the tribal areas of Satpuda ranges in Narmada valley with grit and determination. She died as she was trapped in the silt and water of the Sardar Sarovar dam in Domkhedi (district Nandurbar) on Thursday, May 22. She was 25 and is survived by her aged parents, two sisters and one young brother. She was mainly working with the tribal villages in Maharashtra and the Jeevan Shalas (the schools) of the NBA. Very near to the Dharna site, there was another stall for the police.
Dipankar went inside the stall to collect some documents required for producing before the Chief Minister while visiting him to talk about the NBA issues. Sreekant and myself waited outside watching the documentary. Soon some school children started singing songs followed by the tribal youths. After that, representatives of various organizations and NGO's gave small speeches. Dipankar extended our support to the movement, when he was called to address the group. After we reached there, Medhaji was helped to go out twice to vomit. She was so weak that it required two persons to hold her. Soon a lady doctor arrived to examine her. She told her blood pressure was dangerously low. Around 5.00 pm police vans carrying about 250 policemen and lady constables started reaching the site. We could feel the tension building up. Four state transport buses and an ambulance also arrived soon. Police blocked the traffic by setting up barricades on the road. Smelling the intention of the police, the whole group inside the stall formed a human fortress around Medhaji and started shouting slogans. I asked Sreekant whether Dipankar had come out of the stall and his answer was negative. The police forcefully tried to break the human shield and in that process they pulled people and pushed them to the buses. I saw many willingly walking into the bus. Some tribal girls refused to enter the bus and caught hold of the poles in the stall. Woman constables pulled them by their hair and put them in the bus. Photographers and media persons were trying to take pictures and video by getting closer to the stall. They were asked to go away from there by the police. Finally 6 policewomen forcefully carried Medhaji to the ambulance and they took her to hospital. Sreekant and I were helplessly watching along with other spectators all those activities of police. I felt really sad and angry on seeing all those atrocities. The police and authorities were doing all these against a group that was protesting in the most peaceful way possible. I asked Sreekant whether Dipankar was inside the bus. Then he pointed me to the stall. Dipankar was holding some posters that were torn away by the police in the process of demolishing the Dharna stall. They took everything from the stall and threw inside the bus. Then we saw two policemen asking Dipankar to get inside the bus. They started pushing him towards the bus. Dipankar looked at us before he got inside the bus. We realised the time to extend our support to the movement has come. Both of us walked into the bus and sat. We were the last to enter and the buses started moving.
It was a 15 minutes ride from the dharna site. We were taken to the Deolali Police camp. Of course there was no facility to put 186 satyagrahis in the lock-up. So they took us to a ground in front of the family quarters. We alighted there and sat on the gravel ground. Soon one girl started shouting slogans. Her voice was so loud that she could address a crowd of 500 easily without a public announcement system. She started talking to the group in their tribal language. The tone of her speech was so inspiring that at the end, even though we didn't understand a single word, we applauded. She became the de facto leader of the group. Her name was Gitanjali and has been working in NBA for so many years. She talked with the police officials about the illegal aspect of the arrests. She asked the entire group not to reveal their identity, as the police had no right to arrest us without warrants. Soon some of the girls started singing their traditional songs. After sometime, some young men started dancing. Soon girls joined them and there was a cultural evening. We were really astonished to see the democracy and social interaction that existed in their society. I wondered whether the so-called urban girls would show the courage to sing and dance when they are under police custody. Soon Gitaji started addressing the whole group. She told that the government has approved the demands of NBA. There was a thunderous applause on hearing this. Then she asked Baba Adve to address the group. Even though he talked in Marathi, I could make out from the faces of the people that he was able to win their hearts. Then a middle-aged man stood up and talked about his experiences in NBA activities. All that time the policemen were listening. He told them that these arrests had become a routine for his people such that they have more idea about the procedures than the police. Gitaji asked, among us, who all were new to police station. We raised our hands. She welcomed us. We received her welcome with a big applause. She talked with the Commissioner and told him that since they had brought us here they have to make provision for the dinner to which the officer agreed promptly. A big tank full of water was brought in and within one hour we all were served a sumptuous meal of hot Pulav and Puri-bhaji by the police officers themselves. Tarpaulins and mattresses were brought from the buses and spread on the ground and we all prepared for our sleep. Once again police officers approached us to get our names. And this time, we agreed to give them our names. Suddenly the people who came with me became "Ravi Paranjape" and "Aditya Roy" and myself "RajKumar" in the police records. We got many new friends like Jayanthi Lal, Janab Thadvi and Chetan. One guy offered us a blanket. We tried to refuse that but were forced to use that after his persistent offer. The poor policemen and lady constables continued keeping watch on us. Thus under the safe protection of "Mumbai Police Sena" we all started to slumber. Around 12.15 am somebody complained stomachache and promptly doctors from the Government hospital were summoned. The whole station was busy preparing 186 personal bonds required for releasing us as soon as possible as they were completely aware of the problems of keeping people under custody for no reason. By 2.30 am they managed to get the thumb impressions and signatures of the entire group and took us back to the dharna site. I could see the relief in the faces of policemen once they left us there.
We were invited by Janab Thadvi to be his guests at his place. He took us to his home where we were served hot tea. He provided mattresses and pillows to sleep comfortably. In the morning we had breakfast with Thadvi and his friends. Thadvi is really an extraordinary person who has got in depth knowledge in Islamic as well as Hindu scriptures. But above all he is a great humanist who has very different perspectives on various aspects of life. Along with him, we started to the city hospital where Medhaji was admitted. We handed over the laptop to her. She told us that she wants to come to IIT and talk about the NBA activities. This we welcomed promptly. Before saying good-bye to her, once again we extended our support to her activities. We said good -bye to our friends Chetan and Thadvi and started our return journey. Once again we enjoyed the sweet, cool breeze, and nice food from the dhaba and reached Thane in the evening.
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