Medha Patkar | |
|---|---|
 Patkar in 2002 | |
| Born | 1 December 1954 |
| Other names | Medha tai |
| Education | MA in Social work |
| Alma mater | Tata Institute of Social Sciences |
| Organization | National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) |
| Movement | Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) |
| Awards | Right Livelihood Award |
Medha Patkar (born 1 December 1954) 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.[1][2]
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 (NAPM), an alliance of hundreds of progressive people's organizations.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] 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(Powai) and as well as other builders.
In 2000, Medha Patkar was included in the 100 heroes of the 20th century by Time.[6] 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.”[7] 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.[8]
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.[9] The sentence was also suspended by the court for one month.[10]
- ^ "TISS official website – About TISS". Tiss.edu. TISS. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ Patkar, Medha (18 September 2013). "'The unprotected class of workers is the real India". Rediff. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ "National Alliance of People's Movement Website". Napm-india.org. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ "Final report of World Commission on dams" (PDF). United Nations Environment Programme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ Sharma, Anjali. "Medha Patkar". The CEO Magazine India. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ Golden, Frederic (26 April 2000), "A Century of Heroes", TIME, vol. 155, no. 17, pp. 54–57, PMID 12025333
- ^ "Medha Patkar was wrong on Narmada project". The Times of India. 4 September 2022.
- ^ "How Sardar Sarovar Dam is providing irrigation water in summer for the first time in history". Indian Express. 9 June 2022.
- ^ https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/medha-patkar-sentenced-to-5-month-jail-term-in-defamation-case-101719832389378.html [bare URL]
- ^ PTI. "Medha Patkar sentenced to 5-month jail term in defamation case, asked to pay Rs 10 lakh to V K Saxena". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 1 July 2024.