Socio-economic transformations of Sardar Sarovar project-affected indigenous populations and post-colonial development state
Sutapa Chattopadhyay
#2011-072
The Tadvi Adivasi narratives succinctly underscore the imprudence and
insanity of Indian federal and state governments in sanctioning the
construction of large-scale development projects' such as the Sardar
Sarovar Project (SSP). Dam development is a part of a wider neoliberal
project that create capitalist relations and technologies in different
forms of economy and modes of livelihood contributing to the process of
global primitive accumulation. The expansion of the creation of the
global proletariat is facilitated by dismantling customary relations to
land, forests, water. The fact that many dams are constructed where
marginalized populations exist holding tenuous relations to the
environment may not coincide. For capitalism to survive and expand,
there not only has to be an increase in capital accumulation sometimes
taking the form of technological infrastructure (large dams) but there
also has to be 'free labor', a group of people who have no ties to any
subsistence base and limited or no alternative to working for wages. An
analysis of Tadvi stories and my field observations highlight the
limited livelihood opportunities and the socio-political changes
Adivasis' are experiencing, in their rehabilitated villages, which has
an enormous impact on their everyday lives and future generations. In
hindsight, the eminent dislocation and resettlement accentuate the
post-colonial Indian state's ideological explanations towards the need
for large-scale development, it's unwillingness to assume
accountability, it's flimsy commitments to the environment, it's partial
and limited interpretations of sustainability, and it's complete lack of
responsibility towards excluding millions of populations from their
livelihoods.
Keywords: post-colonial development state, accumulation, environmental
sustainability, Adivasi populations, lifestyle changes
JEL Code- Q01, Q56, O15