A System of Injustice – The Displacement and Impoverishment of Pardhis in Multai, Madhya Pradesh

On 9 September 2007, Pardhidhana, a locality in Chouthiya village in southern Madhya Pradesh was razed to the ground by hundreds of local farmers. Several members of the state machinery, including the police and higher administration, stood by as men rampaged through Pardhidhana setting fire to the shanties and demolishing the pucca houses after looting them. Several politicians, including the sitting MLA of the region took an active part in the proceedings.

Within hours of the demolition, two sets of heinous crimes had occurred: in one, two people, Bhondru and Dodelbai of Pardhidhana were found murdered in cold blood, and eyewitnesses alleged the gang rape of Dodelbai as well; in another, ten women alleged that they had been held back when the police forcibly evacuated Pardhidhana before the demolition, and had subsequently been gang raped. While the murders of Dodelbai and Bhondru have been investigated, only one person has been charged with both the crimes!

Based on the fact finding and a close analysis of the CBI charge sheets, what emerges is a systematic mis-carriage of justice. Despite fair judgements by the High Court, the displaced Pardhis have been systematically impoverished. This report details the many ways in which this has occurred.

To get a copy of the report, click here

For a copy of the report in Hindi, click here

Repression of People affected by Kharak Dam – A Report

This report presents the terror faced by the people living in village Chaukhand, which is a village on the dam site of the Kharak dam proposed to be built on Kharak river in District Khargone, Madhya Pradesh. The incident occurred on 26th May 2013

Jal Satygraha

People around the country have been battling the issue of displacement for decades. Corporate land acquisition and large scale infrastructure projects have taken the lands and livelihoods of thousands. In Madhya Pradesh, the struggle against displacement by large dams has been central to the people’s movement. It has been a long and difficult fight to compel the government to comply with its own rehabilitation policy, and the struggle continues…

Most recently, on the evening of 25^th August, 2012, 250 people affected by the Omkareswar dam entered the water and began their landmark protest – the jal satyagraha. Below is a video of the protesters followed by a press release by the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA).