Medha Patkar Biography and Works.

A well-known social activist in India, popularly known for her Narmada Bachao Andolan, Medha Patkar was born on December 1, 1954 in Mumbai. She was born to and raised by politically and socially active parents, Indu and Vasant Khanolkar.

Prior to becoming a social reformer, she completed her MA in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). She left PhD in the middle and got actively involved in the agitations conducted by Tribals and peasants of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. This led to the formation of the organization, Narmada Bachao Andolan.

She started a hunger strike on March 28, 2006 to protest against the decision of the authorities to raise the height of the Narmada Dam. She ended her 20 day fast on April 17, 2006, after the Supreme Court refused the Narmada Bachao Aandolan’s appeal to stop the construction of the dam and gave the dam construction a conditional go ahead.

Medha Patkar was arrested by the police at Singur in West Bengal on December 2, 2006 for her active involvement in the protest against getting the hold of the farmland. She was detained because the police officers thought that she might provoke people that might lead to law and order problem.

Medha Patkar has faced a lot of criticism. She has been criticised of being a hate-monger and of using anti-Gujarati sentiments to advance her cause of the Narmada Dam. The Madhya Pradesh Government also alleged the Narmada Bachao Andolan of receiving foreign funds and using them for unclear purposes. They claimed that the money obtained was being used by the organization to hamper the rehabilitation process.

Trivia

Medha Patkar received the 1999 MA Thomas National Human Rights Award from the Vigil India Movement. She was also a Commissioner to the World Commission on Dams.