This presentation, on the oral history of the struggles against the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), is based on interviews of some of the key activists and leaders of the Narmada Movement. I seek to explain the purpose behind recording this history, explore the method of oral history, and examine different issues and aspects of the movement. I also hope to share select audio clippings of the history as narrated by communities whose voices are rarely heard in the country’s development discourse.

It is important that a high profile multipurpose project such as the SSP continues to remain incomplete for several decades in spite of the political backing it has received. The obvious reason for this is the valiant struggle waged by adivasis, fisher folk, farmers and other natural-resources-dependent-communities affected by the project in the Narmada Valley. And yet, this struggle and the concomitant voices have not found adequate persuasive power in the history of post-independent India!

Nandini Oza has been a social and political activist with the NGO sector for over two decades. She has been part of several people’s movements such as the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). Since 2004, she has also been managing the Zindabad Trust, an organisation that provides financial support to environmental and political work across the country.