Barwani is a beautiful town in Madhya Pradesh called ‘The Paris of Nimar’ for its architectural and scenic splenetic. But for Correspondent Rakesh Khanna it is also land where many struggles are being fought fervently but they remain unheard. He has been an activist since the age of 14, when he participated in Narmada Bachao Aandolan (Save Narmada Movement) and…

Rakesh Khanna

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113 tribal families are rehabilitated after 30 years of struggle against the dam project in Chirodh.

Rakesh knows a lot about the Narmada Dams. Indeed, his own family has been a victim of this gigantic project – the construction of 30 dams on the Narmada river – that has displaced thousands of villagers, and remains as a symbol of the destructive impact of massive development projects. So, from the start of his collaboration with Video Volunteers, Rakesh has used his videos as a means to voice about his experience and his fight, in parallel with his engagement in the Narmada Bachao Andolan movement. “Since I became an IndiaUnheard Community Correspondent, I realized that there is a specific platform for me to tell all my personal stories of struggle."

The Omkareshwar dam was constructed as part of the Narmada valley project, and has caused the displacement of more than 3000 families. Among them, many tribal people have not been relocated – contrarily to what was granted to them - because they did not possess the required documents attesting to their property rights over their lands. They had to struggle against the government for 30 years, but today’s video proves that their fight was not in vain. Indeed, 113 families were eventually relocated, on plots where they can live in decent conditions.

Rakesh considers this relocation as a big success for the Narmada Bachao Andolan movement, and for tribals, whose rights are widely denied. He hopes his video will give everyone facing similar situations the courage to keep on fighting.