Displacement, Risks and Resistance: Local Perceptions and Actions in the Sardar Sarovar

This article looks at the problems of displacement and resettlement in the Sardar Sarovar, the reservoir of the Navagam dam on the river Narmada. In his analysis, the author considers three major variables—resettlement policies and their implementation, action-group mediation, and internal differentiation among people—to argue that people will have different perceptions and reactions to displacement: while some will risk resistance, others may risk resettlement. Given the importance of these variables, the article highlights the need to conceptualize displacement and resettlement as components in a dynamic environment, and argues that in the specific context of the Sardar Sarovar, a reworking of the displacement–resettlement problem is possible and perhaps desirable.