Development and displacement

Based on the learnings from activists associated with the National Alliance of People’s Movements and participants of a social movement at a slum site in Mumbai, the concepts and processes associated with social movement politics are explored. A social movement is a space- and issue-centric collective that gets invoked only when demands are common. Resistance is central to its politics. A social movement is more than just a negotiation with the state; it is also a domain of thinking and implementing alternatives, and opens up the politics of sustainable social change.

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Politics of Pollution

Vol. 53, Issue No. 49, 15 Dec, 2018

P Omkar Nadh

The Godavari Mega Aqua Food Park, which is expected to come up in Tundurru village in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, is being resisted by the local residents. This resistance stems out of the local populace’s concerns regarding the pollution that would be caused by the upcoming factory, and its adverse effects on the health, natural resources and livelihoods of the people. The use of violent repressive measures by the government to quell the protests against the project posits the upcoming industry as a product of the state–corporate nexus, with no concern for the health, well-being or prosperity of the people it claims to serve.

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Mapping Violence in the Lives of Adivasi Women

Vol. 53, Issue No. 42, 20 Oct, 2018

Kriti Sharma

The Adivasi women of Jharkhand negotiate with power structures within the family system and society, and are further entrapped in gender hegemonies that are part of larger shifts in the political economy. Their lived experiences in the urban and rural landscape of Ranchi, a Schedule V district under the Constitution, and an analysis of the enforcement of legal machinery in removing or tightening the existing disparities provide crucial insights into the sociolegal realities of the lives of Adivasi women, thereby mapping their everyday experiences of violence and the means available to address their issues.