Moving Beyond Economic Analysis: Assessing The Socio-Cultural Impacts Of Displacement And Resettlement By Sardar Sarovar Project, India

Abstract

The large scale development projects like dams have been justified for a greater economic benefit of the nation. However, the development projects have become synonymous with land acquisition leading to dispossession and forced migration of a large number of people and their involuntary resettlement. Unfortunately, too much focus on the economic benefits of such large scale projects has omitted many relevant tangible and intangible socio-cultural aspects and ignored the impacts of development policies that shape forced migrations. The present paper asserts to move beyond the ‘limited’ economic analysis of large projects and includes the critical social and cultural implications of forced migration and displacement. The paper presents views of respondents displaced from the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and were resettled inGujarat. Perhaps, it is the most unique aspect of this paper to understand the socio-cultural adjustment in context of the spatial origin. The resettlement caused by the Sardar Sarovar Project has led to a change in dress patterns and marriage customs, loss of tribal folk art, destroyed the existing social networks and hindered access to new ones. Increased violence against women, problem of drunkenness and bootlegging at the resettlement sites are also highlighted. The insights in the work are based upon the fieldwork in select resettlement sites inGujarat. The author adopted participant observation, focus group discussions and key informant interviews as a means for data collection and better comprehension of the study area.

Gendered analysis of development induced displacement in the Global South: A systematic review

“…We contend that gender and socioeconomic inequality outcomes have been significantly influenced by the reality of power, allowing men to reinvent their masculinity to perpetuate stereotypes of male superiority and female servitude (Sikka, 2020;Sikka & Carol, 2021;Sikka & Mathur, 2018). In none of the above situations did women have decision-making powers when it came to project planning or negotiations.…”

“…Our systematic review revealed this to be one of the main categories. A small body of research (Mehta, 2009;Sikka, 2018Sikka, , 2020Sikka & Carol, 2021) has been done to identify gender differences in resilience.…”

“…Displacement has increasingly become a global phenomenon since the advent of globalization (Dukhan, 2014). Despite the fact that development in the developing world is frequently seen as a necessary step towards modernization and economic growth, it more often results in a social problem that affects various levels of human organization, ranging from the individual to the household, tribal to village communities, and rural to urban areas (Sikka, 2020). Development initiatives are causing a significant exodus of people from their homes, outpacing other factors like conflict and climate change (Braun, 2005;Kabra & Mahalwal, 2014;Otsuki, 2019).…”

Conflicting Rationalities: Collision of hydro-power dam construction and water availability

“…For decades, dam projects have been envisaged as icons of development due to the criticality of hydroelectricity, oods control and reservoirs for agricultural activities (Global Water Partnership, 2016; Isaacman & Musemwa, 2021). However, rapid technological and engineering interventions designed for watershed development projects or hydropower production facilities have become synonymous with compulsory land acquisition, forest degradation, and inundation of aquatic ecosystems (Beck et al, 2012;Bunn, 2016;Obour et al, 2016;Sikka, 2020). However, several African countries continue to approve such projects without fully addressing the consequences of developing dams or 'grey' infrastructures on affected ecosystems in the 21st century.…”

Disaster-Induced Resettlements: the Resilience Of Flood-Affected Households In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

“…Both the development and disaster-induced resettlement literature show some evidence of improved physical assets, such as housing and some basic infrastructure (Vickery 2017;Li and Song 2009), with adverse effects related to loss of livelihood resources and impoverishment (Nikuze et al 2019;Mteki et al 2017;Patel et al 2015;Cernea 1997). Recent studies have also identified social-cultural impacts such as changes in dress patterns and marriage customs, the loss of tribal folk art, the destruction of social networks, and increased violence resulting from developmentinduced displacement (Sikka 2020). Arnall (2019) and Rew et al (2006) have cautioned that developmental relocations are challenging to achieve in practice due to the operational complexities of resettlement policies both in terms of developing coherent policy and achieving effective implementation on the ground.…”