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DAM-L LS: Interview with Arundhati Roy (fwd)
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Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 11:52:16 -0700 (PDT)
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subject: LS: Interview with Arundhati Roy
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'I'm like a virus in the system'
Obviously enjoying her disguise from the world in the form of a new, short
haircut, Arundhati Roy, intrepid eco-activist, talks to Damandeep Singh
about her involvement with the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) and what it has
taught her
Arundhati, you participated in the NBA satyagraha this year too. What do you
think was achieved by the protest?
You know, for the past 15 years, the NBA has been saying the same things.
And one of the most difficult parts of their work is to keep the fight in
focus, and keep the spirit alive. Some years, like last year, the Supreme
Court lifted the stay (on the construction of the dam) temporarily and that
led to a huge rush of anger, and then things happened spontaneously.
This year, there wasn't much rain, there wasn't any construction work on the
dam. But, actually, that's a more difficult thing for a struggle that goes
on for so long to deal with, because you don't have a peg to hang something
on. Everybody is looking for new kicks or new excitements, but that's not
the way it is. It's the same river, it's the same dam, the same flooding
every year. I just feel that what they do is wonderful; to keep it alive
year after year after year, and all of us need to support them all the time.
In fact, what they've achieved was more the achievement of the Gujarat
police than the NBA, for behaving in such an absurd manner.
All of us were going there for a jan sunvayi (people's hearing) to listen to
people who had come and gathered in the valley in Domkhedi. For the police
to try and stop free citizens from crossing the river and going to that
place was such an absurd thing to do. They stopped Justice Rajinder Sachhar,
they stopped a whole lot of other people, they tried to stop me. Of course,
they didn't manage to. But they were the ones who created the cheap thrills,
you know, the Gujarat police. It was like some bad, B-grade television
serial.
For complete interview see:
http://www.tehelka.com/aspsite/rightstory.asp?id1=ecology+%26+health&i
d2=Features&id3=T&id4=20000622740&fname=eh100200arundhati1%2Ehtm
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