Displacement and Protest Movements –the Kerala Experience

Kerala is an Indian state located on the Malabar Coast of South West India. It is far ahead in the Human Development Index than any other state in India. Kerala has a great tradition of protest movements against displacement caused by large projects like Silent Valley power and irrigation project in 1970s.Development projects definitely bring displacement. The geographical constraints of Kerala intensified the magnitude of the problem. This displacement causes impoverishment of the local people and their surroundings. As displacement and protest movements havewider sociological implications,this study focuses on, namely, ICTT (International Container Terminal Project) and International Fishing Harbour Projectat Vizhinjam (IFHP) in Kerala.  These projects had been implemented in the midst of public protests. This study tries(1) to make a comparison of trajectories of mobilisation of these two projects (2)to find out whether the strategies used by the protestors helped them for getting proper compensation and rehabilitation, (3) to assess the nature and extent of these protest movements .Finally thispaper examine the way in which it is faced by the GovernmentThis  study could found that this protest movement of people could really helped them to go ahead with their livelihood and sustenance to some extent. Both of these projects had been evicted a number of people from their land and thousands of people became landless and homeless. In this case, people demand only a fair compensation. They are not even aware of culturocideand ecocide.   Orthodox development theory promises “growth with redistribution”, while development policies have failed in practice to distribute growth benefits equally. The findings of the study reveal the lacunae in the policy with regard to development.