Development Induced Protests in Contemporary India: Response from the State and Civil Society

The issue of forced human mobility has been receiving much attention from the government, policy makers, civil society organizations, activists and academia in contemporary India.   Social scientists interpret forced human mobility as involuntary mobility and internal displacement. The desire to take control over a certain territory and its resources becomes a cause of conflict which forces its residents to leave their current homes. The most visible are displacements associated with conflict over resources or antagonisms based on ethnic background. In the case of development-induced displacement or conservation-induced displacement, territory becomes an arena of specific conflicts between the interests of the public or private sector and the needs of people displaced or affected by particular development decisions. Development-caused displacement is often associated with conflict over resources which have led to landlessness and consequent problems.

The paper attempts to analyze the contemporary Indian society and development-induced displacement from a class-caste-gender perspective. The lower one is on that ladder, the greater the negative impact of changes introduced in their lives without their consent. The marginalised communities especially Dalits and tribals feel it more than the others do and women among them are the worst affected. They are deprived of the resources that were basic to their survival and are denied access to education, health services and nutrition. It forces them to deny their children right to childhood and to a decent adulthood. Women are deprived of the little autonomy they had. Development cannot be real till such failures are remedied and its benefits reach those who pay its price.