When India became independent, the Government of India launched many hydro-electric projects like Bhakra Nangal Dam and Iron and Steel plants which were called the "Temples of modern India" by our then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
These projects were welcomed by the nation, which was grateful as they provided water and electricity to the people.
However, we were not conscious for many years of the problems created by the hydro-electric plants and the multi-purpose projects.
According to the book, years of development in India have created the world's largest number of poor.
The book profiles India's development into two distinct periods. The first is the era between independence in 1947 and the year of economic liberalization in 1991, and the second from 1991 to the present.
Events sponsored by the Narmada Bachao Andolan spearheaded by Medha Patkar, and the rise of the Naxals or Maoists have made the country conscious of the seriousness of the problem.
The result has been the preparation of a bill for Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation 2011 by the Central Government.
The State Governments too have taken policy decisions, like the Resettlement and Rehabilitation policy of Odisha (2006), Jharkhand (2008) Arunachal Pradesh (2008) and Haryana (2010).
The book feels all these laws have accepted the need for rehabilitation of the displaced, they never "seem to question the very premise, namely, is displacement necessary?"
The fact is that even today most of the land acquisitions take place under the Land Acquisition Act 1864, which applies to acquisition for a specified sector of public purpose such as coal mines, atomic energy, highways and town planning. There is arbitrariness in defining "public purpose".
K. B. Saxena, in his contribution, highlights the good points, but feels that the prospects of a resolution of conflicts on account of land acquisition are bleak.
Bhaskar Majumdar, in his contribution, has analyzed the defects in the present provisions of law and made a number of suggestions to safeguards in the land acquisition policy for industrialization.
It underlines the need to select mostly barren land, make efforts to have project participation of the people who are going to be affected, and ensure that the displaced people have food security, are provided with low cost housing and schooling for their children.
In his contribution on the impact of displacement on the Tribes, Walter Fernandes has pointed out that the tribes are paying a high price for development but get few of its benefits.
According to an estimate by the ILO, around 12 million jobs were lost in India during the first six years of liberalization. The reason is that the villagers do not possess the skills required and most of the jobs go to outsiders.
In addition, they are deprived of the higher prices offered when the land is acquired.
When villagers get no information about the threat of land loss, the powerful groups, including their own elite, use their ignorance to spread rumours and buy that land at a low price and declare themselves as displaced persons and get all the benefits meant for them.
Women and children are the worst hit. When displacement occurs, the women pull out the children from schools and use them as child labour. As a last alternative, the women "sell themselves".
Narendra Bhehera points out that out of the various projects, dams rank at the top of the list.
A conservative estimate put that a total of 2,13, 00, 000 people have been displaced by various projects like dams, industries, mines etc out of which only 33,80,000 have been rehabilitated.
According to the estimates made by the authors, the number of people displaced in India and not rehabilitated properly is over 11.5 million or roughly 1.45 percent of the Indian population.
K. B. Saxena, in another chapter, has pointed out that the displacement has been swelling, while rehabilitation has been elusive.
The problem is not faced by India alone. In the final chapter, by Satya Prakash Dash, he points out steps taken by China. The displaced villagers were settled in townships, which had houses built from the compensation awarded to them.
However, China too has its problems. According to the National Audit Office, in early 1999, officials had embezzled 232 million yuan from funds earmarked for resettlement in the Three Georges area.
The discussion on Sociology of Displacement by various specialists deserves the attention of policy makers in the Central and State Governments.
Book Review: Sociology of displacement, policies and practice Rawat publications pp. 273 price Rs 850.
I. Ramamohan Rao is a former Principal Information Officer of the Government of India. He can be contacted at: raoramamohan@hotmail.
