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A Narmada Diary

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BY ANAND PATWARDHAN AND SIMANTINI DHURU

DISTRIBUTED BY FIRST RUN/ICARUS FILMS

32 COURT STREET, FLOOR 21

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK 1121

COLOR, 1995, 60 MINUTES/COLOR

Reviewed by Jeff Sahadeo

A Narmada Diary tell the story of Indian villager resistance to the enormous Sardar Sarovar dam project. The film comes largely from documentary videos shot between 1990 and 1993 by the Narmada Bachao Andolan (the Save Narmada Movement) The Narmada Bachao Andolan represents the indigenous Adavashi people of the Narmada valley, who are being forced to evacuate their homes as the dam floods their land. The partial successes and ultimate failures of the movement are documented in a continuing struggle with international agencies and Indian government officials intent on completing construction of the dam regardless of the human consequences.