A Green Salute for Self-Confidence!

Activism proclaims self-confidence as it makes it from Silent Valley to Athirappilly.

Translated from Civic Chandran’s piece in Malayalam in Patabhedam.

The Kerala electricity minister M.M.Mani still keeps on reiterating that the Athirappilly hydroelectric project will be accomplished.  He gets chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan undiscerning signature of approval.

Making a case for consensus is the former chief minister.  Amid this a movement which was spearheading the struggle against the project decides to call off its dissent and disband the movement.

Contending that no struggles against the dam anymore but, for river conservation.

What a farce bro? How can activists surrender? Voluntarily scatter and walk away at a time when the struggle demands augmentation?   This climax puzzles the traditional resistance movements. At the least shouldn’t the struggle go on till the revolution? Isn’t activists born to intone Inquilab.

It was in this context a recap becomes necessary to understand the change of tidings beginning from the Save Silent Valley movement until the Athirapilly anti-dam protests.  The old silent valley agitators still grieve that even struggles that are doomed need foot soldiers.

 Meanwhile resistances in Kerala have seen several successes, and many still continue in a bid to achieve the purpose for which they were launched.  The nuclear power projects in Kothamangalam and Peringome were shelved. The Coca Cola company dropped its Plachimada operations and left the place for better.  The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation will not anymore dare to dump wastes at the heart of Vilappilsala with the help of the army. In the film industry the monopoly of ‘Amma’ was challenged by a group of smart damsels. Further has there been a period in contemporary history of the state when women shed self-restraint thrust upon them by the society and went on to provoke families, streets and campuses? Similar is the case of movements which sprang up and flourished without any support from mainstream political parties.

Coming back to Athirappilly struggle, the protesters had ensured that the falls and the Chalakudy River are safe. Besides the tribal people with know-how of forest act and the traders and local people have thrown in their lot with the struggle, since Athirappilly being a tourist centre and they are dependent on it. There have been studies on economical and ecological consequences of the project and the courts and offices were swarmed with petitions against the dam. This was supplemented by an ecologically conscious new generation. Only after instilling self-confidence to the struggle so that it cannot be derailed by a Mani or Pinarayi Vijayan that the movement was disbanded. If not everybody was certain, Latha, Ravi, Mohandas and their friends are in no doubt that a dam across Chalakudy river or Athirappilly is not anymore possible.

Someone will sit somewhere and annoy. Assuming that some drooped coconut will fall on their head so that they can whine, run around and perform `thiruvathira.’ Comrade this isn’t activism. Activism is not dancing to tune of the enemy. We decide the agenda of activism. We are going to function as per our own agenda.  Activists no longer wish to continue as rabbits in the compound of a blacksmith.

In a war of unequal’s, guerilla warfare takes the side of the deprived. It is not when the enemy intends, but when the people does that people agitate. It is not as per the wish of the enemy but as decided by the people that they will protest.  For the self-confidence gained by activism, a Green Salute!

Ends