Ashwinibhai Bhatt passed away in the US on 10th
of Dec 2012. For the activists of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), Ashwinibhai was
first an activist than a writer. In fact, most of us in the NBA were not fully aware
how popular a Gujarati writer he was and how well he wrote. On reading his
books one realizes that had he not been a regional writer his popularity would
have spread far and wide.
While it is very tempting to write about him as a writer, it
is important to remember him as a firebrand activist of the NBA as that is an
equally fascinating and significant facet of his life that is not so known
today. His centrally located home in Paladi-Ahmedabad– 65, Brahman Mitramandal
Society, was a home to many activists including those of the NBA. All activists
associated with varied causes could walk in and out of his home freely where
his mother who was fondly referred to as “Ba” and wife, Neetiben would lovingly
feed everyone with delicious homemade food.
More importantly Ashwinibhai’s house became the NBA “office” in
Ahmedabad at a time when activists of NBA were not allowed to function easily
in the State. Anyone who housed NBA activists faced Government ire and harassment.
Ashwinibhai defied this unwritten diktat and therefore his house was targeted
by the State and State sponsored goons on more than one occasion. He
risked/compromised his popularity as a well known writer and eminent citizen of
Gujarat a great deal in order to be a part of the NBA.
Ashwinibhai’s involvement with the NBA came at a time when
very few people having the stature similar to that of
Ashwinibhai were willing to question and stand up to the State regarding the
Sardar Sarovar Dam/Narmada Project publicly in Gujarat no matter what their
belief. Even most of the eminent Gandhians in the State who otherwise believed
“small is beautiful” stood for the Big Dams on Narmada. Ashwinibhai’s
involvement therefore significantly extended Narmada Bachao Andolan’s base in
Ahmedabad and Gujarat.
In Gujarat, the Sardar Sarovar Project was trumpeted as the
“Jeeva Dori”- the life line of Gujarat. In such an atmosphere very few
newspapers or magazines could report anything questioning the Sardar Sarovar Project
not only because that would invite wrath of the State but also because they
thought that the revenue of the newspaper / magazine would plummet. However
“Abhiyan”, the popular Gujarati magazine Ashwinibhai was associated with,
fearlessly carried many an important facts about the Sardar Sarovar Project and
exposed the falsehood and propaganda of the State risking fall in the
magazine’s circulation as well as revenue from advertisement. Today where media
is increasingly owned by corporate houses and relies heavily on revenue from
advertisement, one understands the worth of fearless media/journalism standing
up for the truth more than for revenue. Ashwinibhai strived for such an
independent and fearless media that exposed falsehood and brought out truth no
matter what the consequences. Reporting on issues raised by NBA in “Abhiyan”,
otherwise a mainstream magazine at a time when there was unsaid censorship
helped bring awareness to the people of Gujarat especially Saurashtra and
Kutch. Ashwinibhai chose to swim against the tide.
The following report in the year 1999 by Committee to
Protect Journalists explains though very briefly how difficult it was to stand
up against the State on the issue of Narmada Project in Gujarat and the role of
Ashwinibhai Bhatt: http://cpj.org/1999/07/india-dam-essay-lands-writer-arundhati-roy-in-hot.php
It would be worth quoting some excerpts from CPJ's web site
here: “Meanwhile, in Gujarat State, CPJ's sources report that virtually all
bookstores have pulled copies of [writer Arundhati] Roy's book for fear of
violent reprisal. Last week, activists from the two most powerful political
parties in India, the Congress Party and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), held demonstrations condemning Roy for her anti-Narmada views. On June
22, members of the youth wing of the Congress Party burned several copies of The Greater Common
Good. Youth Congress president…threatened that "If within
the next 24 hours, all [Roy's] irresponsible, anti-development books are not
withdrawn from the shelves, the bookstores will have to face the wrath of angry
Youth Congressmen." The BJP's youth wing held a similar demonstration on
Saturday, July 24. In this climate of extreme intolerance, the renowned
Gujarati writer Ashwini Bhatt was unable to find a publisher willing to release
a Gujarati edition of Roy's essay, and is now planning to publish the book himself
[Ashwinibhai not only translated the essay in Gujarati but also published it
himself]. However, CPJ fears that distribution of the book will be
extraordinarily difficult and even dangerous…”
Ashwinibhai, a pillar of NBA in Gujarat, had begun to write
a novel-Jal-kapat (evil around the
issue of water) to explain the negative side of large dams and politics of
large dams/water. However this book could not be completed due to his failing
health. His ill health no longer allowed him to travel to the Narmada valley as
he wished. But completing the novel was never far from his mind. Had it been
completed it would have been an exceptional contribution to the current
development and large dam/ water/energy debate. However Ashwinibhai’s love for
the river Narmada and the Narmada Valley is clearly reflected in his earlier
novel “Othaar” as the story unfolds around the banks of the beautiful river.
Ashwinibhai had travelled for several months in the Jabalpur area for this
book.
The passing away of Ashwinibhai is not only a great loss to
the literary world and journalism but an insurmountable loss to people’s
movements in general and to Narmada Bachao Andolan and the ideology it stands
for in particular.
Nandini Oza
Shripad
Dharmadhikary
28-12-2012
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