Case Study: Ken–Betwa River-Linking Project — Adivasi Resistance (Paper-II) The Ken–Betwa River-Linking Project involves a 231-km canal transferring water from the Ken to Betwa for irrigation and drinking water. It will submerge 10 villages, while another 12 villages face displacement around the Panna Tiger Reserve, affecting about 22 villages in Panna–Chhatarpur. Daudhan (~700 people) and Narauli (~300, largely Gond) are among the affected settlements. 👥 Socio-cultural impact — 6.3 Tribal Displacement / 7.2 Social Change For forest-dependent communities, displacement means loss of farmland, forests, river access and village-based social networks. Narauli residents depend on mahua, charwa, tendu and other forest produce, while villagers describe the Ken, forest and village as their janam bhoomi. Thus, displacement threatens livelihood, cultural attachment and community identity, illustrating Julian Steward's cultural ecology. 🎁 Rehabilitation — 6.3 Rehabilitation Affected persons aged 18+ in February 2024 were eligible for ₹12.5 lakh compensation + ₹5 lakh per acre of acquired land. However, many Adivasi families reportedly lack patta land, limiting access to compensation. Their demand for land-for-land and village-for-village rehabilitation shows that cash cannot replace common resources and social life. → Cernea's IRR model: landlessness, loss of common property and social disarticulation. 😭 Social disruption — 6.3 Tribal Displacement / Rehabilitation Villagers fear that relocation will separate them from established community networks, ancestral homes and familiar landscapes. Hence, they demand collective rather than fragmented resettlement, illustrating Scudder–Colson's stress-and-settlement model, where displacement involves psychological stress and difficulty in reconstructing community life. 🪵 Ecological impact — 6.3 Developmental Projects A 2017 Forest Advisory Committee assessment estimated ~23 lakh trees would be felled. For communities dependent on forest produce, ecological destruction simultaneously produces livelihood insecurity and cultural disruption. → Roy Rappaport: subsistence, social organisation and ecological systems are interlinked. 🌍 Resistance — 7.3 Tribal Unrest / Rights over Resources The Chita Aandolan , a symbolic pyre protest, saw significant participation by Adivasi women. Villagers also mobilised collectively against the project, demanding land, forest, water and participatory rehabilitation. The case therefore shows how resource alienation and displacement can generate tribal mobilisation and resistance. @ANTHROCompass
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