Arunachal’s tribal lawyer rekindles mega dam debate

Guwahati: "Sorry, I can't disclose my present location," Bhanu Tatak told DH over phone hours after she was stopped by immigration authorities at Delhi airport on September 7 when she arrived to board a flight to Dublin, Ireland.

The Dublin City University in Ireland had invited Tatak, a lawyer from Arunachal Pradesh, to study history, literature, philosophy and sociology as a "visiting specialist" for three months. Her fellowship was scheduled to begin on September 8, but she missed it as the immigration staff reportedly cited a "Look Out Circular" issued by the Arunachal Pradesh police against her.

"Look Out Circulars are issued against terrorists. Am I a terrorist?" asks Tatak, who is in her late 20s. "Arunachal Police have thrown false cases against me just because I am with the people fighting against large dams. The case for which I was denied my educational trip was already dismissed by the court." 

She fears disclosure of her location might lead the police to her before she could move court against the "false case".

Tatak belongs to the Adi tribe and is the legal advisor of Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum (SIFF), a people's movement against the Siang Upper Multipurpose project. 

Her experience at Delhi airport has once again brought the issue of large dams in the ecologically sensitive Arunachal Pradesh to national spotlight.     

Tatak says she wants the focus to be turned from her to the issue. "Please don't put the spotlight on me, focus on the issue of large dams. It's a people's movement, I am just a part of the legal team that is assisting the people being harassed or arrested on false, fabricated charges."

Siang district has been the flashpoint of recent agitations against large dams in India's eastern-most state. Tension still prevails at villages like Beging, where anti-dam activists stopped the proposed feasibility study for the Siang project. Central paramilitary forces have been deployed in the areas where the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) seeks to carry out the study. 

The project is being planned on the Siang river, with the government calling it India's response to counter the possible adverse impact of the 60,000MW power project China is building in the upper reaches of the river in Tibet, where it is called the  Yarlung  Tsangpo. Siang joins Lohit and Dibang rivers in Assam and assumes the name Brahmaputra.

Villagers in Siang and neighbouring districts are opposing the project, fearing serious adverse impact on environment and the livelihood of tribal villagers in the frontier state and in Assam. 

Meanwhile, the state government is pushing for more dams. Chief Minister Pema Khandu, in his Independence Day speech on August 15, said his government would begin work on new hydropower projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore in the next three years, adding another 19 GW of capacity.

"These projects are not just about energy, they are about empowerment. They will bring in over Rs 4,000 crore annually as free power to the state and Rs 750 crore to support local area development. Every year, nearly Rs 2,000 crore in dividends will flow directly to our state. That means better roads, better schools and better lives."

The CM recently termed China's under-construction dam in Tibet as a "water bomb" and claimed it could play havoc in the downstream areas in Arunachal Pradesh during monsoon. His claim is that the Siang project will help reduce the impact.

Tatak says the villagers are opposing only large dams and they favour small ones to generate power for development. "We are ready to talk to the government. We are not against development. But we want development that takes care of the ecology and the people as well," she says, reiterating that the government may arrest her or a few villagers but the agitation will not stop.

The young lawyer, who studied in Delhi University's Miranda House college, got attracted to activism early during her field visits as part of fellowships or research works. In 2020, she started volunteering online for the Dibang Resistance Movement, a forum fighting against the 2,880MW hydropower project in the Dibang river.

Her life took a different turn when she was named as the "main instigator" behind a group of local tribal youths, who were arrested for defaming a mural on the wall of the state secretariat at Itanagar, as part of the campaign "No more dams". 

The government machinery sees the agitators as "misguided". "Many villagers have extended support to the Siang project by signing MoUs with the state government. Only a few youths are trying to instigate the villagers. They are misguiding them with false information," a government official said.

Tatak, however, argues that the protests against large dams are not a new phenomenon in the state. "It's not just my fight. The tribals in Arunachal Pradesh have been fighting against large dams for three generations now. I am just a part of the legal team. Like me, there are a few more lawyers and local youths helping the people. We are just a legal shield for the villagers." 

The police say Tatak faces "10 to 12 cases" linked to her alleged role in inciting violence during protests.

On the other hand, the young lawyer says she and others are constantly urging people not to resort to violence during protests. "Don't they have the right to protest? Is this how India functions? The government is just targeting people like us just to scuttle the people's movement and push large dams."