The struggle for justice is indivisible

‘The state is running its savage bulldozer over the constitutional rights of citizens, crushing lives, livelihoods and the very means of survival’ | Photo Credit: REUTERS In the district jail in Panna, in Madhya Pradesh, a 24-year-old woman walked into the Superintendent’s office, her bright eyes alight as she stretched out her hands to greet us. She is Divya Ahirwar, an elected ward councillor from a Scheduled Caste-reserved seat, who has been in jail since September 27 on a fabricated charge of attempted murder. She has now been granted bail by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh in Jabalpur. Along with Amit Bhatnagar, founder of the Jai Kisan Sangathan, Divya has been at the forefront of a movement seeking justice for thousands of Adivasi and Dalit families facing displacement because of three projects in the State’s Panna and Chhatarpur districts. Amit, who undertook a hunger strike lasting several weeks, has also faced arrest.The three projects are the Majhgaya dam, the Runjh dam and the Ken-Betwa river-linking project. These are distinct projects, with different administrative histories and varying scales of displacement. But they share a common thread: the flagrant violation of the rights of project-affected families. The project sites have become centres of intense repression and brave resistance. The conflict raises fundamental questions about the power equations between the state, the class interests it represents and those against whom that power is exercised. Published - November 07, 2026 12:16 am IST