Medha Patkar

Medha Patkar (December 1, 1954, Bombay) has a M.A in Social Work from Tata institute of Social Sciences, Bombay (1976). She worked three years as a member of faculty in Tata Institute of Social Sciences (1977-’79) teaching post-graduate students, social work topics and field work. After that she was working with voluntary organisations working in Bombay slums for five years, and as Project Administrator of CASP-PLAN, a large slum development project for five years (1976, 1980-’83).

She was a Consultant to UNICEF on Integrated Child Development Services and Maternal and Child Health - research projects in 1983 and a social Activist in the North-East tribal districts of Gujarat with self-mobilised small action groups of tribals on various issues of development and social justice (1984-’85). Apart from that she was a member of the World Commission on Dams, - the first independent global Commission constituted to inquire the water, power and alternative issues, related to dams, across the world (1998-2000).

Mrs Patkar initiated and is still working with Narmada Bachao Andolan with a mass base in tribal and peasant communities in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat and support groups with more than 30 centres all over India and the supporting coalition of NGOs in more than ten countries, called Narmada Action Committee. Furthermore she initiated the National Alliance of People’s Movements - a non-electoral political alliance of peasant, tribal, dalit, women and labour movements that are secular, opposed to globalisation-liberalisation based economic policy and for alternative development paradigm and plans. She worked as its National Co-ordinator (1996-’98). At present, as its National Convenor.

She has won various National Awards for her work, such as Late Barrister Nath Pai Award, Chattra Bharati Award, Prabha Puraskar etc. Apart from that she has also won some international awards such as the Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize)in 1992.