The residents of the historic Chinese city of Fengjie clash with officials…
Dam/Age
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- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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"I suddenly realized… I command the space to raise a dissenting voice, and if I don't do it, it's as political an act as doing it… to stay quiet is as political an act as speaking out."- Arundhati Roy, Author of Booker Prize Winner The God of Small Things
DAM/AGE traces writer Arundhati Roy's bold and controversial campaign against the Narmada dam project in India, which will displace up to a million people. The author of The God of Small Things, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1998, Roy has also published The Cost of Living, a book of two essays critical of India's massive dam and irrigation projects, as well as India's successful detonation of a nuclear bomb. In her most recent book Power Politics, Roy challenges the idea that only experts can speak out on such urgent matters as nuclear war, the privatization of India's power supply by Enron and issues like the Narmada dam project.
As the film traces the events that led up to her imprisonment, Roy meditates on her own personal negotiation with her fame, the responsibility it places on her as a writer, a political thinker and a citizen.
As she puts it in DAM/AGE, "The God of Small Things became more and more successful and I watched as in the city I lived in the air became blacker, the cars became sleeker, the gates grew higher and the poor were being stuffed like lice into the crevices, and all the time my bank account burgeoned. I began to feel as though every feeling in The God of Small Things had been traded in for a silver coin, and I wasn't careful I would become a little silver figurine with a cold, silver heart."
The film shows how Roy chose to use her fame to stand up to powerful interests supported by multinational corporations and the Indian government. For her, the story of the Narmada Valley is not just the story of modern India, but of what is happening in the world today, "Who counts, who doesn't, what matters, what doesn't, what counts as a cost, what doesn't, what counts as collateral damage, what doesn't."
In a clear and accessible manner, the film weaves together a number of issues that lie at the heart of politics today: from the consequences of development and globalization to the urgent need for state accountability and the freedom of speech.
"A moving, vividly potent film about the destructive effects of corporate greed and unchecked globalization, as well as the story of one woman's bold, admirable decision to place the needs of her country above her own. [DAM/AGE] effectively combines Roy's compassionate testimony with urgent documentary footage of the people and places that would be devasted by the Narmada project's completion. Highly Recommended!"—Video Librarian
"Excellent! Required viewing! A testament to the power of one person to activate millions to protest against environmental, political, and financial corruption. Once seen, the viewer never forgets the power of even one voice when it speaks out against environmental and political injustice. DAM/AGE powerfully illustrates that environmental threats are enormous in scope, enforced by powerful courts, governments, and corporations who, hand-in-hand, threaten the lives of hundreds of millions of people."—H-Environment Discussion Network
"Highly Recommended! The beauty of the documentary lies in the manner in which Roy questions the actions of the Indian State and International Organizations such as the World Bank so eloquently. The ideas presented in the film provide ample ground for discussion and contemplation."—Educational Media Reviews Online
"An urgent and vital film… Aradhana Seth's inspiring documentary charts Roy's progress, and her poetry, with bold accomplishment."—The Guardian (UK)
"A cleverly constructed documentary that wraps the story of the fight against the dams around the personal drama of Arundhati Roy. The film is rather amazing in the way it winds a range of related issues - India's nuclear standoff with Pakistan, the corruption of the World Bank and the Indian people's uprising against their displacement by the government's failed dam projects, to name a few - around the buildup of tension in the days before Roy's sentencing."—Metro Active
Citation
Main credits
Roy, Arundhati (on-screen participant)
Seth, Aradhana (film director)
Seth, Aradhana (film producer)
Sengupta, Shuddhabrata (interviewer)
Other credits
Camera, Ranjan Palit, Satyajit Pande; additional music, Fratelli Brothers; film editor, Peter Spenceley.
Distributor subjects
Agriculture; Asia; Business and Economics; Ecology; Economics; Energy; Environment; Geography; Globalization; Human Rights; India; Law; Politics; Social Movements; South Asia; Women's StudiesKeywords
film; video; documentary; Narmada; God of Small Things; Arundhati Roy; India; IMF; International Monetary Fund; World Bank; Booker Prize; campaign; dam; river; hydroelectric; The Cost of Living; multinational corporations; Power Politics; The Algebra of Infinite Justice; War Talk; "Dam/Age"; Icarus Films; "Dam/Age"; Icarus Films,doc,env; science
WEBVTT
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[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:00:03.409 --> 00:00:08.290 align:middle line:90%
00:00:08.290 --> 00:00:11.380 align:middle line:84%
I stood on a hill
and laughed out loud.
00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:13.390 align:middle line:84%
I had crossed the
Narmada by boat
00:00:13.390 --> 00:00:15.940 align:middle line:84%
and climbed the headland
on the opposite bank
00:00:15.940 --> 00:00:19.330 align:middle line:84%
from where I could see
ranged across the crowns
00:00:19.330 --> 00:00:24.410 align:middle line:84%
of low, bald hills the Adivasi
hamlets of Sikka, Surung,
00:00:24.410 --> 00:00:26.950 align:middle line:90%
Neemgavan, and Domkhedi.
00:00:26.950 --> 00:00:29.920 align:middle line:84%
I could see their
airy, fragile homes.
00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:33.580 align:middle line:84%
I could see their fields
and the forests behind them.
00:00:33.580 --> 00:00:35.980 align:middle line:84%
I knew I was looking
at a civilization
00:00:35.980 --> 00:00:40.870 align:middle line:84%
older than Hinduism, slated,
sanctioned by the highest
00:00:40.870 --> 00:00:44.120 align:middle line:84%
court in the land to
be drowned this monsoon
00:00:44.120 --> 00:00:47.140 align:middle line:84%
when the waters of the
Sardar Sarovar reservoir
00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:49.990 align:middle line:90%
will rise to submerge it.
00:00:49.990 --> 00:00:52.030 align:middle line:90%
Why did I laugh?
00:00:52.030 --> 00:00:55.210 align:middle line:84%
Because I suddenly remembered
the tender concern with which
00:00:55.210 --> 00:00:57.730 align:middle line:84%
the Supreme Court
judges in Delhi,
00:00:57.730 --> 00:01:01.120 align:middle line:84%
before vacating the legal
stay on further construction
00:01:01.120 --> 00:01:04.390 align:middle line:84%
of the Sardar Sarovar
dam had inquired
00:01:04.390 --> 00:01:07.770 align:middle line:84%
whether Adivasi children in
the resettlement colonies
00:01:07.770 --> 00:01:11.290 align:middle line:84%
would have children\'s
parks to play in.
00:01:11.290 --> 00:01:15.250 align:middle line:84%
I looked up at the endless sky
and down at the river rushing
00:01:15.250 --> 00:01:20.230 align:middle line:84%
past, and for a brief, brief
moment, the absurdity of it
00:01:20.230 --> 00:01:24.610 align:middle line:84%
all reversed my
rage and I laughed.
00:01:24.610 --> 00:01:26.260 align:middle line:90%
I meant no disrespect.
00:01:26.260 --> 00:01:29.224 align:middle line:90%
00:01:29.224 --> 00:01:32.682 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:01:32.682 --> 00:01:56.420 align:middle line:90%
00:01:56.420 --> 00:02:00.050 align:middle line:84%
The charge against me is
criminal contempt of court.
00:02:00.050 --> 00:02:03.740 align:middle line:84%
I\'ve been accused of lowering
the dignity of the Supreme
00:02:03.740 --> 00:02:08.750 align:middle line:84%
Court, of scandalizing it
and lowering its authority,
00:02:08.750 --> 00:02:11.300 align:middle line:90%
and that\'s a criminal offense.
00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:14.150 align:middle line:84%
And the hearings
are over, so I\'ve
00:02:14.150 --> 00:02:17.930 align:middle line:84%
been asked to appeal personally
before the 6th of March
00:02:17.930 --> 00:02:21.170 align:middle line:90%
to await the judgment.
00:02:21.170 --> 00:02:24.250 align:middle line:84%
I could be sent to prison for
six months, or for two months,
00:02:24.250 --> 00:02:28.700 align:middle line:84%
or for one day, or until
the rising of the court.
00:02:28.700 --> 00:02:33.410 align:middle line:84%
Or I could be
humiliated and let off.
00:02:33.410 --> 00:02:35.256 align:middle line:84%
It\'s about three and
a half out of 10.
00:02:35.256 --> 00:02:36.580 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHING]
00:02:36.580 --> 00:02:37.330 align:middle line:90%
That bad?
00:02:37.330 --> 00:02:37.940 align:middle line:90%
But-- no.
00:02:37.940 --> 00:02:38.540 align:middle line:90%
That\'s good.
00:02:38.540 --> 00:02:39.040 align:middle line:90%
Oh.
00:02:39.040 --> 00:02:40.660 align:middle line:90%
My marks are generally low.
00:02:40.660 --> 00:02:41.466 align:middle line:90%
OK.
00:02:41.466 --> 00:02:41.966 align:middle line:90%
OK.
00:02:41.966 --> 00:02:42.466 align:middle line:90%
OK.
00:02:42.466 --> 00:02:47.560 align:middle line:84%
Anyway, jokes aside,
it looks like bad.
00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:50.320 align:middle line:90%
Looks like curtains.
00:02:50.320 --> 00:02:53.920 align:middle line:84%
My run in with the Supreme
Court began some years ago
00:02:53.920 --> 00:02:57.970 align:middle line:84%
when I began to write about the
big dams in the Narmada Valley
00:02:57.970 --> 00:03:00.730 align:middle line:84%
and the extraordinary
resistance movement that
00:03:00.730 --> 00:03:04.500 align:middle line:90%
has grown along its banks.
00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:07.916 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH CHANTING]
00:03:07.916 --> 00:03:23.032 align:middle line:90%
00:03:23.032 --> 00:03:26.740 align:middle line:84%
Yeah, I owe the river
a debt of gratitude
00:03:26.740 --> 00:03:29.740 align:middle line:90%
for all kinds of understanding.
00:03:29.740 --> 00:03:34.210 align:middle line:84%
I grew up in [? Udagamandalam ?]
on the banks of the Meenachil.
00:03:34.210 --> 00:03:38.370 align:middle line:84%
I always think that,
as a very young child,
00:03:38.370 --> 00:03:42.120 align:middle line:84%
those hours that I
spent catching fish
00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:44.700 align:middle line:84%
were the hours that made
me the writer that I
00:03:44.700 --> 00:03:49.770 align:middle line:84%
am, the hours of silence,
the hours of contemplating
00:03:49.770 --> 00:03:52.470 align:middle line:84%
and trying to insinuate
yourself into the head
00:03:52.470 --> 00:03:56.386 align:middle line:90%
of an unsuspecting fish.
00:03:56.386 --> 00:04:00.860 align:middle line:84%
It was easier for me to
understand the Narmada Valley
00:04:00.860 --> 00:04:03.800 align:middle line:84%
and the problems
there, because I
00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:07.850 align:middle line:84%
think I understand the river,
not as an environmentalist
00:04:07.850 --> 00:04:12.290 align:middle line:84%
or as an ecologist, but just
because the river was my friend
00:04:12.290 --> 00:04:14.360 align:middle line:90%
when I was little.
00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:22.750 align:middle line:84%
And the loss of the river
is a terrible, aching thing.
00:04:22.750 --> 00:04:26.236 align:middle line:90%
[CROWD CHATTER]
00:04:26.236 --> 00:04:36.196 align:middle line:90%
00:04:36.196 --> 00:04:42.172 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH CHANTING]
00:04:42.172 --> 00:04:44.310 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:04:44.310 --> 00:05:06.567 align:middle line:90%
00:05:06.567 --> 00:05:09.836 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH CHANTING]
00:05:09.836 --> 00:05:10.770 align:middle line:90%
00:05:10.770 --> 00:05:12.320 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:05:12.320 --> 00:05:45.810 align:middle line:90%
00:05:45.810 --> 00:05:48.270 align:middle line:84%
When I decided to
write about Narmada,
00:05:48.270 --> 00:05:52.320 align:middle line:84%
I really felt that what
was missing in this fight
00:05:52.320 --> 00:05:58.200 align:middle line:84%
was the story, the whole
story, all the connections.
00:05:58.200 --> 00:06:03.240 align:middle line:84%
And I really wanted to tell
the story in all its detail,
00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:06.070 align:middle line:84%
but accessible to
an ordinary reader,
00:06:06.070 --> 00:06:09.720 align:middle line:84%
because I really believe that
the story of the Narmada Valley
00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:13.470 align:middle line:84%
is the story of modern India,
not just of modern India,
00:06:13.470 --> 00:06:17.220 align:middle line:84%
but it is a story of what is
happening in the world today.
00:06:17.220 --> 00:06:18.900 align:middle line:90%
Who comes, who doesn\'t?
00:06:18.900 --> 00:06:21.000 align:middle line:90%
What matters, what doesn\'t?
00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:23.700 align:middle line:84%
What counts as a
cost, what doesn\'t?
00:06:23.700 --> 00:06:27.750 align:middle line:84%
What counts as collateral
damage, what doesn\'t?
00:06:27.750 --> 00:06:33.030 align:middle line:84%
It\'s really a question of
how power shines the light,
00:06:33.030 --> 00:06:35.550 align:middle line:84%
and what it chooses
to illuminate
00:06:35.550 --> 00:06:39.180 align:middle line:84%
and what it chooses to
leave in the darkness.
00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:45.420 align:middle line:84%
I see my job as being to
increase the area which
00:06:45.420 --> 00:06:48.330 align:middle line:84%
is lit as much as I
can, to say, look,
00:06:48.330 --> 00:06:50.670 align:middle line:84%
this is not the only
thing that\'s going on.
00:06:50.670 --> 00:06:53.460 align:middle line:84%
Just because it\'s dark
there and they\'re not
00:06:53.460 --> 00:06:55.290 align:middle line:84%
shining a light there,
that doesn\'t mean
00:06:55.290 --> 00:06:57.210 align:middle line:90%
nothing is happening there.
00:06:57.210 --> 00:06:59.400 align:middle line:84%
But if I was going
to write about it,
00:06:59.400 --> 00:07:02.050 align:middle line:84%
I knew that instinct
wasn\'t enough.
00:07:02.050 --> 00:07:05.940 align:middle line:84%
I knew that I would have to
argue with the world about it.
00:07:05.940 --> 00:07:07.830 align:middle line:90%
I needed to know the algebra.
00:07:07.830 --> 00:07:13.940 align:middle line:84%
I needed to know exactly
what the mathematics were.
00:07:13.940 --> 00:07:17.840 align:middle line:84%
It wasn\'t the arithmetic
that I discovered
00:07:17.840 --> 00:07:20.720 align:middle line:84%
that shocked me as
much as the arithmetic
00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:22.220 align:middle line:90%
that I didn\'t discover.
00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:24.890 align:middle line:84%
It wasn\'t what the
facts that exist
00:07:24.890 --> 00:07:28.310 align:middle line:84%
that shocked me as much
as the facts officially
00:07:28.310 --> 00:07:30.530 align:middle line:90%
that didn\'t exist.
00:07:30.530 --> 00:07:35.510 align:middle line:84%
I asked a couple of
very vulgar questions.
00:07:35.510 --> 00:07:38.570 align:middle line:84%
How many big dams
are there in India?
00:07:38.570 --> 00:07:42.920 align:middle line:84%
That there was a
figure for, 3,600.
00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:47.660 align:middle line:84%
How many people have been
displaced by these big dams?
00:07:47.660 --> 00:07:49.730 align:middle line:90%
There was no efficient figure.
00:07:49.730 --> 00:07:51.170 align:middle line:90%
That chilled me.
00:07:51.170 --> 00:08:13.130 align:middle line:90%
00:08:13.130 --> 00:08:16.640 align:middle line:84%
If you consider that
Adivasis account for only 8%
00:08:16.640 --> 00:08:20.060 align:middle line:84%
and Dalits another 15%
of India\'s population,
00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:24.800 align:middle line:84%
it opens up a whole other
dimension to the story.
00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:27.440 align:middle line:84%
This is the algebra
of infinite justice.
00:08:27.440 --> 00:08:30.850 align:middle line:84%
The ethnic otherness
of their victims
00:08:30.850 --> 00:08:33.950 align:middle line:84%
takes some pressure off
the nation builders.
00:08:33.950 --> 00:08:36.140 align:middle line:84%
It\'s like having
an expense account.
00:08:36.140 --> 00:08:40.070 align:middle line:84%
Someone else pays the bills,
people from another country,
00:08:40.070 --> 00:08:41.539 align:middle line:90%
another world.
00:08:41.539 --> 00:08:44.300 align:middle line:84%
India\'s poorest
people are subsidizing
00:08:44.300 --> 00:08:45.860 align:middle line:90%
the lifestyles of her richest.
00:08:45.860 --> 00:08:50.260 align:middle line:90%
00:08:50.260 --> 00:08:54.250 align:middle line:84%
Did I hear someone say something
about the world\'s biggest
00:08:54.250 --> 00:08:56.140 align:middle line:90%
democracy?
00:08:56.140 --> 00:08:57.940 align:middle line:84%
The paperback of \"The
God of Small Things\"
00:08:57.940 --> 00:09:00.460 align:middle line:84%
had just come out,
and that\'s when
00:09:00.460 --> 00:09:01.705 align:middle line:90%
the nuclear tests happened.
00:09:01.705 --> 00:09:06.050 align:middle line:90%
00:09:06.050 --> 00:09:13.310 align:middle line:84%
Today, at 15:45
hours, India conducted
00:09:13.310 --> 00:09:17.100 align:middle line:84%
three underground nuclear
tests in the Pokhran range.
00:09:17.100 --> 00:09:20.160 align:middle line:90%
00:09:20.160 --> 00:09:22.260 align:middle line:84%
I\'m just talking
about a civilization
00:09:22.260 --> 00:09:24.550 align:middle line:90%
that produced Mahatma Gandhi.
00:09:24.550 --> 00:09:30.580 align:middle line:84%
What does it mean to us
to have nuclear bombs now?
00:09:30.580 --> 00:09:33.380 align:middle line:84%
I suddenly realized
that I have the space,
00:09:33.380 --> 00:09:38.830 align:middle line:84%
I command the space in which
to raise a dissenting voice.
00:09:38.830 --> 00:09:44.300 align:middle line:84%
And if I don\'t do it, it\'s as
political an act as doing it.
00:09:44.300 --> 00:09:47.150 align:middle line:84%
I mean to stay quiet
is as political
00:09:47.150 --> 00:09:49.990 align:middle line:90%
an act as speaking out.
00:09:49.990 --> 00:09:53.140 align:middle line:84%
That\'s when I wrote \"The
End of Imagination,\"
00:09:53.140 --> 00:09:55.230 align:middle line:84%
my essay against
the nuclear tests.
00:09:55.230 --> 00:09:58.667 align:middle line:90%
[INDIAN POP MUSIC PLAYING]
00:09:58.667 --> 00:10:05.560 align:middle line:90%
00:10:05.560 --> 00:10:07.090 align:middle line:84%
You know, \"The God
of Small Things\"
00:10:07.090 --> 00:10:13.000 align:middle line:84%
became more and more successful,
and I watched in the city
00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:15.550 align:middle line:84%
I lived in the air
became blacker,
00:10:15.550 --> 00:10:19.720 align:middle line:84%
the cars became sleeker,
the gates grew higher,
00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:24.970 align:middle line:84%
and the poor were being stuffed
like lice into the crevices.
00:10:24.970 --> 00:10:29.980 align:middle line:84%
And all the time my
bank account burgeoned,
00:10:29.980 --> 00:10:33.490 align:middle line:84%
I began to feel as
though every feeling
00:10:33.490 --> 00:10:35.650 align:middle line:84%
in \"The God of Small
Things\" had been traded
00:10:35.650 --> 00:10:40.090 align:middle line:84%
in for a silver coin,
and if I wasn\'t careful,
00:10:40.090 --> 00:10:42.820 align:middle line:84%
I would become a
little silver figurine
00:10:42.820 --> 00:10:46.750 align:middle line:90%
with a cold, silver heart.
00:10:46.750 --> 00:10:50.610 align:middle line:84%
And around that time when
this discomfort was growing,
00:10:50.610 --> 00:10:55.200 align:middle line:84%
suddenly, the Supreme
Court lifted a stay
00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:58.560 align:middle line:84%
and allowed the Sardar
Sarovar dam to be built up
00:10:58.560 --> 00:11:00.110 align:middle line:90%
by another five meters.
00:11:00.110 --> 00:11:03.379 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH CHANTING]
00:11:03.379 --> 00:11:04.320 align:middle line:90%
00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:07.260 align:middle line:84%
I was present at a
demonstration outside the gates
00:11:07.260 --> 00:11:10.530 align:middle line:90%
of the Supreme Court.
00:11:10.530 --> 00:11:14.760 align:middle line:84%
The people at the
demonstration were basically
00:11:14.760 --> 00:11:17.460 align:middle line:84%
people from the
valley who had been
00:11:17.460 --> 00:11:19.680 align:middle line:84%
displaced by the dam
at its current height,
00:11:19.680 --> 00:11:20.940 align:middle line:90%
had not been resettled.
00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:24.690 align:middle line:84%
And they were there to tell
the court that it was wrong.
00:11:24.690 --> 00:11:28.106 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH CHANTING]
00:11:28.106 --> 00:11:33.480 align:middle line:90%
00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:38.070 align:middle line:84%
What happened after that was
that a group of five lawyers
00:11:38.070 --> 00:11:40.890 align:middle line:84%
filed a case in
the Supreme Court,
00:11:40.890 --> 00:11:43.470 align:middle line:84%
alleging that I
and Medha Patkar,
00:11:43.470 --> 00:11:46.410 align:middle line:84%
and [? Pareshan ?] [? Bushen, ?]
who was the lawyer of the NBA,
00:11:46.410 --> 00:11:49.890 align:middle line:84%
had tried to kill them and that
we had shouted slogans against
00:11:49.890 --> 00:11:51.170 align:middle line:90%
the court.
00:11:51.170 --> 00:11:53.540 align:middle line:84%
I\'d never set eyes on
these lawyers before.
00:11:53.540 --> 00:11:56.490 align:middle line:84%
I had absolutely no
idea who they were.
00:11:56.490 --> 00:11:58.770 align:middle line:84%
A friend of mine,
Sanjay Kak, he\'s
00:11:58.770 --> 00:12:01.050 align:middle line:84%
been filming in the
valley for some years now.
00:12:01.050 --> 00:12:02.160 align:middle line:90%
So he\'s filmed it all.
00:12:02.160 --> 00:12:07.950 align:middle line:90%
00:12:07.950 --> 00:12:11.940 align:middle line:84%
And of course, there are
the police, the cameras.
00:12:11.940 --> 00:12:12.950 align:middle line:90%
Everything was there.
00:12:12.950 --> 00:12:15.406 align:middle line:90%
It\'s all on record.
00:12:15.406 --> 00:12:16.840 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH SHOUTING]
00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:24.980 align:middle line:90%
00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:27.491 align:middle line:90%
So I had tried to kill this man.
00:12:27.491 --> 00:12:32.580 align:middle line:90%
00:12:32.580 --> 00:12:33.330 align:middle line:90%
Organizing a what?
00:12:33.330 --> 00:12:36.887 align:middle line:90%
00:12:36.887 --> 00:12:37.720 align:middle line:90%
What does that mean?
00:12:37.720 --> 00:13:06.820 align:middle line:90%
00:13:06.820 --> 00:13:08.800 align:middle line:90%
It was a ludicrous charge.
00:13:08.800 --> 00:13:12.100 align:middle line:84%
It wasn\'t even accepted by
the local police station.
00:13:12.100 --> 00:13:17.200 align:middle line:84%
The court eventually dismissed
those lawyers\' petition,
00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.980 align:middle line:84%
then filed yet another
contempt case against me,
00:13:20.980 --> 00:13:24.370 align:middle line:84%
suo moto, which means the
court itself took on the case
00:13:24.370 --> 00:13:28.510 align:middle line:84%
against me, for three paragraphs
in my affidavit, which
00:13:28.510 --> 00:13:31.730 align:middle line:84%
they said have lowered the
authority of the Supreme Court.
00:13:31.730 --> 00:13:50.410 align:middle line:90%
00:13:50.410 --> 00:13:52.670 align:middle line:84%
I\'m just quoting
from the affidavit.
00:13:52.670 --> 00:13:55.660 align:middle line:84%
\"It indicates a
disquieting inclination
00:13:55.660 --> 00:13:58.750 align:middle line:84%
on the part of the court
to silence criticism
00:13:58.750 --> 00:14:01.720 align:middle line:84%
and muzzle dissent to
harass and intimidate
00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:03.670 align:middle line:90%
those who disagree with it.
00:14:03.670 --> 00:14:06.970 align:middle line:84%
By entertaining a petition
that even a local police
00:14:06.970 --> 00:14:09.640 align:middle line:84%
station does not
see fit to act upon,
00:14:09.640 --> 00:14:13.210 align:middle line:84%
the Supreme Court is doing its
own reputation and credibility
00:14:13.210 --> 00:14:14.200 align:middle line:90%
considerable harm.\"
00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:21.160 align:middle line:90%
00:14:21.160 --> 00:14:23.860 align:middle line:84%
The judges were
initially quite hostile.
00:14:23.860 --> 00:14:28.120 align:middle line:84%
But the drama is, of
course, that, as usual,
00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:30.160 align:middle line:84%
they didn\'t allow
anybody into the court.
00:14:30.160 --> 00:14:33.310 align:middle line:84%
They said, yes, yes,
it\'s a public court.
00:14:33.310 --> 00:14:34.680 align:middle line:90%
People can come in.
00:14:34.680 --> 00:14:40.360 align:middle line:84%
But the registrar has explicitly
said that, in this case,
00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:41.420 align:middle line:90%
no one is allowed in.
00:14:41.420 --> 00:14:42.840 align:middle line:90%
So no one was allowed in.
00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:46.930 align:middle line:90%
00:14:46.930 --> 00:14:50.530 align:middle line:84%
The Supreme Court is, today,
the most powerful institution
00:14:50.530 --> 00:14:51.310 align:middle line:90%
in India--
00:14:51.310 --> 00:14:55.030 align:middle line:84%
for my money, the
most unaccountable.
00:14:55.030 --> 00:14:59.260 align:middle line:84%
It has, in the past, taken some
very enlightened decisions.
00:14:59.260 --> 00:15:02.080 align:middle line:84%
So what\'s happening
now, I feel, is
00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:06.820 align:middle line:84%
that the political climate
in the courts is changing.
00:15:06.820 --> 00:15:09.850 align:middle line:84%
And today, the court
is taking decisions
00:15:09.850 --> 00:15:12.310 align:middle line:84%
that affect the lives
of millions of people,
00:15:12.310 --> 00:15:13.620 align:middle line:90%
for better or for worse.
00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:16.600 align:middle line:84%
It\'s deciding whether dams
should be built or not,
00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:19.480 align:middle line:84%
whether slums should be
cleared, whether industry
00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:21.940 align:middle line:90%
should be removed from cities.
00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:26.080 align:middle line:84%
Now, when you wade into
public life on that scale,
00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:27.880 align:middle line:90%
you have to be accountable.
00:15:27.880 --> 00:15:31.390 align:middle line:84%
Today, the Supreme Court is
legitimizing privatization,
00:15:31.390 --> 00:15:32.980 align:middle line:90%
structural adjustment.
00:15:32.980 --> 00:15:34.480 align:middle line:84%
Whether you agree
with that or not,
00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:37.990 align:middle line:84%
it must at least be open
to criticism, to debate.
00:15:37.990 --> 00:15:41.570 align:middle line:84%
And the Contempt of
Court Act blocks that.
00:15:41.570 --> 00:15:43.840 align:middle line:84%
And that\'s why it
must be challenged.
00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:45.610 align:middle line:84%
And that\'s why
this must be looked
00:15:45.610 --> 00:15:47.340 align:middle line:90%
at in that political context.
00:15:47.340 --> 00:15:51.710 align:middle line:90%
00:15:51.710 --> 00:15:54.430 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:15:54.430 --> 00:16:41.850 align:middle line:90%
00:16:41.850 --> 00:16:48.600 align:middle line:84%
The story of the Narmada,
I\'ll try and tell it as simply
00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:51.210 align:middle line:90%
as I can.
00:16:51.210 --> 00:16:55.770 align:middle line:84%
The Narmada Valley
Development Project
00:16:55.770 --> 00:17:00.840 align:middle line:84%
envisages building 3,200
dams on a single river
00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:01.890 align:middle line:90%
and its tributaries.
00:17:01.890 --> 00:17:05.530 align:middle line:90%
00:17:05.530 --> 00:17:09.339 align:middle line:84%
It is the biggest river
valley project in India
00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:13.690 align:middle line:84%
that will alter the ecology
of an entire river basin, that
00:17:13.690 --> 00:17:17.109 align:middle line:84%
will affect the lives,
for better or for worse,
00:17:17.109 --> 00:17:20.869 align:middle line:84%
of 25 million people,
that will submerge
00:17:20.869 --> 00:17:26.410 align:middle line:84%
4,000 square kilometers
of dry deciduous forest,
00:17:26.410 --> 00:17:34.030 align:middle line:84%
and will end up turning the
Narmada into a step reservoir--
00:17:34.030 --> 00:17:39.850 align:middle line:84%
like a shining staircase
of amenable water,
00:17:39.850 --> 00:17:42.125 align:middle line:90%
with destruction in its wake.
00:17:42.125 --> 00:17:47.440 align:middle line:90%
00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:49.920 align:middle line:84%
We are all taught
from the time we
00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:53.000 align:middle line:84%
are little children in
school, Chacha Nehru
00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:57.090 align:middle line:84%
said the dams are the temples
of modern India, et cetera.
00:17:57.090 --> 00:18:01.200 align:middle line:84%
Never mind that Chacha Nehru
actually reversed his view.
00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:06.140 align:middle line:90%
And no one is taught about that.
00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:10.350 align:middle line:84%
In the \"local pain for national
gain\" mythology of big dams,
00:18:10.350 --> 00:18:12.590 align:middle line:84%
the costs are
always underplayed,
00:18:12.590 --> 00:18:16.680 align:middle line:84%
and the benefits inflated
to absurd levels.
00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:19.360 align:middle line:84%
In its official publicity
film for the dam,
00:18:19.360 --> 00:18:21.870 align:middle line:84%
the Gujarat government claims
that it will bring water
00:18:21.870 --> 00:18:24.750 align:middle line:90%
to 30 million people.
00:18:24.750 --> 00:18:26.400 align:middle line:90%
Blazing sun.
00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:28.170 align:middle line:90%
Burning sands.
00:18:28.170 --> 00:18:33.810 align:middle line:84%
Imagine trudging miles
everyday just to fetch water.
00:18:33.810 --> 00:18:37.120 align:middle line:84%
30 million people will
soon receive water,
00:18:37.120 --> 00:18:39.960 align:middle line:90%
thanks to the Narmada dam.
00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:41.950 align:middle line:90%
Say yes to Narmada.
00:18:41.950 --> 00:18:44.493 align:middle line:90%
00:18:44.493 --> 00:18:46.410 align:middle line:84%
If you present the
project, saying, oh, you\'re
00:18:46.410 --> 00:18:51.090 align:middle line:84%
going to displace 200 villagers
and actually bring prosperity
00:18:51.090 --> 00:18:55.480 align:middle line:84%
to millions of people, it
sounds like a reasonable deal.
00:18:55.480 --> 00:18:58.440 align:middle line:84%
But in fact, it\'s
just simply untrue.
00:18:58.440 --> 00:19:01.410 align:middle line:90%
It\'s just one big lie.
00:19:01.410 --> 00:19:03.750 align:middle line:90%
The mathematics is wrong.
00:19:03.750 --> 00:19:04.890 align:middle line:90%
That\'s the problem here.
00:19:04.890 --> 00:19:08.520 align:middle line:90%
00:19:08.520 --> 00:19:13.620 align:middle line:84%
What big dams do is that
they centralize resources
00:19:13.620 --> 00:19:14.500 align:middle line:90%
like water.
00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:17.400 align:middle line:84%
They snatch a river
away from the poor.
00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:19.150 align:middle line:90%
They centralize the water.
00:19:19.150 --> 00:19:22.140 align:middle line:84%
And then they decide
who can get it.
00:19:22.140 --> 00:19:23.370 align:middle line:90%
And who can get it?
00:19:23.370 --> 00:19:27.000 align:middle line:84%
The big sugar farmer lobbies,
the big industrialists,
00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:32.100 align:middle line:84%
the big farmers, the
politically powerful lobbies.
00:19:32.100 --> 00:19:35.190 align:middle line:84%
People melt into the
darkness and disappear.
00:19:35.190 --> 00:19:37.910 align:middle line:84%
And the sugarcane fields
spring up in Gujarat.
00:19:37.910 --> 00:19:41.440 align:middle line:84%
And the industries spring
up in wherever it is.
00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:44.324 align:middle line:84%
And then they say, look,
there\'s a Green Revolution.
00:19:44.324 --> 00:19:54.500 align:middle line:90%
00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:58.010 align:middle line:84%
You have the Bargi Dam, for
instance, the first dam that
00:19:58.010 --> 00:20:02.030 align:middle line:84%
was built on the
Narmada Valley, where
00:20:02.030 --> 00:20:04.250 align:middle line:84%
they, before they
built the dam, said
00:20:04.250 --> 00:20:10.130 align:middle line:84%
that 70,000 people from 101
villages would be submerged.
00:20:10.130 --> 00:20:12.080 align:middle line:84%
And then, when the
dam was completed,
00:20:12.080 --> 00:20:14.790 align:middle line:84%
they closed the gates, and
just filled the reservoir one
00:20:14.790 --> 00:20:17.880 align:middle line:84%
monsoon to see
what would happen.
00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:24.500 align:middle line:84%
And in fact, 114,000 people in
162 villages were submerged.
00:20:24.500 --> 00:20:27.320 align:middle line:84%
The water just rose
overnight, driving
00:20:27.320 --> 00:20:29.870 align:middle line:84%
people out of their homes,
taking their children
00:20:29.870 --> 00:20:32.150 align:middle line:84%
and their cattle, and
running for their lives
00:20:32.150 --> 00:20:36.110 align:middle line:90%
while their homes floated away.
00:20:36.110 --> 00:20:37.970 align:middle line:90%
There was no resettlement.
00:20:37.970 --> 00:20:41.660 align:middle line:84%
Even the so-called model
resettlement villages, one
00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:44.490 align:middle line:90%
or two of them got submerged.
00:20:44.490 --> 00:20:47.870 align:middle line:84%
And now, the people who\'ve
been displaced by Bargi
00:20:47.870 --> 00:20:52.280 align:middle line:84%
are living in slums in Jabalpur,
begging, plying rickshaws.
00:20:52.280 --> 00:20:56.100 align:middle line:90%
These were farmers once.
00:20:56.100 --> 00:21:00.140 align:middle line:84%
And today, that Bargi
Dam, 11 years later,
00:21:00.140 --> 00:21:05.420 align:middle line:84%
irrigates 5% of the land it
was supposed to irrigate.
00:21:05.420 --> 00:21:10.510 align:middle line:84%
It actually irrigates less
land than it submerged.
00:21:10.510 --> 00:21:15.590 align:middle line:84%
\"July \'99 will bring the last
monsoon of the 20th century.
00:21:15.590 --> 00:21:17.660 align:middle line:84%
The ragged army in
the Narmada Valley
00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:20.450 align:middle line:84%
has declared that
it will not move
00:21:20.450 --> 00:21:23.420 align:middle line:84%
when the waters of the
Sardar Sarovar reservoir
00:21:23.420 --> 00:21:26.660 align:middle line:84%
rise to claim its
lands and homes.
00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:29.660 align:middle line:84%
Whether you love the
dam or you hate it,
00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:32.270 align:middle line:84%
whether you want
it or you don\'t, it
00:21:32.270 --> 00:21:36.290 align:middle line:84%
is in the fitness of things that
you understand the price that\'s
00:21:36.290 --> 00:21:38.960 align:middle line:84%
being paid for it, that
you have the courage
00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:41.870 align:middle line:84%
to watch while the
dues are cleared
00:21:41.870 --> 00:21:44.210 align:middle line:90%
and the books are squared.
00:21:44.210 --> 00:21:48.210 align:middle line:90%
Our dues, our books, not theirs.
00:21:48.210 --> 00:21:49.870 align:middle line:90%
So be there.\"
00:21:49.870 --> 00:21:53.300 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:21:53.300 --> 00:21:56.740 align:middle line:90%
00:21:56.740 --> 00:22:00.460 align:middle line:84%
After the essay was published
in the press, a group of us
00:22:00.460 --> 00:22:03.160 align:middle line:84%
organized what now
is known as The Rally
00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:07.420 align:middle line:84%
for the Rally, where we called
for people, for outsiders,
00:22:07.420 --> 00:22:09.790 align:middle line:84%
for people from
all over the world,
00:22:09.790 --> 00:22:13.420 align:middle line:84%
and from peoples organizations
and resistance movements all
00:22:13.420 --> 00:22:18.520 align:middle line:84%
over India to travel through
the valley to see what
00:22:18.520 --> 00:22:19.850 align:middle line:90%
the struggle was all about.
00:22:19.850 --> 00:22:42.910 align:middle line:90%
00:22:42.910 --> 00:22:45.370 align:middle line:84%
The whole valley
rose up somehow--
00:22:45.370 --> 00:22:50.710 align:middle line:84%
the spontaneity, the
happiness that someone outside
00:22:50.710 --> 00:22:56.440 align:middle line:84%
cared, that their struggle had
registered, that it mattered.
00:22:56.440 --> 00:23:00.400 align:middle line:84%
And that\'s [INAUDIBLE],,
she\'s called, of [INAUDIBLE]..
00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:03.160 align:middle line:84%
And at the end of the
rally, she gave me
00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:06.810 align:middle line:84%
this basket of all the
different kinds of seed,
00:23:06.810 --> 00:23:10.510 align:middle line:84%
of all the different kinds
of plants and food and wheat
00:23:10.510 --> 00:23:14.890 align:middle line:84%
and lentils and
rice that they grow.
00:23:14.890 --> 00:23:18.580 align:middle line:84%
And she\'s here saying,
tell me, where will they
00:23:18.580 --> 00:23:21.970 align:middle line:84%
be able to replace this for us
if they throw us out of here
00:23:21.970 --> 00:23:23.800 align:middle line:84%
or if they take the
river away from us?
00:23:23.800 --> 00:23:27.340 align:middle line:84%
If they take our ancestral
land away from us,
00:23:27.340 --> 00:23:30.476 align:middle line:84%
will they be able
to give us all this?
00:23:30.476 --> 00:23:34.444 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:23:34.444 --> 00:23:41.890 align:middle line:90%
00:23:41.890 --> 00:23:43.980 align:middle line:90%
How do you define violence?
00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:47.970 align:middle line:84%
If you hit a man on the
head, but you leave him
00:23:47.970 --> 00:23:51.690 align:middle line:84%
with a job and a home,
is that more violent
00:23:51.690 --> 00:23:53.400 align:middle line:84%
than not hitting
him on the head,
00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:56.610 align:middle line:84%
but depriving him of his
home, his livelihood,
00:23:56.610 --> 00:23:58.155 align:middle line:90%
his ancestral lands, his family?
00:23:58.155 --> 00:24:00.870 align:middle line:90%
00:24:00.870 --> 00:24:04.050 align:middle line:90%
It\'s about breaking the spirit.
00:24:04.050 --> 00:24:08.700 align:middle line:84%
And the state has different ways
of breaking different spirits.
00:24:08.700 --> 00:24:12.420 align:middle line:84%
So what they will do to
an Adivasi protesting
00:24:12.420 --> 00:24:15.990 align:middle line:84%
in the valley is different
from what they will do
00:24:15.990 --> 00:24:18.820 align:middle line:90%
to an activist in the valley.
00:24:18.820 --> 00:24:22.070 align:middle line:84%
It\'s different to what they
will do to a journalist who
00:24:22.070 --> 00:24:23.370 align:middle line:90%
has been troublesome.
00:24:23.370 --> 00:24:25.620 align:middle line:84%
It\'s different to the
way the treat a writer.
00:24:25.620 --> 00:24:28.860 align:middle line:84%
But eventually, it\'s about
wearing down your spirit.
00:24:28.860 --> 00:24:31.800 align:middle line:90%
00:24:31.800 --> 00:24:35.520 align:middle line:84%
The last person I met in
the valley was Bhaiji Bhai.
00:24:35.520 --> 00:24:40.830 align:middle line:84%
Bhaiji Bhai lost 17 of his
19 acres to the Wonder Canal,
00:24:40.830 --> 00:24:45.900 align:middle line:84%
so he doesn\'t qualify as an
officially displaced person.
00:24:45.900 --> 00:24:48.390 align:middle line:84%
Like his neighbors in
[INAUDIBLE] colony,
00:24:48.390 --> 00:24:52.590 align:middle line:84%
Bhaiji Bhai became
a pauper overnight.
00:24:52.590 --> 00:24:55.950 align:middle line:84%
Bhaiji Bhai and his
people, forced to smile
00:24:55.950 --> 00:24:58.710 align:middle line:84%
for photographs on
government calendars.
00:24:58.710 --> 00:25:03.300 align:middle line:84%
Bhaiji Bhai and his people,
denied the grace of rage.
00:25:03.300 --> 00:25:08.640 align:middle line:84%
Bhaiji Bhai his people, squashed
like bugs by this country
00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:11.460 align:middle line:84%
they\'re supposed
to call their own.
00:25:11.460 --> 00:25:15.660 align:middle line:84%
Bhaiji Bhai, Bhaiji Bhai,
when will you get angry?
00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:17.940 align:middle line:90%
When will you stop waiting?
00:25:17.940 --> 00:25:21.410 align:middle line:84%
When will you say,
that\'s enough,
00:25:21.410 --> 00:25:24.810 align:middle line:84%
and reach for your weapons,
whatever they may be?
00:25:24.810 --> 00:25:29.130 align:middle line:84%
When will you show us the whole
of your resonant, terrifying,
00:25:29.130 --> 00:25:31.260 align:middle line:90%
invincible strength?
00:25:31.260 --> 00:25:33.720 align:middle line:90%
When will you break the faith?
00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:37.380 align:middle line:84%
Will you break the faith, or
will you let it break you?
00:25:37.380 --> 00:25:41.640 align:middle line:90%
00:25:41.640 --> 00:25:44.670 align:middle line:84%
What happens to all the people
who are driven off their lands?
00:25:44.670 --> 00:25:46.320 align:middle line:84%
What happens to the
millions of people
00:25:46.320 --> 00:25:50.100 align:middle line:84%
who have been displaced by
big dams without resettlement?
00:25:50.100 --> 00:25:52.980 align:middle line:84%
They come to the cities
in search of employment.
00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:56.280 align:middle line:84%
They live in the slums and
in the unauthorized colonies
00:25:56.280 --> 00:25:56.969 align:middle line:90%
of the city.
00:25:56.969 --> 00:26:11.170 align:middle line:90%
00:26:11.170 --> 00:26:13.760 align:middle line:90%
They\'re the informal sector--
00:26:13.760 --> 00:26:17.540 align:middle line:84%
the people that are not
supposed to exist in this city.
00:26:17.540 --> 00:26:20.720 align:middle line:84%
So for every box of
tissues they sell,
00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:22.850 align:middle line:84%
they\'ll be paying the
police and they\'ll
00:26:22.850 --> 00:26:26.960 align:middle line:84%
be paying for every petty
official that can otherwise
00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:27.780 align:middle line:90%
lock them up.
00:26:27.780 --> 00:26:31.612 align:middle line:90%
00:26:31.612 --> 00:26:36.550 align:middle line:84%
But the thing is that the
Adivasis to get in this place,
00:26:36.550 --> 00:26:37.517 align:middle line:90%
it\'s not easy.
00:26:37.517 --> 00:26:39.100 align:middle line:84%
You know, if you
want to do this work,
00:26:39.100 --> 00:26:41.890 align:middle line:84%
you need to understand
how a city works.
00:26:41.890 --> 00:26:45.790 align:middle line:84%
You need to be savvy,
smart to survive
00:26:45.790 --> 00:26:47.280 align:middle line:90%
in an urban environment.
00:26:47.280 --> 00:26:50.860 align:middle line:84%
And the Supreme Court says
resettlement is good for them.
00:26:50.860 --> 00:26:52.530 align:middle line:84%
It\'ll bring them
into the mainstream.
00:26:52.530 --> 00:26:56.790 align:middle line:90%
00:26:56.790 --> 00:26:59.891 align:middle line:84%
It\'ll bring them fruits
of modern development.
00:26:59.891 --> 00:27:04.510 align:middle line:84%
For the last 50 or so
since independence,
00:27:04.510 --> 00:27:08.380 align:middle line:84%
there\'s not been one road, not
one school, not one clinic, not
00:27:08.380 --> 00:27:09.810 align:middle line:90%
one hospital.
00:27:09.810 --> 00:27:14.740 align:middle line:84%
And now you tell them that you
give us everything you have.
00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:16.540 align:middle line:90%
You give us all your land.
00:27:16.540 --> 00:27:17.530 align:middle line:90%
Give us your history.
00:27:17.530 --> 00:27:18.690 align:middle line:90%
Give us your language.
00:27:18.690 --> 00:27:20.230 align:middle line:90%
Give us your past.
00:27:20.230 --> 00:27:23.830 align:middle line:84%
And we\'ll give you the fruits
of modern development, which
00:27:23.830 --> 00:27:27.860 align:middle line:84%
are basically servitude and
humiliation and landlessness.
00:27:27.860 --> 00:27:49.960 align:middle line:90%
00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:52.960 align:middle line:90%
March the sixth is 20 days away.
00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:54.287 align:middle line:90%
And how are you feeling?
00:27:54.287 --> 00:27:59.310 align:middle line:90%
00:27:59.310 --> 00:28:01.410 align:middle line:90%
I don\'t know how I\'m feeling.
00:28:01.410 --> 00:28:07.680 align:middle line:84%
I\'m feeling angry that I have
to keep wondering and thinking
00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:08.970 align:middle line:90%
about what I\'m feeling.
00:28:08.970 --> 00:28:12.000 align:middle line:90%
Because that\'s the punishment.
00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:15.030 align:middle line:84%
That\'s what they wanted when, on
the 15th of January, they said,
00:28:15.030 --> 00:28:19.740 align:middle line:84%
you\'ll be personally present
in court to hear the judgment.
00:28:19.740 --> 00:28:22.980 align:middle line:84%
I\'m supposed to spend all that
time speculating about what\'s
00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:24.510 align:middle line:90%
going to happen to me.
00:28:24.510 --> 00:28:29.970 align:middle line:90%
And that\'s a terrible thing.
00:28:29.970 --> 00:28:33.870 align:middle line:84%
Because eventually,
this is a public fight
00:28:33.870 --> 00:28:35.040 align:middle line:90%
and a political fight.
00:28:35.040 --> 00:28:38.760 align:middle line:84%
And one has to be public
and political about it.
00:28:38.760 --> 00:28:41.520 align:middle line:90%
Yet it\'s also personal.
00:28:41.520 --> 00:28:44.130 align:middle line:84%
And it\'s also very
difficult for me
00:28:44.130 --> 00:28:49.020 align:middle line:84%
to decide when to be personal
and when to be public.
00:28:49.020 --> 00:28:55.120 align:middle line:84%
And in a moment
like this, maybe you
00:28:55.120 --> 00:28:59.710 align:middle line:84%
don\'t want to put your
personal self out there.
00:28:59.710 --> 00:29:03.190 align:middle line:84%
But you have to, because
it can only be fought
00:29:03.190 --> 00:29:05.530 align:middle line:90%
in a public arena, this fight.
00:29:05.530 --> 00:29:07.120 align:middle line:90%
And it must be done.
00:29:07.120 --> 00:29:14.200 align:middle line:90%
00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:16.420 align:middle line:90%
It\'s one thing to ban a book.
00:29:16.420 --> 00:29:21.010 align:middle line:84%
It\'s another thing to
imprison a writer for writing.
00:29:21.010 --> 00:29:26.230 align:middle line:84%
Whenever I go abroad, I\'m
always invited to portray myself
00:29:26.230 --> 00:29:29.250 align:middle line:84%
as this sort of
radical person who
00:29:29.250 --> 00:29:32.140 align:middle line:84%
is being hunted down
by these institutions
00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:34.210 align:middle line:90%
in this native banana republic.
00:29:34.210 --> 00:29:37.060 align:middle line:84%
I mean, there are many
things about India
00:29:37.060 --> 00:29:39.400 align:middle line:90%
that are like a banana republic.
00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:42.850 align:middle line:84%
But that goes for
America as well.
00:29:42.850 --> 00:29:46.150 align:middle line:84%
But just now, I
insist on looking
00:29:46.150 --> 00:29:49.920 align:middle line:84%
at this as a
conversation that I\'m
00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:56.630 align:middle line:84%
having with an institution
that exists in the society
00:29:56.630 --> 00:29:57.740 align:middle line:90%
that I live in.
00:29:57.740 --> 00:30:00.320 align:middle line:84%
And this is the way
in which democracy
00:30:00.320 --> 00:30:02.240 align:middle line:90%
becomes more sophisticated.
00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:05.120 align:middle line:90%
00:30:05.120 --> 00:30:10.280 align:middle line:84%
The dangerous thing about
criticizing the state today
00:30:10.280 --> 00:30:14.870 align:middle line:84%
is that the third
party insinuates itself
00:30:14.870 --> 00:30:16.250 align:middle line:90%
in the picture--
00:30:16.250 --> 00:30:19.670 align:middle line:84%
Mr. Free Market--
and says, well,
00:30:19.670 --> 00:30:24.950 align:middle line:84%
here we are, the new alternate
to your corrupt state.
00:30:24.950 --> 00:30:26.360 align:middle line:90%
Try us.
00:30:26.360 --> 00:30:28.370 align:middle line:90%
Now for something different.
00:30:28.370 --> 00:30:30.950 align:middle line:84%
But the truth is
that there isn\'t
00:30:30.950 --> 00:30:32.420 align:middle line:90%
a difference between the two.
00:30:32.420 --> 00:30:33.410 align:middle line:90%
There isn\'t a choice.
00:30:33.410 --> 00:30:37.640 align:middle line:84%
It\'s just being made to
appear like a choice.
00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:40.280 align:middle line:84%
If you look at the
name of Narmada Valley
00:30:40.280 --> 00:30:43.910 align:middle line:84%
you have the Sardar Sarovar
dam and the Maheshwar dam
00:30:43.910 --> 00:30:45.260 align:middle line:90%
next to each other.
00:30:45.260 --> 00:30:49.430 align:middle line:84%
I see them like a pair
of incomplete tombs
00:30:49.430 --> 00:30:52.010 align:middle line:90%
that bury terrible secrets.
00:30:52.010 --> 00:30:57.110 align:middle line:84%
One is presented to the world
as a public project, a state
00:30:57.110 --> 00:30:58.010 align:middle line:90%
project.
00:30:58.010 --> 00:31:02.210 align:middle line:84%
The other is presented to the
world as a private project--
00:31:02.210 --> 00:31:06.260 align:middle line:84%
the first private
hydro project in India.
00:31:06.260 --> 00:31:10.970 align:middle line:84%
But if you look at them, the
brutality, the corruption,
00:31:10.970 --> 00:31:14.070 align:middle line:90%
the atrocities are all the same.
00:31:14.070 --> 00:31:18.140 align:middle line:84%
In fact, the Maheshwar
project, it\'s actually
00:31:18.140 --> 00:31:20.120 align:middle line:90%
made with public money.
00:31:20.120 --> 00:31:25.550 align:middle line:84%
The risks are public and
the profits are private.
00:31:25.550 --> 00:31:28.670 align:middle line:84%
That\'s the dawn that
we walked through
00:31:28.670 --> 00:31:30.970 align:middle line:84%
to capture the
Maheshwar dam site.
00:31:30.970 --> 00:31:33.950 align:middle line:90%
00:31:33.950 --> 00:31:35.870 align:middle line:90%
I can still remember the sound--
00:31:35.870 --> 00:31:40.045 align:middle line:84%
just the crunching of
feet and the slip-slap,
00:31:40.045 --> 00:31:41.815 align:middle line:90%
slip-slap of slippers.
00:31:41.815 --> 00:31:46.850 align:middle line:90%
00:31:46.850 --> 00:31:49.640 align:middle line:84%
We set out at 3:00
in the morning.
00:31:49.640 --> 00:31:51.320 align:middle line:90%
We walked for three hours--
00:31:51.320 --> 00:31:55.860 align:middle line:84%
farmers, fishing folk, sand
miners, writers, painters,
00:31:55.860 --> 00:31:58.880 align:middle line:84%
filmmakers, lawyers,
journalists.
00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:01.040 align:middle line:90%
All of India was represented--
00:32:01.040 --> 00:32:04.520 align:middle line:84%
urban, rural,
touchable, untouchable.
00:32:04.520 --> 00:32:07.520 align:middle line:84%
We were not just
fighting against the dam.
00:32:07.520 --> 00:32:10.892 align:middle line:84%
We were fighting for a
philosophy, for a worldview.
00:32:10.892 --> 00:32:30.610 align:middle line:90%
00:32:30.610 --> 00:32:36.210 align:middle line:84%
That\'s me being arrested
along with some other women.
00:32:36.210 --> 00:32:39.760 align:middle line:84%
They always want to
separate the people
00:32:39.760 --> 00:32:43.770 align:middle line:84%
they see as the troublemakers
from the others.
00:32:43.770 --> 00:32:47.105 align:middle line:84%
Of course, in Maheshwar,
every woman is a troublemaker.
00:32:47.105 --> 00:32:52.440 align:middle line:90%
00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:54.983 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:32:54.983 --> 00:32:57.750 align:middle line:90%
00:32:57.750 --> 00:33:00.060 align:middle line:84%
When people talk
about the free market,
00:33:00.060 --> 00:33:02.520 align:middle line:84%
they talk about a
level playing field.
00:33:02.520 --> 00:33:06.300 align:middle line:84%
But we live in a world where
disparity and inequality
00:33:06.300 --> 00:33:09.450 align:middle line:84%
have been institutionalized
for thousands of years.
00:33:09.450 --> 00:33:13.530 align:middle line:84%
You have racism and class
and caste and religion
00:33:13.530 --> 00:33:15.000 align:middle line:90%
and ethnic divisions.
00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:17.700 align:middle line:84%
This is the kind of
world that we live in.
00:33:17.700 --> 00:33:22.890 align:middle line:84%
So in a world like this,
what is the free market?
00:33:22.890 --> 00:33:27.160 align:middle line:84%
It\'s like playing marbles
on a very steep slope.
00:33:27.160 --> 00:33:30.390 align:middle line:84%
However good you are
at playing marbles,
00:33:30.390 --> 00:33:33.090 align:middle line:84%
all the marbles are
going to roll downhill.
00:33:33.090 --> 00:33:35.310 align:middle line:84%
And the people who
are downhill are
00:33:35.310 --> 00:33:37.200 align:middle line:90%
going to own all the marbles.
00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:40.680 align:middle line:84%
And they\'re the ones who
are going to eventually make
00:33:40.680 --> 00:33:41.920 align:middle line:90%
all the decisions.
00:33:41.920 --> 00:33:46.140 align:middle line:84%
They\'re the ones who control the
WTO and the IMF and the World
00:33:46.140 --> 00:33:47.250 align:middle line:90%
Bank.
00:33:47.250 --> 00:33:49.890 align:middle line:84%
And in the context
like this, they\'re
00:33:49.890 --> 00:33:54.720 align:middle line:84%
the ones who use institutions
in developing countries.
00:33:54.720 --> 00:33:59.940 align:middle line:84%
Parliamentary institutions,
the court, the press
00:33:59.940 --> 00:34:02.940 align:middle line:84%
are all then being
manipulated by them.
00:34:02.940 --> 00:34:07.530 align:middle line:90%
00:34:07.530 --> 00:34:10.360 align:middle line:84%
In a democracy,
what are you doing
00:34:10.360 --> 00:34:12.730 align:middle line:90%
by privatizing infrastructure?
00:34:12.730 --> 00:34:15.989 align:middle line:84%
You are disengaging
politics from the market.
00:34:15.989 --> 00:34:20.100 align:middle line:84%
You\'re taking away the last
weapon that a poor man has,
00:34:20.100 --> 00:34:21.750 align:middle line:90%
which is his vote.
00:34:21.750 --> 00:34:25.199 align:middle line:84%
The people who have to own
fundamental responsibility
00:34:25.199 --> 00:34:29.000 align:middle line:84%
for the Sardar Sarovar
project are the World Bank.
00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:32.750 align:middle line:90%
00:34:32.750 --> 00:34:36.860 align:middle line:84%
Last year, Wolfensohn, the
president of the World Bank,
00:34:36.860 --> 00:34:39.139 align:middle line:90%
had come on a visit to Delhi.
00:34:39.139 --> 00:34:42.480 align:middle line:84%
The people of the Narmada
Valley blockaded the road
00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:43.730 align:middle line:90%
outside the World Bank office.
00:34:43.730 --> 00:34:48.097 align:middle line:84%
They had come all the way
from the valley to protest.
00:34:48.097 --> 00:34:50.389 align:middle line:84%
Because there was a rumor
that the World Bank was going
00:34:50.389 --> 00:34:54.500 align:middle line:84%
to renew its funding for some
aspect of the Sardar Sarovar
00:34:54.500 --> 00:34:57.260 align:middle line:84%
drinking water
plan or something.
00:34:57.260 --> 00:34:58.790 align:middle line:84%
They just sat on
the road and said
00:34:58.790 --> 00:35:01.250 align:middle line:84%
they wouldn\'t move until
Wolfensohn came out.
00:35:01.250 --> 00:35:02.910 align:middle line:90%
I was with them.
00:35:02.910 --> 00:35:05.990 align:middle line:84%
So it was twilight by
the time he came out
00:35:05.990 --> 00:35:08.150 align:middle line:90%
I\'d been sitting there all day.
00:35:08.150 --> 00:35:15.010 align:middle line:84%
When he came out,
somehow, the writer in me,
00:35:15.010 --> 00:35:20.230 align:middle line:84%
the script writer in me, just
stood up and left in disgust.
00:35:20.230 --> 00:35:24.850 align:middle line:84%
I just didn\'t want to
be part of that script.
00:35:24.850 --> 00:35:30.970 align:middle line:84%
Because I was just seeing this
white man in a pinstriped suit
00:35:30.970 --> 00:35:35.080 align:middle line:84%
addressing the peasants
of India all over again.
00:35:35.080 --> 00:35:37.120 align:middle line:84%
I didn\'t want to
hear what he said.
00:35:37.120 --> 00:35:40.600 align:middle line:84%
I didn\'t want to hear
his reassurances.
00:35:40.600 --> 00:35:45.160 align:middle line:84%
Although it may not appear
to you to be the case,
00:35:45.160 --> 00:35:51.780 align:middle line:84%
I personally care a lot
for people in poverty.
00:35:51.780 --> 00:35:57.940 align:middle line:84%
And I work hard to try and make
the lives of people better.
00:35:57.940 --> 00:36:01.270 align:middle line:84%
I just kept thinking,
who the hell are you?
00:36:01.270 --> 00:36:04.870 align:middle line:84%
How are you back here
after all these years?
00:36:04.870 --> 00:36:08.950 align:middle line:90%
Was all this for nothing?
00:36:08.950 --> 00:36:13.780 align:middle line:84%
The World Bank pulled out of the
Sardar Sarovar project in 1993.
00:36:13.780 --> 00:36:15.790 align:middle line:90%
But the mess it made lives on.
00:36:15.790 --> 00:36:24.490 align:middle line:90%
00:36:24.490 --> 00:36:31.210 align:middle line:84%
In 1999, you had people standing
in their homes, chest-deep
00:36:31.210 --> 00:36:32.350 align:middle line:90%
in water.
00:36:32.350 --> 00:36:34.330 align:middle line:84%
Their pots and pans
were floating out.
00:36:34.330 --> 00:36:36.550 align:middle line:90%
Some houses were washed away.
00:36:36.550 --> 00:36:39.610 align:middle line:84%
While all this was
happening, the Supreme Court
00:36:39.610 --> 00:36:44.500 align:middle line:84%
had three sittings where the
only subject they discussed
00:36:44.500 --> 00:36:46.820 align:middle line:84%
was whether the
NBA and Arundhati
00:36:46.820 --> 00:36:49.180 align:middle line:84%
Roy, through her
writings, had lowered
00:36:49.180 --> 00:36:52.300 align:middle line:90%
the dignity of the court.
00:36:52.300 --> 00:36:55.720 align:middle line:84%
It says, \"Judicial
process, an institution,
00:36:55.720 --> 00:36:58.840 align:middle line:84%
cannot be permitted to be
scandalized or subjected
00:36:58.840 --> 00:37:02.560 align:middle line:84%
to continued measures of
violation in such a blatant
00:37:02.560 --> 00:37:05.530 align:middle line:84%
manner in which it
has been done by her.
00:37:05.530 --> 00:37:08.080 align:middle line:90%
Vicious stultifcation and--\"
00:37:08.080 --> 00:37:08.920 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHS]
00:37:08.920 --> 00:37:10.900 align:middle line:90%
It\'s so funny.
00:37:10.900 --> 00:37:15.100 align:middle line:84%
\"Vicious stultification and
vulgar debunking cannot be
00:37:15.100 --> 00:37:18.220 align:middle line:84%
permitted to pollute
the stream of justice.\"
00:37:18.220 --> 00:38:25.610 align:middle line:90%
00:38:25.610 --> 00:38:29.660 align:middle line:84%
When the Supreme Court
actually lifted its stay
00:38:29.660 --> 00:38:32.780 align:middle line:84%
and allowed the construction
of the dam to proceed,
00:38:32.780 --> 00:38:36.470 align:middle line:84%
there was a big celebration
orchestrated by the Gujarat
00:38:36.470 --> 00:38:38.690 align:middle line:90%
government at the dam site.
00:38:38.690 --> 00:38:42.410 align:middle line:84%
The chief guest was Mr. LK
Advani, the Home Minister.
00:38:42.410 --> 00:39:47.240 align:middle line:90%
00:39:47.240 --> 00:39:50.110 align:middle line:84%
He makes the same links
I do in my writing--
00:39:50.110 --> 00:39:52.340 align:middle line:90%
bombs, dams, wars.
00:39:52.340 --> 00:39:55.160 align:middle line:84%
But he makes them on the
other side of the line.
00:39:55.160 --> 00:39:58.850 align:middle line:84%
So when he makes the connection,
it\'s a patriotic act.
00:39:58.850 --> 00:40:01.745 align:middle line:84%
And when I make the connection,
it\'s a criminal offense.
00:40:01.745 --> 00:40:04.340 align:middle line:90%
00:40:04.340 --> 00:40:08.450 align:middle line:84%
Big dams are just
huge wet cement flags
00:40:08.450 --> 00:40:10.250 align:middle line:90%
that we have in our mind.
00:40:10.250 --> 00:40:13.460 align:middle line:84%
We\'re supposed to accept
them as an article of faith.
00:40:13.460 --> 00:40:16.005 align:middle line:84%
And if you question
them, your anti-national.
00:40:16.005 --> 00:40:16.880 align:middle line:90%
You\'re a seditionist.
00:40:16.880 --> 00:40:19.640 align:middle line:90%
You\'re a foreign agent.
00:40:19.640 --> 00:40:23.900 align:middle line:84%
Corporate globalization,
nationalism,
00:40:23.900 --> 00:40:27.380 align:middle line:84%
and religious
fundamentalism are all
00:40:27.380 --> 00:40:31.370 align:middle line:84%
marching hand-in-hand
through the 21st century.
00:40:31.370 --> 00:40:33.920 align:middle line:84%
And each of them
sets off the other.
00:40:33.920 --> 00:40:38.970 align:middle line:84%
Each of them is almost
necessary for the other.
00:40:38.970 --> 00:40:45.020 align:middle line:84%
When I first went to the valley,
I used to say that I\'m not here
00:40:45.020 --> 00:40:47.480 align:middle line:84%
because my house
is being submerged,
00:40:47.480 --> 00:40:51.050 align:middle line:84%
or my fields are
going underwater.
00:40:51.050 --> 00:40:53.480 align:middle line:90%
My worldview is being submerged.
00:40:53.480 --> 00:40:55.710 align:middle line:90%
That\'s why I\'m here.
00:40:55.710 --> 00:40:58.890 align:middle line:90%
But it\'s not just that anymore.
00:40:58.890 --> 00:41:01.340 align:middle line:90%
They\'re knocking on my door.
00:41:01.340 --> 00:41:02.960 align:middle line:90%
They\'re coming for me.
00:41:02.960 --> 00:41:05.210 align:middle line:84%
And therefore, I
know that I have
00:41:05.210 --> 00:41:08.450 align:middle line:84%
to fight with all the
skill that I have,
00:41:08.450 --> 00:41:14.030 align:middle line:84%
which is my words, my ideas,
my ability to communicate.
00:41:14.030 --> 00:41:18.290 align:middle line:84%
I believe that the only hope
and the only thing worth
00:41:18.290 --> 00:41:20.570 align:middle line:90%
globalizing is dissent.
00:41:20.570 --> 00:41:24.170 align:middle line:84%
And I think that when
the Supreme Court comes
00:41:24.170 --> 00:41:27.530 align:middle line:84%
for us, for the artists, for
the writers, for the filmmakers,
00:41:27.530 --> 00:41:30.290 align:middle line:84%
for the musicians,
we have to show them
00:41:30.290 --> 00:41:32.600 align:middle line:90%
our terrifying strength.
00:41:32.600 --> 00:41:35.810 align:middle line:84%
And we have to fight
back with our art.
00:41:35.810 --> 00:41:52.110 align:middle line:90%
00:41:52.110 --> 00:41:56.100 align:middle line:84%
I\'m calling to ask you, have you
heard anything about the case?
00:41:56.100 --> 00:41:58.740 align:middle line:90%
No, I\'m in my office.
00:41:58.740 --> 00:42:03.510 align:middle line:84%
They were objecting to
the last chapter \"The God
00:42:03.510 --> 00:42:08.250 align:middle line:84%
of Small Things,\" which they
said corrupted public morality.
00:42:08.250 --> 00:42:12.010 align:middle line:84%
And therefore, the
book should be banned.
00:42:12.010 --> 00:42:14.880 align:middle line:84%
It\'s as though it\'s
that time of the month.
00:42:14.880 --> 00:42:21.300 align:middle line:84%
[LAUGHS] For it to be coming
up right now is strange.
00:42:21.300 --> 00:42:25.350 align:middle line:84%
Because it\'s as if the legal
net is closing around me
00:42:25.350 --> 00:42:26.854 align:middle line:90%
in some way.
00:42:26.854 --> 00:42:30.830 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:42:30.830 --> 00:42:59.220 align:middle line:90%
00:42:59.220 --> 00:43:00.278 align:middle line:90%
[INAUDIBLE]
00:43:00.278 --> 00:43:03.530 align:middle line:90%
00:43:03.530 --> 00:43:06.790 align:middle line:84%
Everyday, the skin
is stripped off you.
00:43:06.790 --> 00:43:08.860 align:middle line:90%
And you have to deal with it.
00:43:08.860 --> 00:43:13.960 align:middle line:84%
And really, as a writer, you
can either shy away from it
00:43:13.960 --> 00:43:16.030 align:middle line:84%
or you can take
it as a challenge,
00:43:16.030 --> 00:43:19.900 align:middle line:84%
and say, well, I\'m a
different kind of writer now.
00:43:19.900 --> 00:43:22.060 align:middle line:90%
And I hope that\'s a good thing.
00:43:22.060 --> 00:43:25.600 align:middle line:84%
Because in a way,
people say that writers
00:43:25.600 --> 00:43:28.780 align:middle line:84%
keep writing the same
book over and over again.
00:43:28.780 --> 00:43:32.080 align:middle line:84%
And I\'ve written the
book I wanted to write.
00:43:32.080 --> 00:43:37.720 align:middle line:84%
And now I\'m swimming
in the river of life.
00:43:37.720 --> 00:43:41.410 align:middle line:84%
And I hope what comes out will
be literature at the end of it.
00:43:41.410 --> 00:43:42.220 align:middle line:90%
But who knows?
00:43:42.220 --> 00:43:48.580 align:middle line:90%
00:43:48.580 --> 00:43:51.370 align:middle line:84%
I don\'t think they\'re going
to actually send me to jail.
00:43:51.370 --> 00:43:53.230 align:middle line:90%
But there\'s a small chance.
00:43:53.230 --> 00:43:54.770 align:middle line:90%
And I\'m prepared for that.
00:43:54.770 --> 00:43:57.850 align:middle line:90%
00:43:57.850 --> 00:43:58.840 align:middle line:90%
Oof.
00:43:58.840 --> 00:44:00.380 align:middle line:84%
It\'ll be so nice
when this is over.
00:44:00.380 --> 00:44:25.625 align:middle line:90%
00:44:25.625 --> 00:44:27.135 align:middle line:90%
This won\'t do.
00:44:27.135 --> 00:44:28.740 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHS]
00:44:28.740 --> 00:45:10.660 align:middle line:90%
00:45:10.660 --> 00:45:13.282 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:45:13.282 --> 00:45:24.450 align:middle line:90%
00:45:24.450 --> 00:45:26.430 align:middle line:84%
I\'m at this Arundhati
Roy hearing,
00:45:26.430 --> 00:45:28.160 align:middle line:90%
which you are maybe aware of.
00:45:28.160 --> 00:45:30.980 align:middle line:90%
00:45:30.980 --> 00:45:32.140 align:middle line:90%
Contempt of court.
00:45:32.140 --> 00:45:35.883 align:middle line:84%
She wrote some rude things
about the Supreme Court,
00:45:35.883 --> 00:45:36.800 align:middle line:90%
which pissed them off.
00:45:36.800 --> 00:46:20.440 align:middle line:90%
00:46:20.440 --> 00:46:22.240 align:middle line:84%
This is a statement
which she has issued.
00:46:22.240 --> 00:46:25.096 align:middle line:90%
00:46:25.096 --> 00:46:28.810 align:middle line:84%
She said, \"I stand
by what I have said,
00:46:28.810 --> 00:46:31.750 align:middle line:84%
and I\'m prepared to
suffer the consequences.
00:46:31.750 --> 00:46:36.021 align:middle line:84%
The judgment only confirms
what I said in my affidavit.\"
00:46:36.021 --> 00:47:00.571 align:middle line:90%
00:47:00.571 --> 00:47:01.580 align:middle line:90%
[DOG BARKING]
00:47:01.580 --> 00:47:05.580 align:middle line:90%
[DOG WHINING]
00:47:05.580 --> 00:47:44.170 align:middle line:90%
00:47:44.170 --> 00:47:47.040 align:middle line:84%
It wasn\'t an easy
decision to make.
00:47:47.040 --> 00:47:50.420 align:middle line:84%
But in the end, I didn\'t want
to be a martyr to a cause that
00:47:50.420 --> 00:47:52.160 align:middle line:90%
isn\'t mine alone.
00:47:52.160 --> 00:47:54.860 align:middle line:84%
And suffering--
choosing to suffer--
00:47:54.860 --> 00:47:56.568 align:middle line:90%
isn\'t exactly my style.
00:47:56.568 --> 00:48:27.600 align:middle line:90%
00:48:27.600 --> 00:48:30.550 align:middle line:84%
The establishment has
always feared writers,
00:48:30.550 --> 00:48:33.600 align:middle line:84%
because writers have
the weapon of clarity.
00:48:33.600 --> 00:48:36.220 align:middle line:84%
And when they choose to
use it, it can be deadly.
00:48:36.220 --> 00:48:37.720 align:middle line:90%
[SHOUTING]
00:48:37.720 --> 00:48:39.820 align:middle line:90%
00:48:39.820 --> 00:48:42.570 align:middle line:90%
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
00:48:42.570 --> 00:49:54.582 align:middle line:90%
Distributor: Icarus Films
Length: 50 minutes
Date: 2002
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Grade: 10-12, College, Adult
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
Interactive Transcript: Available
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