About Manthan

The Centre is located at Badwani, a district town in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India, five kilometers from the banks of Narmada. While the focus of the work is on water and energy issues, this is in the larger context of equitable, just and sustainable development.

Background and Rationale

In last several decades, resource use and developmental activities have given rise to large number of fierce debates and intense struggles raising issues of social justice, equity, environmental sustainability, human rights, rights of the oppressed sections like tribals and dalits, gender issues, cost- benefit, and efficiency. Serious concerns have arisen regarding the social and environmental sustainability of existing developmental paradigm, even as its efficacy in delivering benefits has been put in doubt. In the recent years, the enormous ongoing transformations in the global and national economic, financial, governance and power structures due to the relentless push towards globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation, have made these concerns even more relevant and accentuated.

It is necessary for any organization or individual anxious about these concerns to fully understand the nature and substance of these ongoing transformations, along with the traditional concerns of equity, human rights, environment and so on. This has become especially important for those working in the public interest and public policy arena. Yet, most information, information sources and analytical capacity remain with governments or private corporate sector.

In the last two decades or so, the issues that the intense struggles have thrown up, along with the efforts of many working on ground level experiments, have also started adding to macro level picture of alternate paradigms. There is a need to bring together these strands, analyse them, and help build the larger picture.

Thus, there is a critical need for independent groups committed to addressing public interest concerns that can carry out high quality research and analysis with sufficient rigor, as also collect, collate and provide access to information. Manthan has been set up as an attempt to address this need.

Knowledge is Power

Knowledge has always been a very important component of power. In the recent years, this importance has increased enormously.

The drive towards globalisation, privatization and liberalization is completely transforming development approaches and paradigms. Supporting this push is vast amount of "knowledge" – studies, analysis, surveys, reports – produced by International Financial Institutions (IFIs) like the World Bank and highly paid international consultants. In other words, public policy and developmental models are being drawn up by these players, based and justified on the basis of knowledge generated by them.

How important the World Bank views its role in creating the intellectual base for pushing its formulation of development policies is clear from its just released Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for India for 2005-2008. This CAS will determine the strategy and priorities of the Bank’s lending to India for next three years. Among the three key "Strategic Principles" which will "under pin the Bank Group’s work" in India is the that " The Bank will also aim to substantially expand its role as a politically realistic knowledge provider and generator."

To critically understand these influences, challenge them, and reclaim the space for public participation, it is very important to understand the knowledge produced by these agencies and in turn generate knowledge that is rooted in our own reality and reflects priorities of the common people. Manthan is engaged in this very endeavour.

Issues

The key issues that Manthan is focussing on include:
  Social, environmental, economic, developmental impacts of water and energy polices, programs and projects
  Planning, decision making, monitoring, regulatory frameworks and legal regimes for water and energy polices, programs and projects
  Changing context - the (changing) policies, paradigms, legal and regulatory regimes, decision making structures, modes of financing
  Evaluation and assessments of existing, ongoing and proposed new water and power polices, programs and projects
  Various experiments and experiences with sustainable, equitable, renewable options for meeting water and energy needs
  Experiences with private sector projects of water and energy
  Report of the World Commission on Dams, its dissemination and implementation;
  Long term Sustainability of various models of irrigation, water supply, energy and power generation, flood control and water supply.

Activities So Far in Brief

In three and half years, Manthan has been able to move substantially in the direction set for itself. Manthan has created a good database of documents - hard and electronic - on water and energy issues.

We have completed a detailed ex post facto assessment of the Bhakra Nangal project, published in the form of a Report titled Unravelling Bhakra. The study has brought out some very startling findings that necessitate a fresh look at our irrigation, agriculture and food policies.

Manthan has been engaged in comprehensive monitoring, research and analysis of policies, programs and projects relating to privatisation/commercialisation of water sector. In this area, Manthan has been able to contribute by participating/presentations in many workshops, seminars and conferences, apart from bringing out a booklet on this issue.

Since opening up of the water sector is an important element in the ongoing GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) negotiations of the WTO, GATS and WTO issues are also being looked at.

Manthan is also working on local issues related to water, initially by carrying out studies and later by catalysing actions. We have carried out a study of the water system of a local town, Anjad. The study has traced the evolution of the water supply systems over the last few decades from the traditional to the modern, looking at the benefits and problems, attempting to also explore alternative ways of water augmentation, provision and management. We are catalysing the implementation of the findings.

We endeavour to link our work at the local level with the broader work on policies and programs.

Manthan is also involved in keeping tabs on the large dams issues and in particular on the follow up to the World Commission on Dams (WCD). Shripad Dharmadhikary was on the Steering Committee of the "UNEP- Dams and Development Project" - a multi-stakeholder process to follow up on the report of the WCD for three years and now continues as an alternate member.

Manthan believes that dissemination of its research work through writings, publications, meetings, workshops etc. is an integral and crucial part of the research. While the focus of Manthan is clearly on research and analysis work, we also try and catalyse actions. We also participate in specific campaigns where appropriate.

Linkages

Manthan strives to maintain live links with various people’s movements, social activists’ organizations and other similar research organisations.

An advisory team of senior activists, human rights experts, lawyers, writers, film-makers and researchers is associated with Manthan and broadly guides its work. These include Prashant Bhushan, Arundhati Roy, Himanshu Thakkar, Sanjay Kak, Himanshu Upadhyaya, Nandini Oza, Venu Govindu, Ashish Gupta and several others.

We welcome people to make use of our resources, including people who want to work with Manthan on short-term projects.

Location

We have deliberately chosen to locate in a small town partly to be able to be grounded in the day-to-day realities of the vast majority of the people of the country, and partly because of the historical association of the place with a large number of people’s movements.

People

Manthan currently has a team of three researchers and one administrative assistant.These are Rehmat, Gaurav Dwivedi, Shripad Dharmadhikary and Nilesh Sanotiya.

Resources

Manthan works on resources and funds raised from people and organisations that share its political and ethical vision.

Legal Structure

Manthan Adhyayan Kendra is run under the Manthan Research and Social Development Society, a Society registered under the Societies Act in Madhya Pradesh. It has approval under Sec. 12 A and under Sec. 80 G of the Income Tax Act.

Contact

Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, Dashera Maidan Road, Badwani (Madhya Pradesh), India

PIN : 451 551 Phone : (91) – 7290 – 222 857, 094273-45415

Email: manthan_b@sancharnet.in, manthan.kendra@gmail.com
Web site: www.manthan-india.org