http://www.huffingtonpost.com/democracy-now/vandana-shiva-challenges-_b_852662.htmlOn Earth Day, Democracy Now! spoke to Vandana Shiva, the prominent environmental leader, feminist and thinker from India about the nuclear catastrophe in Japan and what it has meant for India.
"We have a very, very strong anti-nuclear movement in India," Shiva said.
The anti-nuclear movement has gained momentum recently over efforts to stop the construction of a new six-reactor nuclear power station on the coastal plains of Jaitapur, India, in an area known for mango and cashew production. On April 18, Indian police opened fire on hundreds of protesters at a demonstration against the nuclear power plant, killed one person. More than 20 people were arrested.
"And the difference between the Indian movement and any other movement is it's not just about the stupidity of splitting the atom to boil water, which is what nuclear power ultimately is, creating huge amounts of radiation hazard in the process, but in India it involves the typical violence of land grab," Shiva described. "And one of the most fertile parts of India in the Western Ghats, the Ratnagiri district, this planning to set up the biggest-ever nuclear power plant of the world, being built by a French company, AREVA, violating every right of the people, including local democracy, where people have a right to decide what happens. All the local authorities have resigned. And the protests continue.
And just two days ago, there was a killing, when the police fired on peaceful protesters. So, in India, the costs are even higher, because the human costs join with the costs of nuclear hazard. And from 23rd to 26th, a march is being organized--and I'm part of the organizing group--from Tarapur, which is the oldest nuclear power plant of India, to Jaitapur, which is where this giant mega nuclear power park is being set up."
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