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Satyagraha seems to be the latest buzzword. In a last ditch effort to get the compensation they had been demanding for years, a group of tribals in Madhya Pradesh resorted to this Gandhian philosophy in order to get the attention of the State Government. In the end, Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence worked as the Government finally gave in. When waters of the Indira Sagar dam submerged their homes and land, the administration refused to either compensate or rehabilitate them. After trying everything they could think of, a group of Korku tribals resorted to a Gandhian satyagraha and decided to sit neck deep in water. "We have to lose something in order to gain something. That is why we have launched this satyagraha," said Suman Bayee of Karnpura village. When water was released from the Indira Sagar dam, 29 villages in Harda were affected. According to the government survey, these villages would be partially submerged. However, villagers said many of them did not receive compensation while the property of some others was not even surveyed. "If they don't agree to our demands, we are ready to die," said Meera Bayee of Lotia village. But anger here gave way to bhajans. Sustained exposure to the water caused their skin to peel off and two women had to be hospitalised. On the seventh day of their satyagraha, the Jabalpur High Court dispatched a team to look into their complaints and the government finally gave in to their demands. It was a successful end to a satyagraha that even Bapu would have been proud of
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