Medha Patkar
Social activist who led the Narmada Bachao Andolan
- Age
- 71 yrs
- Birthday in 34 days
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- Career highlights
- Honours
- 2
- Most recent 1992
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Medha Patkar is a social activist best known for leading the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the decades-long movement of villagers displaced by the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river. She founded the National Alliance of People’s Movements and won the Right Livelihood Award and the Goldman Environmental Prize.
Biography
Social work
Patkar grew up in a family of activists in Bombay; her father was a trade unionist and freedom fighter. She earned a master’s degree in social work at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and worked with slum communities and tribal villages.
The Narmada
In the mid-1980s she began working with tribal and farming communities in the Narmada valley who faced submergence by the Sardar Sarovar dam. In 1985 she helped found the Narmada Bachao Andolan, which used marches, sit-ins, long fasts and court cases to demand proper rehabilitation and question the dam’s costs.
Other campaigns
She founded the National Alliance of People’s Movements and has campaigned on land acquisition, slum demolitions and farmers’ rights. She received the Right Livelihood Award in 1991 and the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1992, and contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election unsuccessfully.
Impact
The campaign led the World Bank to withdraw its funding in 1993 and made displacement a central issue in Indian debates on development, though the Supreme Court eventually allowed the dam to be completed. Patkar served on the World Commission on Dams.
Timeline
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1954
Born in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
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1985
Helps found the Narmada Bachao Andolan
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1991
Right Livelihood Award
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1992
Goldman Environmental Prize
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1993
World Bank withdraws from Sardar Sarovar
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1998
Member of the World Commission on Dams
Awards and honours
-
Right Livelihood Award
1991
-
Goldman Environmental Prize
1992
Did you know?
-
1
She studied social work at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
-
2
The Narmada campaign led the World Bank to pull its funding.
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3
She has undertaken several long hunger strikes.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Medha Patkar?
Medha Patkar is a social activist best known for leading the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the decades-long movement of villagers displaced by the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river. She founded the National Alliance of People’s Movements and won the Right Livelihood Award and the Goldman Environmental Prize.
How old is Medha Patkar?
Medha Patkar is 71 years old, born on 1 December 1954 in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra.
Where is Medha Patkar from?
Medha Patkar was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra.
What is Medha Patkar known for?
Medha Patkar is best known for Narmada Bachao Andolan; campaigns for people displaced by dams and development.
What awards has Medha Patkar received?
Notable honours include Right Livelihood Award (1991), Goldman Environmental Prize (1992).
References
- Medha Patkar — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Medha Patkar — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Medha Patkar — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Medha Patkar (Q467318) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Medha Patkar”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 27 October 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Medha Patkar.” TrackFame, last updated 28 October 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/medha-patkar
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