28 Facts About Medha Patkar

Medha Patkar nee Khanolkar was born on 1 December 1954 and is a politician and activist working on certain political and social issues raised by tribals, dalits, farmers, labourers and women facing injustice in India.

Medha Patkar is an alumnus of TISS, a premier institute of social science research in India.

Medha Patkar is one of the founders of the National Alliance of People's Movements, an alliance of hundreds of progressive people's organizations.

Medha Patkar was the national co-ordinator and then convenor of National Alliance of People's Movements for many years and now continues to be an advisor to NAPM.

Medha Patkar has been a part of numerous teams and panels that work on initiating and formulating various national policies and enactments including those related to land acquisition, unorganized sector workers, hawkers, slum-dwellers and forest-dweller Adivasis.

Medha Patkar was born as Medha Khanolkar on 1 December 1954 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, the daughter of Vasant Khanolkar, a freedom fighter, and labour union leader, and his wife Indumati Khanolkar, a gazetted officer in the Post and Telegraphs Department.

Medha Patkar Khanolkar earned an MA in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Medha Patkar was married for seven years but the marriage ended in divorce.

Medha Patkar worked with voluntary organizations in Mumbai's slums for 5 years and tribal districts of North-East districts of Gujarat for three years.

Medha Patkar worked as a member of the faculty at Tata Institute of Social Sciences but left her position to take up the fieldwork.

Medha Patkar has questioned the wisdom of the currently popular developmental strategy of linking rivers in India as a means to address issues of water shortage.

Medha Patkar founded the National Alliance of People's Movements with the objective of "facilitating unity and providing strength to peoples' movements in India, fighting against oppression, further questioning the current development model to work towards a just alternative".

Medha Patkar protested against the setting up of the plant at Singur, West Bengal.

Medha Patkar's convoy was assaulted, allegedly by CPI activists, at Kapaseberia in East Midnapore district while on her way to strife-torn Nandigram.

Medha Patkar participated in and initiated various supportive actions including a fast during Diwali in Kolkata, mass-mobilization, complaints at various national fora, and building support of intellectuals and various citizens across the country.

Medha Patkar filed a PIL in Supreme Court against the Lavasa project.

Medha Patkar has alleged corruption and "atrocities" by builders in the city's slum rehabilitation scheme and called for the halting of six projects by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority until a proper inquiry is conducted.

Medha Patkar explained that "the politicians are interested in the prime plots of land, old equipment, and machinery," of sugar co-operatives and accused the state government of selling assets of the industry at throw-away rates.

Medha Patkar expressed strong opposition to the land acquisition in Kovvada of Ranasthalam Mandal in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh saying that the nuclear plant would be a disaster for ecology as well as people of the region.

Medha Patkar said what the state needed was development not destruction.

Medha Patkar was speaking at a protest meet against the CPM-led Kerala government's ambitious SilverLine semi high speed rail corridor project on 24th March 2022.

Medha Patkar has been opposing the JSW steel project in Odisha citing environmental reasons.

However in June 2022, when she tried to meet her aide at Dhinsukia village in Odisha, the villagers opposed her presence and protested following which police intervened and Medha Patkar had to go back.

However, Medha Patkar did not participate as an active politician but adhered herself to creating an atmosphere and environment by organizing a fifteen days Maharashtra state-level campaign.

Medha Patkar was accompanied by two young activists, Maju Varghese and journalist Jaspal Singh Naol.

In January 2014, Medha Patkar joined the Aam Aadmi Party, a political party led by Arvind Kejriwal.

Medha Patkar contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election for the North East Mumbai constituency as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate.

Medha Patkar resigned from Aam Aadmi Party's primary membership on 28 March 2015.