The document provides background on India's growing energy needs and its plans to increase nuclear power capacity. It discusses the Koodankulam nuclear power plant project in Tamil Nadu, which initially faced little opposition but grew as residents realized it did not provide jobs as promised and could threaten their livelihoods from fishing. The 2011 Fukushima disaster intensified protests against the project. The government insists on the plant's safety, but protesters demand more transparency and representation. Tensions increased with police action against protests, legal battles, and intimidating shows of state power. Key issues raised include whether lower classes should risk their lives and livelihoods to fuel energy growth mainly benefiting other classes.

1. NUCLEAR ENERGY OPTION AND
CONFLICT AMONG DEMOCRATIC
FORCES:
A Sociological Reading of Conflict on
Koodankulam Nuclear Plant in Tamil
Nadu, India.
Lazar Savari, SJ. Ph.D
Associate Professor
Dept. of Human Resource Management
St. Joseph’s College
Tiruchirappalli
Tamil Nadu
INDIA

2. PART I
 THE NUCLEAR ENERGY PROJECT: The
Context, the Support and Opposition

3. .

5. INDIA’S ENERGY NEEDS
India’s energy needs have expanded
during the last twenty years owing to
accelerated growth in
• Industrialisation and Urbanisation,
• Mechanisation of farming, fishing and
cottage industries,
• A rapidly growing middle class with a
consumerist life style, and
• A fast expanding service sector like
the IT and the ITES

6. sectors 1950-51 1970-71 2001-02
Industry 63 68 35
Agriculture 4 10 29
Railway 7 3 3
Traction
Public 13 10 11
lighting
Domestic 13 9 22
use
Pattern of electricity consumption (utilities)
Per cent. Source: Economic Survey, 2001-02 and TATA services Ltd, Statistical
outline of India 2000-01

7. GROWTH OF INSTALLED CAPACITY IN PUBLIC UTILITIES (IN MW)
year Hydro Thermal Nuclear Total
1950-51 560 (33) 1,150 (67) -- 1,710 (100)
1970-71 6380(43) 7910 (54) 420 (3) 14,710 (100)
1990-91 18,800(28) 45800(69) 1500(3) 66100(100)
2000-01 25100 (25) 73600 (72) 2900 (3) 101,600 (100)

8.  National Planning Commission:
 `India will need to increase its electricity
generation capacity by 5-6 times from 2003-
04 levels to meet energy needs of all citizens
and maintain an 8 per cent growth in GDP’
 `India is forced to revisit its energy policies
when 70 per cent of its power generation
comes from coal-fired thermal power plants

9.  `While pursuing all fuel options, India seeks
to augment the role of hydro and nuclear
power.
 India’s nuclear power plants generate 4780
MW.
 In 2010 India drew up a plan to reach a
nuclear power capacity of 63000 MW in 2032
 In 2017 India’s installed nuclear power
generation capacity will increase to 10080
MW.

10.  Accordingly, India has plans to establish 40 nuclear
plants by 2030.
 The plant in Koodankulam, located on the east coast
of southern India in the state of Tamil Nadu and
almost nearing completion is one in the chain of
nuclear plants contemplated.
 With the supporters and protesters pushing their own
agenda forward and the government bent on
commissioning the plant using the police and
bureaucracy, the Koodankulam nuclear power plant is
today in the eye of a storm.

11.  When the authorities started implementing this
project in the 1980s, a few individuals and some
Non-Governmental organisations voiced their
protest.
 The protest was however confined to writing in
news papers and prominent local / vernacular
magazines and distributing pamphlets.
 There was no organised agitation or
demonstration as such.

12.  The protestors at this stage faced two situations:
1. The mood of the general public was one of indifference.
Some of them even thought the project would offer
considerable job opportunities and scope for
development.
They therefore welcomed the project initially ignoring the
efforts made by some individuals and groups who
sought to create awareness on the possible risks and
dangers of the nuclear plant.
1. The government machineries were annoyed by the
persistence of the protesters’ dissenting voice and at
one time they chased them from the project area under
threat of physical attack.

13.  The disillusionment of the people in the project
area
 Some years later, the public inhabiting the project
area realised that the project is not one of yielding
jobs or facilitating any broad based development
opportunities for them. On the contrary, they realised
that they may even lose their existing livelihood
opportunities.
 It resulted in a shift in their attitude towards the
individuals and organizations that once tried to
educate them on the danger the project may bring to
their future.

14.  Through a variety of strategies like street meetings,
distribution of pamphlets etc., the individuals and
organizations began educating the public on the
complex subject of nuclear energy and how it will
destroy them en masse in case of an accident.
 They also explained how the nuclear waste and the
water released from the plant into the sea will destroy
their ecosystem, putting their livelihoods to
irreversible process of destruction.
 This campaign went on quietly for a few years and
simultaneously, the construction of the plant was
going on quietly.

15.  The nuclear plant was nearing completion in the year
2011. By sheer coincidence, the Fukushima nuclear
accident in March 2011 gave the already
consicentized people the fright of their life.
 The knowledge they had acquired through the
mobilization process for the last few years got
reinforced by power images of destruction through
the electronic media. The knowledge now
transformed into an experience of large scale
destruction of life and property, and gave them the
mental and social power to respond collectively.

16.  The government authorities reacted to the
Fukhushima accident in their own way. They
organised a mock drill to evacuate the people in
case of an accident in the Koodankulam plant.
 For the people however, it looked as though the
government itself is saying that they are or they
are likely to be in grave danger.
 So, in August 2011 they responded
enthusiastically to the call of their leaders to
press their demand for closing the plant.

17.  Since then, thousands of people have been
protesting at the plant site.
 They blocked the access to the plant and the
pending work at the site came to a stand still
for months.
 During all these months, the protestors
demanded that the plant should be
redesigned to produce energy through
means other than using enriched uranium.

18. This demand was made …
 To protect their lives from possible nuclear
accident at the plant, and
 To protect the sea which is a substantial
source of livelihood for millions of fishermen
living on eastern and western coasts of India.

19. PART II
 THE STATE vs THE PEOPLE

20.  Going by the media report, it looks the
government would like to Ignore the livelihood
issue. It focused on the safety concerns of the
people and kept insisting that the safety
concerns have been carefully attended to and
that the plant will be intact in the event of a
leakage or a natural disaster like Tsunami or
earthquake.
 To get across this message ,the government
began using political parties, media,
bureaucracy and the scientific community

21.  The people, not disposed to believe the
claims of the government, demanded instead
that these claims are scrutinised in a
transparent manner.
 They demanded that their representatives
are also involved in the security check along
with the officials and the expert teams that
the government has commissioned.

22.  By this time, some scientists too had expressed
support to the people and about 100 eminent
citizens of the country jointly issued a statement
in the media in support of the protestors.
 Minor political parties and some civil society
orgnanizations also voiced their support to the
protestors.
 Thus, the protest which originated in
communities that live near the plant inspired
people in other parts of the country, though their
number was small.

23.  Government did not yield to this demand nor did it
attempt to remove the people from the protest venue.
May be due to the burden of a democratic system it is
supposed to uphold by the spirit of Indian
constitution.
 In stead, it sent a few experts and expert teams to
scrutinize the safety measures claimed to be in place
at the plant.
 Almost all these individuals and teams vouched for
the safety of the plant.
 The protesters kept challenging the findings of these
experts.

24.  The delay on the part of the government to
resume work in the plant prompted many
organizations of big and medium industries and
traders to protest demanding that the plant
should be commissioned at the earliest.
 It is alleged that some members of major
political parties came in the garb of members of
trade and business organisations and attempted
to terrorise the leaders and the people.

25.  The main leader of the protestors had been
running a school which was vandalised by
such elements. In this, the state had
supporters from a section of the civil society.
 As a result, the debate on the nuclear option
became a regular feature in the national
dailies and regional electronic media with
different stakeholders expressing different
views and justifications

26.  There were a few attempts by the district
administration and the state Chief Minister to
talk to the representatives of the protestors.
 The visits by experts and meeting with protest
leaders did not improve the situation of conflict
at the site. Rather, it hardened the stand of both
the governments and the protestors.
 NB: A few months earlier during the election
campaign for the local bodies, the present Chief
Minister then a Chief Ministerial candidate had
stoutly stood by the protestors.

27.  In spite of the intense protest by people for
the last one year, AERB, (Atomic Energy
Regulatory Board) gave clearance for fuel
loading.
 At this point, the many cases, filed by the
protestors earlier, came up for hearing at the
the High Court (Regional Court).

28. The High Court ruled as follows:
Since the government has followed all the
procedures like environment clearance from
relevant body (protestor have pointed out that the commitments given in the
application for environment clearance have been violated in the final execution of the project. The
violations are with regard to the number of people living in the vicinity of the plant. And also, with regard
) clearance
to the maximum temperature of the water released into the sea from the plant
from the state government and the experts
have studied the objections raised by the
protestors, it cannot stay the fueling of the
plant.

29. The High Court ruled as follows:
Since the government has followed all the
procedures like environment clearance from
relevant body (protestor have pointed out
that the commitments given in the application
for environment clearance have been
violated in the final execution of the project.
The violations are with regard to the number
of people living in the vicinity of the plant.
And also, with regard to the maximum

30.  The people came totally unarmed, whereas
the police was fully armed.
 A peaceful protest of unarmed people was to
face a police that will use force at the
slightest provocation,
.

31.  On the day of protest, both sides claimed
that the provocation came from the other
side. But, it ended in police using force and
injuring some of the protestors.
 On hearing about police action, people in
surrounding areas also protested and the
police deployed there used force and one
protestor was killed in police firing.

34.  The two images shown above clearly portray
the unmatched combatants.
 The people protesting against the plant
appear walking into the sea seeming to
express symbolically that their future is
bleak.
 Obviously they do not want to communicate
in a language of violence. They seek a
peaceful path.

35.  In contrast, the aircraft flying at a low altitude
is intimidating.
 It seeks to instill fear in the minds of the
people and cripple them psychologically.
 It shows the way the power of the state
unfolds in the event of protest against the
nuclear option.
 Obviously the message is clear: The state
will have its way come what may …

36.  In addition to this dramatic demonstration of power,
the government resorted to other means to suppress
the voice of the people.
 It has slapped nearly 500 cases against the leaders.
It sought to harass them by hooking them in income
tax violations.
 It demonised them saying they are stooges of foreign
powers that are opposed to this plant for their own
interest.
 To this date none of these charges has been
established by the state. None has been punished.

37.  Holding on to the spirit of democracy, the
protestors have appealed to the country’s
highest court (The Supreme Court) where
the matter is still pending.
 However, in another case, the Supreme
Court has ruled that in matters of huge public
spending peoples’ safety should take
precedence over cost, which seems to hold
some hope for the nuclear plant opponents.

38.  The present situation
 The protestors gather everyday near the
plant to sing, pray and shout slogans against
the plant, while the police force remains alert
at the site.
 However, taking advantage of the High Court
ruling, the government has now actually
completed the fuelling of the plant.

39. PART III
 ISSUES THAT BEG FOR ATTENTION

40.  Energy Needs as a National Interest and Social Classes
Nuclear energy option is being supported on the count that India
needs 60000 MW by 2030 in order to boost its GDP. Everyone in
the country is assumed to benefit by this development.
Protesters’ argument is that their present energy consumption is low
and it is not likely to increase in the near future. It implies much of
the energy produced through nuclear source or any other source
has been used and will be used by the business class.
The energy needs of the middle class have expanded due to the
increase in its consumption level during the last two decades.
This is probably why the middle class is giving muted support to
the state in this conflict.

41. The poor class in the rural area and in the coastal area
do not feel the need for more energy than what they
consume at the moment. Owing to their low income,
they do not foresee that their needs are likely to
expand in near future.
When it is a trade off between more energy and threat
to their life, they choose the protection of their life and
livelihood, rather than energy.
The goal of national interest’ does not impress them.
Nor is the argument that the citizens should make
‘sacrifices‘ for the sake of `national interest’ a
convincing option.

42. The question is why the lower class should risk its life and
livelihoods for this kind of distribution of common resource
like. Historically, this is the way the state has accessed all
other resources like the minerals, forests, water etc. The
lower classes like the Adivasis(Tribal communities),
agriculturists have been protesting periodically. Fpr
example, the violent protets in Nandigram, Orissa are ample
evidence to establish the differing postures among classes
on this matter. This conflict calls into question the way
natural resources are accessed and the classes that benefit
from this kind of access.

43.  This is not to say that they are opposed to
generating more energy at all because it serves the
interest of the business and middle class more. The
protestors have their ideas of generating energy
that excludes the use of enriched uranium.
Implicitly, they seem to say that they too can
contribute to thinking on matters of national interest
like energy and that their ideas must get due
consideration by the state.

44.  People are ready for negotiations
The demand of the protestors for a place in the
negotiation of their needs to national needs has been
there for the last three decades. In the narrative of
the conflict we find that the people were ready to
welcome the project in the early 80s.
They appeared indifferent to those `educated’
volunteers who called on the people to oppose the
plant.
They trusted the State and expected it to take care of
their development needs.

45. According to the protestors, the state has
breached this trust by not providing new jobs
either through this nuclear plant or by other
infrastructure development.
The protestors sensed that the state has betrayed
them in order to take care of the energy needs
of the industry and business class.
As a result, a sense of moral anger against the
State pervades among the protestors.

46.  Even during the current phase of the conflict, they
have been repeatedly demanding that they be
allowed to scrutinize the safety measures claimed
to be in place at the plant. Probably they will ask for
a control on the way these measures are monitored
closely even after the commissioning of the plant, if
the commissioning of the plant is allowed by them.
The State has not responded to these demands so
far. The stand of the state violates the principle of
democracy that it so frequently invokes to contain
the struggle of the people.

47.  National Security Issues
 India has a set of regulations by which the
governments can withhold some informations form
the public for reasons of national security. Here
again the question is how the issue of national
security and security of life and livelihood of the
lower classes are negotiated. As much as there are
mechanisms to protect the national security
concerns in the case of officials handling matters,
the people’s representatives scrutinizing and
monitoring safety and security measures in the
plant also can governed.

48.  Panchayatraj Institutions (Local Bodies)and micro level planning
 India boasts of having an excellent grass root mechanism for
deliberating and planning on development projects. They are known as
the `Panchayatraj’ institutions. These bodies are constituted by
members who are elected by every voter at the village level. These
bodies were established by an amendment to the Indian Constitution in
the eighties. One of the purposes of establishing these institutions was
to encourage grassroots planning of development projects.
 It looks that these institutions were sidelined in the way the nuclear plant
project was executed.
 Had these institutions been given a due place in the execution of the
project, probably a different kind of scenario would have emerged in
which both the energy needs and the micro development needs of the
people could have been met or at least this kind of resistance could
have been avoided.

49.  Bureaucracy and `I-Know-Better’ mindset
 The higher level bureaucracy, often grappling with macro
issues of governance, generally holds the view that the
non- and the semi- literate masses at the lower end of the
society is not capable of understanding the science of
nuclear energy, the geo-strategic interest of the country.
 This is often described as colonial mindset - a hangover
of the colonial era, internalised by many in the
beuracracy. The response of the non-literate fisherfolks
respond to questions relating to nuclear technology, they
appear very comfortable in understanding the questions
and give convincing answers. Many of the non-literate
people are able to articulate the science of nuclear
technology and its impact on their lives and livelihood..

50.  Economic and awareness levels do not move on
parallel lines.
 The level of knowledge and awareness of even the
non-and semi-literate masses changes over time on
account of countless factors.
 Education through unconventional (non formal)
methods enables them grasp the so-called intricate
subject like the science of nuclear energy.
 The state seems to have ignored this process of
unconventional education and its impact in the minds
of the non-literate people in rural areas..

51.  How does bureaucracy take into account the
knowledge and understanding of the people
that it is called to serve and not to rule as per
the spirit of democracy?

52.  Track record in managing threat to Life
 On the possibility of accidents in the plant and their
consequences on the life and health of the population,
 The State says that enough care has been taken in the designing
of the plant to prevent any leakage of radiation.
 Of the 17safety recommendations given by the Atomic Energy
Regulatory Board only 6 have now been carried out.
 When pointed out, the officials say that the remaining
recommendations would be carried out after commissioning of
the plant.
 This strengthens the apprehension of the protestors that the State
will not bother about the safety of the people once the plant is
commissioned.

53.  The same problem of lack of commitment is mentioned by
the protestors with regard to protection of their traditional
livelihood viz. fishing.
 There is a possibility of negligence in maintaining the
permissible temperature level of the water released from
the plant. It has been presented before the Supreme
Court that the application for environment clearance the
officials have mentioned that the water released from the
plant will have maximum of 3 degree which is within the
permissible limit. At the time of completion of the
construction, it has been noted that the level would 5
degree.
 Failure on this count will damage the eco-system of the
sea and the livelihood of the fishing communities.

54.  Citing many failures of the state to take care
of the interests of the development displaced
people in the past, they refuse to belief the
promise of the state that the remaining safety
needs will be fulfilled in course of time.

55.  This is an issue that pertains to the culture of governance. As
there is a deficit or breach of trust, the conflict has become
inevitable.
 Both these problems – the problem of not executing safety
recommendations and maintaining post-operation vigilance on
safety- demand that such risky energy projects need more time,
deliberation and negotiation for implementation.
 The State seems to be totally non-negotiable on time. It resorts to
various measures to get this plant started and also is keen
completing 40 such projects by 2032.
 The urgency shown in this regard on the part of state and other
supporters of nuclear energy is likely to strengthen the suspicion
of the people and to intensify the conflict.

56.  International angle to the conflict
It has been claimed that one of the reasons why
this project is implemented with great urgency is
not only to meet the growing energy needs of
India, it is also because of economic interests of
the suppliers of nuclear technology.
International players who are producing and
trading on nuclear technologies are seen to be
supporting or opposing this conflict depending
on their own agenda with regard to this project.

57.  Thus, the Koodankulam conflict is linked to the
economic interests of global players and to that
extent, the protestors at Koodankulam appear to be
pigmies before global corporate giants.
 The path of non-violence that the protestors have
adopted so far has given them the advantage of not
being suppressed by the State. At the same time, the
State, for reasons best known to itself, is not inclined
to accept the demands of the protestors.
 It seems therefore that the conflict is facing a dead
end.

58.  Fukhushima nuclear accident has had huge
impact not only on Japan’s nuclear policies
but also on other developed nations.
 Many countries like Germany and France are
planning to phase out nuclear energy plants.
 Ironically, as stated above, nuclear
technologies from the developed nations are
going to developing countries to whet their
hunger for power.

59.  The Review of Nuclear Energy Option now
prevalent in developed countries must be
extended to developing countries as well.
 In other words, governments and companies
in developed countries must refrain from
exporting nuclear technologies to developing
countries without an imperative to review
policy on nuclear energy globally.

60.  Those forces that have forced the developed
countries to review their nuclear energy option
must broaden their vision and urge for global
rethinking on this subject in order to take a
correct and inclusive approach to nuclear
energy and avoid conflicts on this score.
 Even a conflict in a specific location in a specific
country needs this global perspective and
intervention in order to be productive in its
results.