Book Details

• Author: D.R. Sahu

• Publisher: Rawat Publications

• Language: English

• Edition: First Edition

• ISBN: 9788131611845

• Pages: 220

• Cover: Hardcover

• Release Date: 01-12-2020

About the Book

This insightful volume by D.R. Sahu explores the dynamics of a powerful grassroots protest movement in Baliapal, Odisha, where thousands of villagers rose in resistance against a proposed Missile Testing Range by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Government of India. The project, if implemented, would have displaced over 1,00,000 people across 55 villages. Based on a robust blend of primary fieldwork and secondary sources, this book meticulously unpacks the ideological foundations, organizational strategies, leadership frameworks, and mobilization processes that fueled this people’s movement.

The book seeks to answer critical questions: Why did the protest emerge? What ideology underpinned it? Who led the movement and how were strategies devised? What were the social and structural impacts on the community? By situating the agitation within the broader sociological framework of resistance, structure, and organization, Sahu offers a conceptual lens to understand not only the nature of dissent but also the power of collective action in challenging authoritative state-led development.

This case study of Baliapal is more than a localized protest—it reflects a larger postmodernist critique of contemporary development paradigms. It echoes a call for returning to nature and reasserting people's rights to land, identity, and self-determination. The book is a valuable resource for civil society activists, NGOs, policymakers, sociologists, political thinkers, and students of social movements, providing both analytical depth and real-world relevance.

D.R. Sahu, an eminent sociologist and Professor at the University of Lucknow, brings decades of academic and field experience to this work. Formerly the Head of the Sociology Departments at both the University of Lucknow and Ravenshaw University, Odisha, he has also played pivotal roles in the Indian Sociological Society and the International Sociological Association. With an extensive publication record and contributions to over 25 government and NGO-sponsored research projects, Professor Sahu stands as a leading voice in the study of social movements and collective action in India.