Part 1: 'People change history. We changed geography.'

Rajendra Singh did not get a Magsaysay for nothing say his associates. Just a few days before he got the Magsaysay, one of his water harvesting structures faced the threat of being broken down. There were a plethora of false cases by the mining mafia. He was even accused of having committed three rapes in a day.

Today, he laughs at it all. In the concluding segment of his interview with Ramesh Menon, Singh says the people have been empowered and can carry the water revolution without him.

Despite the work you did and the revolution in water management you and your workers brought about, you were threatened with arrest.

In 1987, we were given a notice quoting the Irrigation Drainage Act saying that no stream or canal water could be stopped as it belonged to the government. But we argued, very politely, that the rain belonged to us. All we were doing was stopping the rain water from draining away. The rivers were any way dry in Alwar.

You were recently even threatened with arrest before you got the Magsaysay award.

On June 20, 2001, the government asked me to break one of our water harvesting structures at Lahakawas or face arrest in seven days without a warrant being issued. But people just sat over the structure, hence they could not do anything fearing it would become a law and order problem. On August 7, the government said I was no more a criminal and that the structure was okay. (Singh got news of the Magsaysay award on July 31.)

How does it feel now?

We want to help the government. The government is powerful. If they understand water conservation, they can do wonders. Rajasthan can be made drought-proof within five years if there is a political will. All that is required is that both bureaucrats and people should be genuinely concerned with the problem. Every village can have water.

You were also charged with poaching tigers by the forest department.

(Laughs) Yes. They did file a case against me. But unfortunately for them on the day when they said that I was in the forest killing tigers, I was in a meeting with government officers about building ponds. So, the case fell through. Ironically, I have just got an international award for saving tigers in (the) Sariska (tiger reserve) a couple of weeks ago. While accepting the award in Mumbai, I narrated how I was charged for poaching. They were amazed.

How were you able to stop poaching?

'Every village can have water if there is political will.'

Earlier, poachers knew where tigers would come to drink water as there were very few water bodies. Now, tigers do not need to travel all over as we have made numerous ponds in the heart of Sariska. So, poachers just do not know where the tigers are and cannot risk going deep within. We made those ponds to rejuvenate both forests and wildlife.

Did it help?

In 1985, Sariska had five tigers. In 2001, there are 26. In the mid-eighties, millions of rupees were spent by the government to bring in water tankers daily into the forest reserve as there was no water for the animals to drink. Today, there is plenty of water within the reserve.

You were also served a notice for building ponds in the forest?

They charged me under the Wildlife Protection Act and the Forest Conservation Act. Their charge was that by building ponds on forest land, I was violating the law as it was government land and I could not touch it.

What happened then?

Nothing. When one forest secretary enquired why tiger poaching had stopped, his officials told him that it was because one Rajendra Singh was illegally building ponds. The secretary came and saw the work we had done in the forest. He came and met us and requested that we now regenerate other forest areas in Sariska itself. We told him that what we were doing was illegal as far as the law was concerned. So, he should give it to us in writing so that it would at least be legal. He shot off a letter despite his officers telling him that he could land up in jail for asking us to construct ponds in the forest.

Today, forest officials are great friends with us. We in fact work together for conservation. But it has taken us 17 long years to win their friendship.

You have also been charged for planting trees?

Yes. In the Gopalpura village pasture land, we planted many trees. In 1989, the Alwar district administration imposed a fine of Rs 5,955 on me for planting trees on government land. For two years, we fought with the administration saying that we planted trees not for ourselves but for the common good.

You had numerous cases registered against you. Did it demoralise you?

There were 377 cases registered against our workers from Tarun Bharat Sangh in the late eighties. But I never went to court even once. All the cases were fake and collapsed on its own. It made us more determined to fight vested interests.

What about the three rape charges against you.

All the three rape charges were on the same day! Till today, the women who were raped have not been found even by those who accused me. It was a press report and could never be proved.

You were talking of vested interests. Who were they?

Well, there was the mining mafia we had to fight with as we stopped the mining of marble in Sariska that was destroying the ecology of the area. We went to the Supreme Court with a petition against the mining and a judgement stopped activity in 417 mines. Thrice we were attacked. One of the attacks happened when M C Jain, a retired judge was with us. So the Supreme Court sent a miner to jail in a contempt of court case.

Those days were bad. Full of tension. There were so many false cases against us. Life was impossible for us there. So we set out on a padyatra in October 2, 1993 from Himmatnagar in Gujarat to the Delhi ridge. People understood our commitment and the morale of our workers was boosted again.

You had a brush with the Fisheries department too.

In 1996, the Fisheries department suddenly landed up in the villages and gave contracts for fishing. We objected and went on a satyagraha for 120 days in November 1996, saying that the contract cannot be awarded to anyone. Our argument was that the fish belong to the villagers who had worked so hard to make water come alive in the rivers.

And now you have got the Magsaysay award…

The villagers of Alwar who have built 4,501 ponds have won it. One individual should not be highlighted. The whole movement will then suffer.

But getting the award is a great feeling for the villagers who cannot believe that small mud structures can get recognition. With water coming in, there is a new energy and joy in the villages.

What work are you doing now?

We now want to work in the desert. We have started renovating 17 old ponds in the Bikaner district. We are also working in the Ranthambore National Park just as we did in Sariska. There is lots of work to do but I am not worried. The people will now do it on their own even without me.

Page design: Dominic Xavier

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