The film, “Dammed but Not Damned,” is based on field research by Cato scholar Swami Aiyar and Columbia University professor Neeraj Kaushal, who surveyed 1,200 forest tribe families. When the relocation occurred, some forest tribes who lived deep in the forest or above the waterline did not move. That allowed the researchers to conduct a sort of controlled experiment, comparing the resettled families with their former neighbors. Contrary to claims that the resettled forest tribes would be taken advantage of and become paupers, Aiyar and Neeraj found that their standard of living notably improved, exceeding that of the forest tribes that stayed behind. On a range of indicators—land and asset ownership, housing quality, agricultural practices, access to schools and hospitals—the relocated families were better off.
For more information: [ Ссылка ]
To view the documentary in full: [ Ссылка ]
