ABSTRACT
In 1950, Orissa became a state within the Indian Union. In spite of recent economic development, Orissa is still the second poorest state in India after Bihar. As the 1997 Agora Survey result shows, the participation of Orissa people in protest movements is fairly high. Gender imbalance in the associations was also reflected in protest movement participation as well. The regional disparity has given rise to a separate state movement in the under-developed inland part. In particular, a number of large dams were built as a result of the Indian government's policy of prioritizing irrigation and power infrastructure. Several large-scale hydroelectric projects have been constructed or are under construction in the inland part of Orissa. These mega-hydro projects forced a large number of people to leave their homes. None of the protest movements in the inland part of Orissa till the end of 1990s had been successful in resisting the population displacement of these large projects.
