Kadviben, Rudiben and other villagers from Mahuva in Gujarat would have had little hope when they came together to protest a cement factory coming up on the piece of land where a check dam had come up. After a supreme court stay on construction, this motley crew of protesters have become the proverbial beacon of hope for people’s movements across India.

The Nirma group signed an MoU with the state government during Vibrant Gujarat 2003 to build the factory near Samadhiyala village of Bhavnagar district. The spot chosen was classified as wasteland on government records though a check dam had come up there in recent years, changing the fortunes of farmers. Instead of searching for jobs in cities, farmers have returned to their farms and have prospered. They would rather do their farming than take up the few jobs in the factory. They would rather have their green farms than a pollution-spouting monster in their midst.

So, they launched their protest in 2008, and soon found support not only from leading Gandhians including nonagenarian Chunibhai Vaidya and civil society at large but also from local legislator Kanubhai Kalsaria who happens to be from the ruling BJP itself. As the protest snowballed, the Narendra Modi government formed two committees ostensibly to study the issue. Both must have tried hard not to look in the direction of the reservoir and surrounding greenery because their reports say there is no check dam there  and it is still a wasteland. A case of missing the woods for the plant, for sure. So much for the ‘inclusive development model’ of the chief minister who has authored a tome on climate change. Twice the villagers marched to Ahmedabad, last year and a fortnight ago, and twice the state government detained the marchers. So much for the ‘people-centric approach’ of the government.

There was a point last year when all seemed lost. Villagers, however, persevered and so did Kalsaria – in spite of the party pressure. And that is precisely what differentiates this movement from other movements against land acquisition in Singur-Nandigram and elsewhere. They tasted the first sweet fruits of patience (as promised by a Gujarati proverb) in local body elections late last year when the BJP routed the Congress everywhere but in Mahuva an independent panel supported by the protesters thrashed the ruling party.

In March, as the villagers organised a ‘Save Water, Forests and Land march’ from Mahuva to Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, inviting comparisons with a march 81 years ago, the environment ministry woke up and corrected its mistake: it gave the company a show-cause notice for withdrawing the environment clearance. What would have been the rationale behind the clearance originally? There might be more politics than ecology behind the latest move, but the supreme court direction in the same month was not so ambiguous when it asked Nirma to halt construction and asked an independent committee to report on ground reality.

The protesters, admittedly, are yet to succeed completely, they may still have many hurdles to face. That is why it is all the more crucial that they stick to their Gandhian ways and set an example for people’s movements across the country. It would be too ambitious at this stage, but they should aim for more than merely inspiring others: they should aim for a day when industry-centric ‘development’ model (promoted by Nehru, consolidated by Manmohan Singh and in this instance replicated by Modi) should give way to a more equitable development. Development, as if people mattered.

In March, at an event rich in irony, Modi launched an edition of Hind Swaraj. It would be nice if he reads it as well just as it would be nice if Manmohan Singh reads it for once. It will not be a spoiler alert if it is added here that there is nothing in the little book that would gladden the hearts of Niira Radia’s clients and their friends.