Children from the Narmada valley, who are in the Capital to highlight the plight of their villages, spoke about "the gross injustice" perpetrated on them and expressed hope that their appeal to stop further work on the dam would be heard by the authorities in the Capital.

Booker prizewinner-turned activist Arundhati Roy, who was also present on the occasion, joined the children in singing songs and shouting slogans.

In a function held at Ramjas College today, students of the college who had visited the valley shared their experiences. "Before we visited the valley our impression was that it is a movement involving celebrities. In the valley we realised that it is a struggle of the people, especially of the adivasis, for their right over their own land," said a student.

Seven-year-old Ram is the most enthusiastic sloganeer of the children's group. "Even an inch more of the dam and our villages will be flooded. We are here to meet the President so that he will save our villages."

So where did the children learn all these slogans? "We have been hearing these slogans right from our childhood. Our parents used to be sloganeering all the time. They used to go to other villages to take part in demonstrations and used to take us along. That's how we learnt this," said nine-year-old Chetna.

Sweating profusely inside the auditorium of the college (there was a power cut), Chetna said, "Even if there is no power in our village, the breeze is so cool that you never feel hot. You can play under the trees where it is so cool that you could even sleep there."

The Capital might be fascinating for the children but there is no place like their own village.

They are confident that "if they continue to fight they could save their villages". And hope lives on as the next generation gets ready to carry on the struggle.