Tribals in the state want to fence their mineral-rich earth from invading metal companies. Both sides need an open mind if this stalemate is to be broken
What will you gain from knowing about the struggle? asks Rabindra Jarika. The 31-year-old farmer looks ill. “Had gone out to the fields and got wet in the rains,” he explains as he walks past a stubby hay-filled silo and settles into a small and dimly-lit room. There are a couple of cots. Behind the cots are spades and pickaxes. A dank smell hangs in the air.
A Perpetual War
The air is thick with tension and suspicion in Chandiya. Strangers are not welcome in the village. Any vehicle that is not from the village is followed and its licence plate is noted down. Visitors are often stalked. After all, not everyone is protesting against the plant and that has divided the village. “[A] division between protestors and those who are for the project has already taken place and there is a real chance of clashes taking place,” says Rajkishore Meher of Nabkrushna Choudhary Centre for Development Studies. Meher has studied industrialisation and displacement in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
Treading Softly in Kalahandi
Vedanta Resources’ public relations drive shows the change in mindset among the pro-industry forces. It wants to win over support for its controversial bauxite mining project in the Niyamgiri hill range in Kalahandi district, about 500 kilometres west of the state capital. Non-governmental organisations alleged that the project might spoil the local ecosystem and displace native Dongria Kond tribe, who deem the hills as their spiritual abode. So, Vedanta is moving cautiously.
(This story appears in the 03 July, 2009 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)