Tribal groups are being displaced

‘Adivasi Samvad’ – a seminar on indigenous voices and struggles at the recently-held India Social Forum kicked off with a street play and was followed by tribal groups sharing experience of their struggles.

Activists agreed that forcible acquisition of tribal land for the development of mining industry and dams calls for urgent documentation and critique. 

Instances of displacement abound. Vedanta Resources, the FTSE-100 company, faces criticism over a £400m project in the Lanjigarh area of Orissa, where it is developing an aluminum refinery and plans to build a bauxite mine. 

Tribal communities are being evicted from their forest homes - a move they say will destroy their way of life, despite Vedanta’s claims that the relocation programme will provide homes schooling and jobs. 

Tribals like Kalavati from Kalahandi in Orissa have their doubts about these promises of rehabilitation. “Others from outside will get jobs in these new factories because they are more educated and skilled. When companies intrude in tribal areas, the local administration including our district magistrates, never ask for our opinion,” she reveals.

Elsewhere in Orissa in Kalinganagar, 12 Adivasi people were shot dead by the police when they had gathered to protest the usurpation of their land by Tata Steel. 

A workshop organised by Samvedana, Econet and EIN at the India Social Forum discussed ‘present and future scenarios for non-pastoral nomads in India’ .