In our Boiled food, fermented ragi porridge
They found pathogens, poison.
In our beliefs and gods
They found superstitions, backwardness
In our lush green forests
They found bauxite, resources
In our beautiful clean ether
They found the dumping ground for their red smoke
They didn't even consider us human
They raised their nose, calling us wild insects
And called themselves
The savior, the liberator, the Messiah
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"Your temples are made of bricks and cement; ours are these hills, forests, leaves and streams. If you dig these, we will die with our gods. We worship these trees and rivers. No money can compensate for this land.” says Bejuni, village priestess of a Dongria Kondh tribal hamlet in Kesarpadi.
Bauxite is the raw material for aluminum, and Odisha has 700 million tonnes of known bauxite reserves, of which 88 million tonnes are estimated to be found in Niyamgiri hills. In the rush to acquire mining rights, stringent environmental laws were violated, and the Dongria’s consent was not sought by the Vedanta.
Owning land on the Niyamgiri Mountains is a critical element of declaring a person as belonging to the tribe. It is the only identity they have. They have a harmonious, sacred and symbiotic relationship with nature. They can talk to birds and animals. The birds still sing, the rivers still flows with sparkling water, the tree are lush green with bright tasty fruit, looking beyond the canopy of trees you can see the flock of birds floating through the ether.
Implementation of the mining project will cause the Dongria Kondh to lose their precious homes, their culture and heritage, and most importantly, their identity.
On April 18, 2013, the Supreme Court gave a clear direction that mining clearance can only be given if gram sabhas, comprising Dongrias, agreed to the project. All 12 villages selected by the government voted against the project.
“The government has not forgotten its defeat by a tribal group. It wants to dominate the discourse of development in the region and muzzle local voices,” said Lingaraj Azad, convenor of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS)
The government is offering the tribals a 30 ft road under the pretext that it will be useful during a health emergency. But they don't want their forest turned into a red dust just for a long, wide, well polished road.
“It is being said that we are against development. For us, our Niyamgiri comes foremost. We want to preserve its forests, rivers, trees and birds. But we equally want education in our own language, health centres and government support to market our forest-based products, can they give us the development without destroying the forest? ” says Sikaka.
They suspect the tribals of being ‘sympathetic’ to Maoists in the area. “I was forcefully dragged into a police jeep last October and beaten up in custody. I was asked a series of questions on my alleged links with maoists.” said Sikaka. In the same month, many others were subjected to physical assault by the state police
I remember visiting a opencast iron ore mines in Keonjhar, Odisha. There was forest there once and people like this. Now the land is like a red raw wound. The red dust fills your lungs, the plants are red, the water is red, air is red, people are red and their lungs are red. All the irons from these mines will go to China for making cars. It will turn into sudden cities that spring up overnight. Into weapons to make war. In to development that leaves economists breathless.
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