Vedanta: We don't want ya!

Why is the Vedanta-ousting verdict of these nondescript villages important? How does it matter that few tribal families, more so, ones that are completely robbed off any access to good infrastructure,  saying no to a mining deal that might cost the state government and the London based company a total sum of Rs 50,000 crores? Is it the proverbial David versus Goliath parallel that makes these Gram Sabha resolutions a watershed moment in the history of tribal development? Who can deny the chance that Vedanta Alumina Limited might find other ways to sneak back into the Niyamgiri Hills, complete with the cunning connivance of corrupt bureaucrats and an apathetic government? Does the country have lessons to learn from how voting adults-  merely 11, 16, 20 odd in numbers in every sitting- can keep away a massive multi-national corporation? Well, these questions have their answers in perspective to the history of "industrial development" in this region- which is what this post is about. But before all of that, let us take a moment and hear it.

 BAM!!

That is the sweet sound of victory of a democracy, and a few other assorted principles that have been enshrined in our Constitution. Like welfare, equality, and such big words.

The 11 village level meetings of voting adults- the Gram Sabha- in the districts of Kalahandi and Rayagada have managed to find their way to the front pages of newspapers, despite the hullabaloo of arch-rival actors hugging, sundry politicians mouthing insane remarks on various national issues, an overseas 5-0 win against Zimbabwe in cricket and the all-important decision on the creation of Telangana.  All these reports showed the Dongria-Kondh tribals triumphant after the Gram Sabhas, fierily quoting that their god is the Niyam Raja, the Hills. And who would give up their God, their livelihood, their home and their all for the highly suspicious promises of electricity, water, employment and health facilities? Stay one day in these tribal areas, and you will agree with me, when I vehemently say no one would! It has been just over 3 months for me working in the same two districts of Rayagada and Kalahandi. How much the tribal population depends on these hills, is close to how much the urban population derives from electricity. We would be grounded to a standstill in the absence of the resources that support our living. Further, the tribes folk revere the hills, the streams and the Mother Earth. These are the Supreme forces of their culture, above all material pursuits like money, clothes, food and good health. That is why the modest and humble David was ready to take on the Goliath. It was an uphill task, pun unintended.

The same two districts have faced problems in the recent past because of land acquisition and displacement of the Scheduled Tribe populations for the Upper Indrawati Power Project (Kalahandi, Government initiative) and the Utkal Alumina Limited (Rayagada, Aditya Birla and partners' mining initiative). The Indrawati river's course was changed and along with the lives of hundreds of families that earlier lived on its plains. Here the Government shed its altruist, paternal baggage to become the tormentors of the people. But far more compelling is the chronicle of the struggle of the Kashipur Block's residents against the UAL project. Where just not the government, but a few more corporate bodies, the police forces and local leaders turned against the very people whom they promised all good health, employment and electricity.

The last decade of industrial development in these areas is replete with instance of violence, tension and oppression. The Baphlimali hills of Kashipur, just like the Niyamgiri range, has rich content of bauxite and it attracted investments from the UAL team. Odisha has an estimated 2000 million tonnes of bauxite ore out of the national reserve of 3000 million tonnes. The state begs for companies like Aditya Birla and Vedanta Alumina to stack cash piles against these very hills. However, when the hills are dug open and refineries and factories are set up, it does not happen in no man's land.

Bhagrijhola's huts. In the background the chimney of the UAL factory, that puffs day in and day out. Not to mention the slag, the red mud that gets dumped right by the fields of the village.

In my first month here, I visited Bhagrijhola, a tribal hamlet that was oddly situated right by the UAL factory. Stories from December 2000 came back as I drove past the factory, other villages and reached Bhagrijhola. When the government and UAL tried to move the villagers to give up their land for the aluminium factory, the villagers of over 3 Gram Panchayats in that area sat in protest and firmly objected against the move. It was December the 15th. Five thousand villagers had gathered from Hadigoda, Gorakhpur, Kucheipadar, Kendukhunti and nearby areas in solidarity with the residents of Bhagrijhola and Maikanch. It was also the same day that a "Sarva-daliya baithak" was organised in the area- an all party meet of representatives from Biju Janta Dal, Bharatiya Janta Party, Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party. Under the aegis of the UAL leaders, the local MLAs and MPs, the bureaucrats, this meeting was convened to coax the villagers into giving away their land. Time stretched, the conditions grew hostile and it soon became December the 16th. It was a scene of 5000 peaceful protesters against 40-50 powerful leaders. Seeing no progress, two platoons of police arrived from nowhere and charged at the protesting group. They lathi-charged at anybody in their sight- women, children and the elderly. As would follow such brutality, the men were enraged and pelted stones and sticks at the police. And then, the police fired.

Three bullets took away the lives of Damodar (45), Raghunath (18) and Abhilash (30)- all from the Jhodia tribes. The former two came from the village of Bhagrijhola and the latter from Maikanch. Soon the violence proved effective and the crowd ran helter-skelter back to their villages. Thus a population of 5000 people fell victim to the brutal force of just 2 platoons of police forces. Though the UAL team had begun surveying the land and preparing to set up the factory from 1996-97, the process of land acquisition gained steam only in 2000. Local leaders, lured the villagers with false promises of constant electricity, good jobs in the factory and adequate resttlement and rehabilitation. Many of the palli sabhas and gram sabhas refused to be bought by such incentives. Right after the incident of firing, fear creeped into the minds of even the daring. At the village meetings of Kendukhunti and Ramibeda, apart from the presiding officials of the Panchayat Institutions, an entire police force stood as mute spectators. Given the recent past, nobody had the guts to stand up and oppose the proposal. Therefore, village after village yielded to the influenced decisions at the Gram Sabha. Yet, as it is today, Kucheipadar, Maikanch and Bhagrijhola stand as oddities within the complex of the factory. They did not budge from their stand. Resolute in the names of Damodar, Raghunath and Abhilash, their huts and fields lie juxtaposed to the towering, smoke-billowing factory that came up in 2004-05.

The monstrous factory that was set up by 2004-05. It easily belittles the small hamlets and the fields that lay by it. Just how it belittled the democratic rights of the villagers when it came up.

In Bhagrijhola, the scene is partly grim. Though they have borne the effect of their choice with a growing indifference, the pain is clearly visible. Not only did they lose their brethren, they live in darkness even as the factory lights up every evening like a Diwali wonder. No electricity, no drinking water, no employment. Once the construction of the factory premises is complete, there will not even be a passage to the village. Now cars and vehicles can get to the village only because one boundary of the factory is still under construction. Once completed, the village will be isolated from the rest of the Block, residing within the factory area, however unyielding to the land demands of that very factory. The only other way out of the village is by foot or cycle, an additional 3 kilometres. The ward member from Hadigoda Gram Panchayat, Vishwanath Jhodia, cannot contain his bitterness when he complains, "The Company is the winner. Even if we said yes, we would have faced the same plight. Now what is the use of our land here, when it is polluted by the wastes from the factory?!" That clearly summed up the entire situation. Whether with or against the factory, whether displaced or rooted- the government, factory, bureaucracy and police had all teamed against the villagers. The villagers be damned if did or did not. Five kilometres away, at Maikanch, stand three small structures on a hillock and a bullet-like pillar that say "Stop Mining" and bear the names of the home-grown martyrs. Who else remembers them anymore?

The memorial in the names of Abhilash, Damodar and Raghunath on top of the hillock in Maikanch.

The three smaller structures that now stand for the sacrifice of the three men, who were none but innocents protesting against the forced land grab and displacement.

And today, to see all these villagers of Rayagada and Kalahandi vehemently opposing the setting up of the Lanjigarh refinery, there is indeed a ray of hope. The region has borne the brunt of biased decisions, state sponsored violence and systemic oppression all in the name of tribal development. For the Supreme Court to actually stand by these Gram Sabha resolutions and for the entire state machinery to support it makes a world of difference to the Panchayati Raj system. True development cannot be imposed on the tribal people. Their progress can come hand-in-hand while preserving their customs and traditions. The Panchayats Extension to the Scheduled Areas (PESA) act of 1996, guarantees them the right to maintain their socio-religious structures, decide for themselves what they do with the resources within their village periphery and continue with accepted educational and administrative systems. This environmental referendum is a precedent for the bottom-up approach towards development and planning. It is the coming-of-age example for a growing and participatory democracy. So let it sink in, it's the people's victory. BAM!

PS- Even as I write this, Vedanta has approached the Odisha government to consider its proposal for mining laterite from the same area. Laterite is another minor constituent in the processing of aluminium. The Goliath is preparing for war again.