The educated tribal view of Niyamgiri and its mining?
Aluminium, Anil Agarwal, Bauxite, EXPOSING ANTI-ODISHA-GROWTH SCHEMES, Kalahandi, Telegraph, Vedanta July 23rd. 2010, 7:14pmThere are tons of news items alleging how mining in the Niyamgiri hills will destroy the way of living of the Dongria Kondh people. Reputed organizations such as Action Aid and Survival International have strongly campaigned against the mining there and have castigated the state government of Odisha and Vedanta Resources for intending to mine Bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills. The following report from Telegraph gives a different viewpoint that one also needs to read and think about.
From the remote Dongria Kondh village in Sakata to the capital’s Aryan School of Management Information and Technology, Jitu Jakesia has come a long way.
The first from the Dongria Kondh tribe to clear the Class X board examination, the firebrand tribal leader from Muniguda block in Jakesia, is now concentrating on his studies.
He believes that without education, the Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) cannot succeed in its mission.
Representing his community before the joint committee of the ministry of environment and forests and ministry of tribal affairs, Jakesia put forward the problems faced by the Dongria community and what should be done to remedy them as per the provisions of the Forest Rights Act.
…“After passing the matriculation examination, I started began attending high school in Muniguda College. I pursued studies in the Arts stream. I completed my graduation from the same college. During my three years in college, I worked as an activist, fighting against industrialisation. I thought that this would make a difference, as I was inspired by NGOs and political parties,” he said.
Jakesia was, however, disillusioned by political parties and voluntary organisations.
“At the end of the day, resources really matter. During my student days, I received no help from voluntary organisation or political party. The members of my family were alcoholics. All these problems forced me to focus on my career as a student and not an activist. I ended up continuing my studies,” he said.
…Regarding industrialisation and its effects on Niyamgiri, Jakesia said: “I realised that for bauxite excavation, only the surface level of the rock is used.
This is unlike iron ore and coal mining, where one has to go below the surface. Thus, the process is fairly smooth. You will be surprised to know that puja offered to Niyam Raja was never performed there. Now, after the spread of awareness, the puja is performed on top of the hill.”
He said that there was a time when no one was aware of Niyamgiri.
“If you search on the internet now, you will find thousands of results. The industrial development has given Kalahandi many things. It’s quite visible in the economy and development. So, I do not think development is unnecessary’’ he told The Telegraph.
During submission of his grievances regarding the Forest Rights Act, Jakesia had said: “The revenue officials have made many blunders by marketing forest land as hill land.”
There are many instances where there is no scope for individuals or communities to derive benefits from the Act, as the officials don’t understand the problem.
With so many loopholes, requisite amendments should be made, Jakesia had told the joint committee.
See also the article at http://kalahandia.blogspot.com/2010/07/mining-project-will-bring-development.html and the following youtube video for more on this young man’s views.
The Telegraph article spells the name of the young man incorrectly. His correct name is Jitu Jakasika. If one googles his name one will read many old article where Jitu is fighting against mining. See for example this article at http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/3294 in the pages of Survival International.
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July 24th, 2010 at 8:47 am
Mining and exploitation of natural resources is an inevitable part of development in an industrial world. The question of whether people such as the Dongria Kondh continue with their way of living or join the mainstream of development is always fraught with difficult choices. Do we allow these people to go on with their lives and remain pieces of museum/archaeological objects for developed/developing people like us or do we allow them to become like us. I will lean towards the latter choice. Everybody wants development and material prosperity when presented with choices. An example could be Jitu Jakesia. Now whether all of this will bring happiness to the Dongria Kondh is anybody’s guess. But development is inevitable otherwise we are questioning the very notion of industrial development of the modern world.
The role that NGOs such as Action Aid and Survival International should play could be more as guardians of the interests of the Dongria Kondh and the environment in the region. There are many examples of how mining has destroyed and polluted the environment and given nothing back to the original inhabitants of the people living in those areas. We just have to look at our backyard in Keonjhar to see an example of this. There are a number of articles that go on to show how the mining companies there have used natural resources (rivers, water bodies) without engaging in any activity to mitigate the effects of their actions. Have the mining companies really done anything to improve the lot of the people? Is it not fair that these people who work in the mines get some benefits (health, some form of forced savings such as a provident fund, perhaps even a preferential allotment of company shares etc.)? This is where I think organizations such as Action Aid and Survival International can do their bit and I hope are. They are the best monitors/conscience keepers of projects such as Vedanta’s. They bring in much needed international attention and ensure the people in these regions are not short-changed.
So while mining of the Niyamgiri hills is in some ways inevitable, it would be unfortunate if we paint the NGOs in one broad stroke as anti-development. The way I look at it is Vedanta as a for profit company will try to get maximum advantage out of it’s mining/aluminium operations and the NGOs will fight to get the best deal possible for the tribals and the environment.
July 24th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
The organizations like Action Aid and Survival International have done a lot of good works internationally. In this case, my guess is that some of our local activists approached them and fed them manipulated information and convinced them to take this cause. Jitu’s statement such as “… puja offered to Niyam Raja was never performed there. Now, after the spread of awareness, the puja is performed on top of the hill.” points to that manipulation.
For whatever reason our activists were opposed to Vedanta from the beginning. They got mighty upset when unlike other industries (say POSCO, TATA, Mittal) who first aim to get the mine lease before setting up a factory, Vedanta set up their factory first without waiting for the mine lease. This blindsided our activists and what they are doing is taking revenge. Now it has become a personal mission of some of these activists to thwart anything Vedanta. In the process besides instigating with the locals they seem to have manufactured practices such as “puja at the top of the hill” which were not happening before. At least that is what I get from reading Jitu’s statements.
However, as the above article reports, some of the educated locals have started figuring out what is best for their interest and how they have been manipulated by our activists.