Orissa's Ancient Tribes look likely to Pay a High Price for India's Rapid Development

While the tribes living in the shadow of the Niyamgiri Mountain await the verdict of the Indian Supreme Court, Gouri Sharma assesses the likely impact should the multi-national Vedanta be successful in it's bid for Orissa's natural resources.


FOR CENTURIES members of the Dongria Kondh have lived peacefully in the lush forests of Niyamgiri, Orissa, miles away from the rest of India’s civilisation.

Situated deep in the forests of eastern India, the Dongria – living closely with the Kutia and the Jharania tribes - are an isolated community who engage in witchcraft and animal hunting. Their ancestral culture and way of life makes them intensely vulnerable to a rapidly developing Indian society.

The majestic Niyamgiri Mountain is the main feature of the area and for the 8,000 plus tribespoeple who live there, it is more than just an arresting sight - it is their source of life.

The community survives on the water which flows from the mountain into the Bansadhara River. Their food, medicine and livelihoods are provided for by the mountain and the forestry that surrounds it. There is also the spiritual element the mountain brings - the tribespeople believe the mountain is home to their god, Niyam Raja and they regularly ascend the mountain to pray.

But life for the community is about to change. The mountain is rich in the mineral bauxite, which is the raw form of alumina. And it is this bauxite that has attracted the FTSE 100 British mining company Vedanta Resources to the area. Four years on, and the company’s interest now looks set to destroy the tribes and their very existence.

The company, owned by Indian born billionaire Anil Agarwal, wants to build a mine to extract bauxite from the top of the mountain which it would then transport down to a refinery at the base of the mountain – a refinery they have already started to build.

The plans were met with resistance from the tribal group and the case is now in the hands of India’s Supreme Court. The court is due to announce any day that the mining can go ahead.
Anti – poverty charity ActionAid has been supporting the Kondh's struggle to save their mountain.

Tribal rights officer Bratindi Jena said: "Niyamgiri bauxite would come at the cost of clean water and forest in an otherwise drought-hit district. It also represents an outright assault on the culture and religion of the indigenous people who live there.

"Permitting mining would pave the way for persecution of a minority community and deny legal protection for their religious beliefs," she said.

Allegations of the damage being done by Vedanta is now being supported with evidence, most recently, a report by Orissa’s Pollution Control Board this year showed how the plant is allegedly polluting the Bansadhara River.

Local tribesman Mukta Chatrapur, who lives in the Kalahandi district close to where the refinery is located, described the impact of Vedanta’s operation so far:

“Drinking water is bad. When we bathe the skin itches. When we drink water we get sores in our mouth. It is difficult to breathe. Hair begins to fall. We get sores in our throat. The body itches at night.”

Furthermore, since the beginning of the dispute Vedanta has been accused of bribery, promises of work in exchange for land and even deaths.

Jena added: "Claims by Vedanta of ‘wonderful development' work in the area are hugely contested by local people. Promises of jobs and compensation have failed to materialise."

Last November, the Supreme Court ruled that the mining could go ahead but only if a set of rules were applied to the work, which they labelled a ‘special purpose vehicle’. The Supreme Court heard the case on July 31, but no verdict was announced. In principle and in a national court of law, the mining has already been approved.

While the struggle is being highlighted by the media and receiving the backing of Hollywood and Bollywood actors, there is a sense that the fight may already be lost.


The community, however, remains defiant. Tribesman Malari, 36 years old, summed up their feeling: “We will not leave Niyamgiri. Without our mountain, our god, there is no life for us. For us this is a matter of life or death,”

The ruling will devastate the community, an indigenous community that is meant to be protected by an age old Indian Law. What is worrying now is the ramifications of this ruling for the rest of India’s thousands of indigenous people – how far will India go to keep up with China and the rest of the world as it tries to cement its place among the most powerful and developed nations?


Written for Hii Dunia by Gouri Sharma

Picture Credits: Stuart Freedman & Sanjit Das, Actionaid


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Links & Resources:

Actionaid - Current campaign aimed at raising awareness of Vedanta's operation in Orissa

Climate Ark - Article assessing Vedanta's chances at the Indian Supreme Court

Hii Dunia - India: Democratic Development?

Vedanta Resources - Official company website