Niyamgiri, Lanjigarh, Kalahandi, Niyamgiri Orissa, Vedanta Aluminium, Jharsuguda, Mining in Orissa – The funniest bloopers are right here

Development, a buzzword that drives most of the government plans in our country. It has often been propped and then dropped by many politically correct politicians. The word so rampantly deployed in every press meet and election campaign needs to be understood in its real sense.

What is development and who is it for? Building dams and creating a large number of internally displaced populations – is this development, or establishing industries and leaving traces of environmental hazard behind – is this development?

These questions have been ignored and swept under the carpet by the government. It is important to understand the underlying meaning of development as the government defines it. It is also important to recognize the livelihoods of the tribals and the poor which have been compromised on the pretext of industrial development.

Coal, a vital source of energy in India has been responsible for causing health and environmental hazards in the mining zone. The lives of 80,000 miners (according to a 2006 report) have been burning in the fire of Jharia coal belt without the least consideration from the government. For decades the area has been smoldering with underground mine fire which holds coal of worth Rs.60,000 crore.  The fire here emits huge quantities of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and methane, leading to air pollution, respiratory problems and skin diseases.  The black coal dust inhaled by the miners often results in Pneumoconiosis, a deadly lung disease. According to reports around 10 – 15 percent of the miners in this area suffer from this disease. The tribal community that dominates the Jharia region is living in a precarious situation. Environmental pollution has also been an acute problem attributed to a large number of coal washeries, thermal power plants and coke ovens. Large scale setting up of open stack coal carbonization yards for domestic soft coke manufacturing has added to the problem. As the fear of death and disease looms large, the miners and locals live an incapacitated life.

Jharia coalfield is just one example of the many industry led environmental hazards in the country. Here, even the media has been ignorant of the tribal tragedies that have occurred over the years. People living in Jharia and Raniganj coalfields are exposed to threats from unfortunate accidents like fire and explosion inside the mines. However, the government keeps stalling the relief programmes in this area as coal is a major fuel for the blast furnace to smelt iron ore. Without smelting the ore, iron cannot be converted into a workable alloy to be used for infrastructure development. Therefore, the fire in the coalfields needs to be burning in order to produce 42 million tones of India’s best coking coal to support the industries, country’s largest GDP contributors. Here I would like to recall my previous question about development and its beneficiaries, as GDP is directly related to development in economic terms.

So what is development and for whom is this development? Is the growth of GDP the only legitimate meaning for development? Ever since the fetish of industrial development has caught the fancy of Indian government, the common man and his problems have taken a back seat. Every five years, several industrial policies are announced and MoUs with companies are signed. In its zeal for competing with the developed world, our government has been blindly adopting negative development policies. As development is unimaginable in a country where a large section remains deprived. For all those who think that the gravity of the problem is irrelevant to their lives should think again as the growing tribal distrust towards the government might increase interstate conflict. The Naxal – infested Jharkhand belt is an example of this enormous distrust and hatred towards the Sate. The frequent bandhs, sabotage of public property and killing of government officials are a manifestation of their underlying anger.

Growing acquisition of farmland for the sake of industrial development is also a problem that is glaring at our face. With more and more farmers losing their land, the price of farm produce is bound to rise in the near future. This means the cost of living is going to be much higher and the financial divide in the society will become much sharper. Finally, there can be no other loss as grievous as the loss of indispensable natural resources and the pollution of water bodies. As the industrial clusters grow bigger without any proper waste disposal strategy, rivers flowing through heavily industrialized areas are bound to become seriously polluted soon.

Fire burning under Jharia fields

Therefore, it is important for people like you and me to understand the gravity of the situation and fight against injustice. It is time that we all rise in unity to rephrase and change the politically correct meaning of ‘development’ into a more humane and holistic one.

Posted by

Anjali Kispotta

 

The word ‘Islam’ conjures up a grim picture of terrorism and fundamentalism in the minds of many. The semiotics associated with this religion often invokes a cult that is believed to be propagated by the sword. Labeling of Muslims as terrorists and Islamic countries as a threat is not new but its origin is an important question that needs an explanation.

U.S. and Iran were strong allies for years after World War II. The political transition from allies to enemies was effected only after Iranian revolution of 1979. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the monarch of Iran, was supported by the U.S. government to defeat Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq in 1950. In 1953, American and Britishspies deposed the democratically elected government of Mosaddeq. The takeover replaced parliamentary democracy with dictatorship. Economic, political and cultural intervention of America deepened its roots in the Iranian soil, simmering anger among the masses. The Iran hostage crisis from November 4, 1979 was the culmination of this public wrath. 53 Americans were taken hostage and held for 444 days by a group of Islamist soldiers. The event was seen as a major diplomatic crisis between Iran and the U.S., as several attempts of negotiation failed. The conflict resulted in the death of eight Americans and one Iranian civilian. This marked the beginning of U.S. legal action against Iran and its present hatred for the country.

The image of Muslims as murderous mobs has not changed since then. The representation of Islamic countries as radicals has been rife in newspapers, magazines, videogames and websites. Extremist and Jehadist are a few adjectives that are often used to describe the followers of Prophet Muhammad today. ‘All Muslims are fundamentalists’ is a generalized perception that has been rampantly broadcast and published widely, a perception which now inadvertently encompasses a population of 1.57 billion Muslims around the world. The Muslim faith of following one God, praying five times a day, giving alms to the poor, all are seen as fundamentalist practices. However, the media rarely projects the rules laid down by the Christian church as fundamentalist. Their ten commandments are never seen as radical or orthodox by the mainstream media.

In an issue of Time magazine, a group of Muslim soldiers were shown praying with guns and the caption below the image ran, ‘Guns and prayer go together in the fundamentalist battle’. Such appalling media presentations leave little space for a positive understanding of the event. Praying in any region or religion has never been seen as fundamentalist. However, the act of Afghani soldiers praying on the battlefield is projected as extremist.

In the midst of deafening blasts and ghastly attacks, the clouds of manipulation have shadowed the real Islam. The meaning of Islam has undergone a drastic change from peace to violence. Continual defamation of the religion has blotted the spiritual attributes of Sufism. Sufism, a mystic relation between an individual and God, is practiced by several Muslims since centuries. Purification of the soul through righteous deeds, realization of inner self and love for all has been the underlying principle of Sufism. Different shades of this peaceful religious practice range from intoxicating whirling dervishes to mesmerizing ‘Sama’ music. The ritual of whirling dervishes is an act of love and a drama of faith. It possesses a highly structured form within which the gentle turns become increasingly dynamic as the individual dervishes strive to achieve a state of trance. The music that accompanies the whirling from beginning to end is mellifluous and tuneful; its effect is intended to be mesmerizing. Chanting of poetry, rhythmic rotation, and harmonious music create a synthesis which, according to the faithful, induces a feeling of ecstasy. ‘Sama’ is the musical aspect of Sufism that engages an individual with the remembrance of God. ‘Sevdah’ is another musical expression full of emotions practiced by the Turks of medieval Bosnia.  The word Sevdah is open to many interpretations, the most accurate of which means love, desire or ecstasy.

Islam is embodied with such exquisite ceremonies of spirituality. However, the media is obsessed with projecting Islam as a religion devoid of spirituality and serenity. And ironically the masses follow the media representation as the yardstick for reality.

It is important to understand media’s drift towards misrepresentation of Islam and its impact on millions of innocent Muslims living in different parts of the world. Media recollects the Iran hostage crisis and the Iranian revolution of 1979 as a traumatic event for America. However, the knowledge making industry is often tightlipped on the cause that led to the crisis. The Iranians were blamed to be barbaric but America’s political intervention in the country’s politics is rarely talked about. The reports on American installation of dictatorship and seizure of Iranian assets remain buried under piles of infamous reports on the Middle East. Ever since the oil boom of 1970 and the recognition of countries of the Middle East as oil suppliers to the world,  the West has seen them as a potential threat. The chronology of events demonstrates the continual dismantling of financial and infrastructural development in the Middle East by countries of the West. The American war against Iraq in 1991 to safeguard its economic interests in Persian Gulf resulted in the death of 2,278 civilians. America also armed Afghan militias against the Soviet Union and coordinated with Israel against Islamic militancy on the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel is the recepient of maximum financial aid from the U.S. to engineer deadly attacks on Palestine. Several such atrocious crimes have been designed by America for its own benefit, which are often brushed under the carpet. They are neither remembered nor termed as extremists.

The answer to this ignorance lies in the Western hegemony over the media milieu. Most of the influential media channels – New York Times, British Broadcasting Corporation, The Guardian – are all maneuvered by their own governmental restrictions. The reports that come out of these media houses are either in favour of their country or tightlipped on their heinousness. However, these media sources have a wide range of impact, as their reports are considered to be the most authentic.

So what can be done?

The need of the hour is to heal the wounds – physical and emotional – of those who are considered to be ‘the others’ by the West.

The media sources of countries that do not fall under direct western dominance can attempt to give an unbiased picture and revamp the shattered image of Islam.

Posted by

Anjali Kispotta

 What is it to be stateless and homeless in your own country? What is it to be treated as an outcaste and a second class citizen in a country you call your home? These are questions unlikely to have bothered those who are reading this blog post right now. They are questions from the tribal communities of India which have gone unanswered for over six decades. Their misery and suffering have never made their way into the framework of government policies.

As the government remains preoccupied with fulfilling the demands of big businessmen, the misery of poor farmers invariably gets ignored.

For decades the forests have been the perennial hub for many tribal communities of India. However, with the fast decreasing forest cover, their homes are now under threat of being converted into industrial zones. Already many of the sub tribes have become oblivion and more are on their way to follow a similar destiny. Forest Conservation laws have been of no help in saving their forest land, instead even a small share from forest is denied to the tribal. This has made them intruders in their own houses. In Bhandarpaani, Betul district (Madhya Pradesh), homes of 73 tribal families was set on fire by the Forest Department on the night of 4 July 2004. People were kept in different places and families were separated – even the members of the same family were unaware of each others whereabouts. The only sin committed by the tribal was that their village had been situated on forest land for generations. Thirty five persons of the tribe were illegally confined in Ranipur Forest Range Office.

The above narrated plight of the tribes might sound like a bollywood movie scene but unfortunately it was a sordid reality faced by the forest dwellers of Bhandarpaani. One will be surprised to know that all this was done to evict Adivasis to make the land available for mining.

There have been farmer suicides and tribal struggle to save their land from encroachment, but ironically, no firm action has been taken so far. The government stands blindfolded, without the least motivation to pull the beleaguered tribal community out of the clutches of the politics of land grabbing by big companies. In March last year, around 1000 farmers lost 1,050 hectares of land to Tata Steel’s 5 million tonne steel plant project in Bastar. Despite opposition from the tribal community, the company and the government went ahead with their programme of strategically capturing the land of the poor, whose property receives the least protection from government bodies.

Like the Tatas, there are several other steel, textile and telecom business groups who have used their political and financial power to fill their coffers at the cost of unprotected forest dwellers.

 The forest dwellers are living with a continuous threat of being alienated from their lands, their homes, and from the forest, their sole asset, by a government whose resources have always run short when it comes to rural development. Areas rich in mineral resources are readily handed over to industries without considering the environmental hazard these firms can create. The Vedanta bauxite refinery in Orissa is an example of such exploitation. The bauxite refinery, built and operated by Vedanta at the base of Niyamgiri hills, has displaced over a hundred tribal families. The mining activity on the hills has made the lives of the villagers miserable. Locals are reported to have developed sores on their body after bathing in a river close to the refinery. They have also complained of cattle deaths after drinking the same water. The locals are living in a precarious situation, without any response from either the government or the owners of the refinery. The Niyamgiri mountain, which is a storehouse of Bauxite and home to 8000 Dongria Kondh tribals, is facing the threat of destruction as Vedanta decides to step up its mining activity in the region.

 Government favours for a British company and its cavalier neglect of its own people is not a new phenomenon, but a sudden surge in Maoist activities in the tribal belt is. The violence in Lalgarh and recent bandhs called by the rebellious Maoist groups in tribal areas manifest the mounting anger of the tribal community. Maoists have named their protest as ‘People’s War’. This resistance has become a threat for the government, which sees it as a serious threat to internal security. What the government refuses to admit is its prior neglect that has contributed to the transformation of this peaceful greenbelt into a ‘Red Corridor’. Government decisions have always been in favour of the rich and the so – called civilized mainstream. The present conflict has emerged because a particular community wants to act against a government that has always ignored their rights to development. The zero-tolerance strategy and the war-like situation that the government is planning to create is a means of suppressing the voices of the deprived. It sounds strange to me that a country, which resorts to dialogue with Pakistan even after proven terrorist activities from across the border, fails to take the initiative to solve the Naxal problem in a peaceful manner. This again shows how little the government cares for the tribal community. I do not support the killing of innocent people in this battle between the adivasis and the government but eually, I also do not support the random killing of tribal people under the pretext of solving the problem.

The government, which has always been insensitive in its tribal policies, should open its eyes cap and dissect the problem layer by layer.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qLHBk9v-xw

 The problem is not with the present demands of the tribals but the underlying dissatisfaction and grudge that they hold against the government. Killing the Naxals would only be a short term solution. If the government is serious about wanting to get rid of this problem, it will have to get off its throne and try to understand the grievances of the tribal community.

Posted by

Anjali Kispotta