Determined to save their sacred mountain Niyamgiri, Kondh tribals travelled to London and New Delhi to raise awareness of the dangerous mining plans of the British company Vedanta.
Sitaram Kulesika, a Kondh representative was in London at Vedanta's Annual General Meeting to raise the concerns of the community, over the impact of plans to mine bauxite from the Mountain they hold sacred. In New Delhi three other Kondh members took part in a candlelit vigil to garner public support for the 'Save Niyamgiri' campaign.
"If you take fish out of water, it will die. Likewise, if you take Niyamgiri from us, we will die," says 35-year-old Kangu Kadrakha, a Dongria Kondh tribal man.
His words marked the opening of a candlelit vigil held in New Delhi to express solidarity with the Dongria Kondh tribe. This indigenous group from south Orissa is fighting to save their sacred mountain Niyamgiri from being mined by global giant Vedanta.
"Without our mountain, we lose water, our farms, fruits, cereals, vegetables, dry wood and leaves and our medicinal herbs," says Kangu, amidst street plays and slogans at one of Delhi's key cultural centres, Dilli Haat. The vigil was organised by ActionAid on the day of the company's annual general meeting in London.
Kangu is in Delhi with a four-member delegation to highlight the looming ruin of one of India's richest ecosystem if the mining is allowed to go ahead. The mining would destroy the culture, religion and livelihoods of the Kondh community, one of a number of tribal groups granted special standing in the Indian Constitution.
Sukru Kadrakha, a 30-year-old Dongria Kondh member of the delegation says, "We came here to take part in the candlelit vigil with the hope that with people's support we would be able to save Niyamgiri."
Concerned citizens from the city, students, journalists, and activists also took part in the candlelit vigil.
Vikram Kalra, a 44-year-old photographer and artist who likes to sketch historical buildings, had read about the importance of conserving natural environment in his son's school books. At the vigil, he says, he got to know first hand why our mountains, forests and streams need to be saved.
"Talking directly with indigenous members here helped me understand what it is like to live in harmony with nature," he states.
Delhi-based theatre group 'Steps for Change' enthused the audience with power-packed performances and songs, so much so that people stayed back to watch the street plays in spite of an impending downpour. The group left the audience thinking. "For how long will destruction of our land and forests continue in the name of development?" ask the actors.
Over the last few years, Niyamgiri tribal leaders have travelled to Bhubaneshwar, Delhi and thrice to London to tell what they stand to lose if their scared mountain is pulverised for bauxite. The Kondhs depend on Niyamgiri for their subsistence.
Not right
A 2005 report by the Central Empowered Committee, a Supreme Court panel, had accused Vedanta of flouting environmental guidelines. It said Vedanta had "deliberately and consciously concealed the involvement of the forest land in the project".
Also, two of India's strongest Constitutional guarantees will be reversed if mining goes ahead: The right of a 'primitive tribal group' to their territorial integrity and to decide on their own path of development (Indian Constitution schedule V) and the right to religious practices and beliefs (Article 25).
Text by Anjali/ActionAid
Pics by Sanjit Das/ActionAid