We, the People of India...

In the remote zones of tribal Orissa, epical non-violent land struggles against mass displacement and the mining mafia are blooming. And despite violent police repression, they have refused to succumb or pick up arms. So why is the political establishment pushing the people of India to the wall?
Amit Sengupta Delhi

On March 30, they tried yet again to crush this non-violent movement. Since then, tribal villages in Kalinganagar in Orissa are under siege by the police, in symphony with "Tata goons" - as locals call them - and ruling party (BJD) supporters. 'Outsiders' are not allowed to get in, people are not allowed to move out. Food, medicine, relatives, journalists, civil society groups, nobody is allowed. BJP leader Jual Oram and Congress leaders were attacked by "BJD-Tata goons"; three journalists were beaten up badly when they tried to record this attack, their cameras smashed, their valuables looted. 

Here's a report by independent journalists from the ground, confirmed by activists and documentary filmmakers from Orissa who spoke to Hardnews during the Independent People's Tribunal held in Delhi from April 9 to 11: "The March 30 attack was the culmination of months of sporadic aggression by the police and Tata goons. That day the police simply did not try to maintain law and order, rather they first sprayed rubber bullets and plastic pellets on the tribals, entered Baligotha village, set food-stocks afire, poured kerosene in the wells, killed cattle, vandalised the memorials of the martyrs of January 2, 2006 police shootout, looted valuables, stole livestock and destroyed all sorts of electronic machines like TVs, DVD players, sewing machines, etc...

"Surprisingly, this planned attack by some 27 platoons of armed security forces and two platoons of Operation Green Hunt forces along with a hundred-odd Tata goons happened exactly two days after the district magistrate met the villagers and assured them that their grievances would be looked into."

Said Mamata Das, an activist, "They have turned Kalinganagar into a fortress. Three people have apparently died due to lack of medical attention - even doctors who wanted to enter are not being allowed. Journalists are not allowed to go in. There is police everywhere, while the goons are given a free run. Several local leaders and tribals have been arrested. They are raiding houses, beating up people, picking up villagers. They want to teach the people a lesson so that the Tatas can go ahead, and no one can oppose displacement."

There is another pattern which often follows all these peaceful struggles and conflict zones: mysterious deaths, dead bodies found in strange places, accidents, murders. Activists say, in some cases, identified tribal activists are charged with false cases, including murder cases, beaten up mercilessly and put in jail for long periods. They want to crush the spirit and body of the tribals with the Kafkasque terror of the police, judicial and prison system.

The Tatas and the BJD-led government under Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik are adamant and cold. Patnaik, passionately backed by the UPA regime (earlier, NDA), is selling off thousands of acres of precious forests, mountains and indigenous land to miscellaneous Indian and foreign big business corporates and mining giants at throw-away prices. 

Even ecological hot spots are being given away to notorious mining companies like the Vedanta of UK. And when the people resist, they bring in platoons of armed cops, who, along with contractors and company goons, move in tandem. Or else, they brand these peaceful locals as Maoists.