Niyamraja towers above Vedanta

British mining giant Vedanta Resources has been humiliated after a series of tribal villages in India voted against the company’s plans to build a bauxite mine on their sacred mountain- Niyamgiri.

The village meetings (gram sabhas) are taking place in Dongria Kondh communities following a landmark Supreme Court order in April 2013 which ruled that all communities affected by the Vedanta Resources project must be consulted – a major victory in the recognition of the rights of tribal peoples to have a say in projects on their land.

However, the Odisha state government has singled out only twelve villages out of more than a hundred villages to conduct the consultations, a policy condemned by activists, India’s Minister of Tribal Affairs, and leaders of the Dongria and Majhi Kondh tribes. Dongria spokesmen report that one village consists of just one non-resident family and that new houses are being hastily built by the government to bring outsiders into some of the villages.

Eight villages have voted so far – and all have voted unanimously against the mine!

The Dongria’s united stand against the mine has been heralded as courageous, amidst mounting intimidation and harassment by police and paramilitaries since the April ruling.

The Dongria source everything they need from the Niyamgiri hill range, which they worship as the adobe of their God- Niyamraja.

Putri, a Dongria woman, sent this message to Vedanta: ‘This Niyamgiri Hill is our God, our Lord, our Goddess, our father, our mother, our life, our death, our flesh, our blood, our bones. We get our food, drink and air from Niyamgiri and it sustains our life. It is therefore our right to stand together to protect and safeguard Niyamgiri.’

Consultations will run until August 19, 2013, after which the final decision about the mine will lie with the Ministry of Environment and Forests.