David v. Goliath: Indian tribe in ‘stunning’ victory over mining giant

A tribe in India has won a stunning victory over one of the world’s biggest mining companies.

In an extraordinary move, India’s Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has blocked Vedanta Resources’ controversial plan to mine bauxite on the sacred hills of the Dongria Kondh tribe. Mr Ramesh said Vedanta has shown a ’shocking’ and ‘blatant disregard for the rights of the tribal groups’. The Minister has also questioned the legality of the massive refinery Vedanta has already built below the hills. The news is a crushing defeat for Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal , Vedanta’s majority owner and founder.

In recent years the project has come under unprecedented attack. The Norwegian and British governments, the Church of England, organizations such as Survival, and even insurance giant Aviva have all criticized the company and its ethics. Survival has been in the forefront of a global campaign against the mine for several years. Survival recruited celebrities such as Michael Palin and Joanna Lumley to champion the tribe’s cause; its supporters have written over 10,000 protest letters to the Indian government, and more than 600,000 people have watched Survival’s film ‘Mine’. The tribe’s plight even came to the attention of ‘Avatar’ director James Cameron, and the Dongria became known as the ‘real Avatar tribe’.

The struggle has pitted the 8,000-strong tribe, nearly all of them illiterate, against the might of an $8bn company and its founder, himself worth some $6bn. The Dongria Kondh have mounted numerous protests, and two of their leaders were abducted and beaten before being released, in an atmosphere of increasing violence.

In recent days an inquiry panel set up by Minister Ramesh recommended the mine be blocked, saying that Vedanta had acted illegally and with ‘total contempt for the law’. Common Dreams: Tribal Groups, Activists Claim Victory as Vedanta Mine Plan Halted by Indian Government.

Also by AWIP/Survival International:
Abducted Dongria Kondh released.
Vedanta’s India mine slammed in devastating government report.