governancenow.com, Aug 27
Forest Rights Act delivers first victory; tribals’ right over the Niyamgiri foils Vedanta’s mining plans
In our May 1-15 issue, we carried a report, “Tribals put faith in Gandhian humbug”, saying how two primitive tribes, the Dongaria and Kutia Kondhs of the Niyamgiri hills in Orissa, were fighting a Gandhian battle for their rights against a corporate giant, Vedanta Alumina Ltd, by using the Forest Rights Act.
When environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh announced earlier this week that the proposal to mine the Niyamgiri was being rejected because the Kondhs had the “cultural, religious and economic rights” over the proposed mining area, this marked a victory for the Kondhs. This marked a victory for the Forest Rights Act too, without which this battle for survival couldn’t have been won.
What else does this reflect? That one need not fight every battle with a gun as the Maoists do and justify it by saying that there is simply no other effective way. The primitive tribes of the Niyamgiri has demonstrated how patently false that position is. Interestingly, the Kondhs never allowed the Maoists, who have a strong presence all around the Niyamgiri, to infiltrate their ranks or take any part in their fight.
Read the complete report:
http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/niyamgiri-shows-gandhian-humbug-actually-works
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