Development and Resistance: Encounter between the State and Tribal Communities in Odisha (original) (raw)

Odisha saw the setting up of large development projects. Several private sector projects have either set up or signed MoUs with the State Government to start their units which include industrial giants Tata, Jindal, Birla, POSCO and others. But what is painful is the large-scale involuntary displacement of weaker sections, particularly the tribals. Therefore these weaker section communities are opposing the ongoing projects due to various reasons such as damage of environment, the decline in Joint Family System, landlessness, joblessness and increase in the proportion of workers,homelessness,food insecurity, loss of access to common property, social disintegration, increased morbidity and mortality, widening of socioeconomic inequalities, reduction on dependence on trees and livestock, poor dwelling conditions of the oustees, improper use of compensation money. Even though the tribal regions which fall under PESA (the provisions of the Panchayats (extension to the Scheduled areas) Act, 1996 both the government and the industry have collaborated to negotiate directly with people without engaging village panchayats in the tribal areas. In this context this paper explores two case studies, one in Kashipur area of Rayagada and other in Klinganaga in the district of Jajpur. Conflict over the mining of bauxite in the Kashipur had taken a violent turn with the killing of three innocent tribal people. On 2nd of Jan 2006, in Kalinga Nagar, twelve Adivasi people were killed by the Orissa Police. In many parts of tribal pockets of Odisha this has resulted in contestations spearheaded by those who are threatened with loosing the resources on which their survival depends. It is in this context, this paper discusses and tries to answer how the anti-industrial tribal movement in Odisha looks at this does: as a blend of "development and resistance" & "tradition and modernization", or something else?