About this blog
-
This is a blog from Telegraph guest bloggers.
Search
Recent Posts
People are writing about
Tribe from Eastern India threatened by British mining giant
NEWS from Orissa, the highly impoverished but mineral-rich state in eastern India, of a protest against the British mining giant Vedanta Resources Plc in the state capital Bhubaneshwar.
The demonstration by several thousand tribal people won't have made a murmur in the international press, but it is worth noting since it almost certainly represents the beginning of the end of a magical people.
The Dongria Kondh, with whom I spent a week last year (read a report magazine here with stunning pictures by Jason Taylor) live on the lush Niyamgiri hills, which they worship as their living god.
To cut a tangled story short, last August Vedanta Resources's Indian subsidiary was granted permission to dig up the Niyamgiris and pour them into a brand new Alumina refinery which they've already built at the bottom of the hillside.
The fate of the Dongria is now sealed, it seems, though not, I suspect before there are some bloody clashes when the bulldozers move in. These people know how to live in the jungle and are angry to the point of recklessness. Many feel they have nothing to lose in 'defending' their hillsides and on home turf the police will not find it easy to catch or coral them. Expect a fight, which in the end, they will lose.
The Dongria's story, it seems to me, is indicative of the extraordinary injustices and imbalances created by the very system of global capitalism which has taken such a battering these last few weeks.
In the West it is accepted that industrialization was, and is, for the good. Nineteenth century Britain was socially messy, but out of the mess of England's Coketowns came progress.
The Factory and Clean Air Acts were signed into law, education became a universal right and in time the Welfare State was born. A few men grew outrageously rich, but on balance the lot of the average citizen improved beyond all recognition.
This is the same trickle-down argument used to defend the industrialization process in states like Orissa, where in the past decade, billions of dollars worth of deals have been signed with companies like Vedanta and the South Korean steel giant POSCO, which is facing similar protests from displaced tribal people.
Development, we are assured – whether by Orissa's chief minister, Naveen Patnaik or by the lawyers representing Vedanta in the Indian Supreme Court or the authors of the multi-national's corporate social responsibility reports – will bring jobs, wealth and progress to the impoverished people of Orissa.
Perhaps in the West we have come to accept the logic of that argument – economically and morally – without really stopping to ask whether it's actually true?
I have to say that in my experience of reporting the Vedanta and POSCO stories, it's hard to have much confidence in the assertions of the corporate and government PR machines that life will be improved for the majority by these mining projects.
Their supporters point to a raft of positive impacts – for ancillary industries supplying the mining Co.'s and increased tax revenues – but that only obscures a fundamental truth: that, viewed proportionately, Orissa's mineral resources are being tapped for the benefit of a tiny minority of officials, businessmen and shareholders.
Surprisingly little has changed since the days of the East India Company.
This is not an argument against development – anyone who has spent time in the villages and jungles of Orissa will quickly discover how unromantic rural subsistence living is – but to fundamentally question why development has to take place under a model which accrues benefit to so disproportionately few.
Even if the mining giants were efficiently taxed and the money efficiently invested in the progress of Orissa (a laughable proposition given the endemic corruption in India) you'd have to question carefully the extent to which extractive industries materially improves lives and livelihoods on the ground.
Dare anyone ask if there is a better way to increase the health, wealth and education of the 37 million people who live in Orissa, other than signing leases with companies whose only loyalty (by law) is to the profit of their shareholders?
The most interesting man I know on this subject is the Bangladeshi economics professor Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel peace prize for his Grameen Bank microcredit scheme which has fundamentally altered lives in his own troubled country.
The half-hour I spent in his office in Dhaka after he won the prize was an extraordinary experience, since here was a globally feted man daring to say things which would get you laughed at in the pub.
Secular but unsentimental saint that he is, Yunus advocates a 'paradigm shift' in the way in which the world approaches the capitalist project, calling for a kind of social entrepreneurship which uses the capitalist engines of finance and motivating self-interest for the benefit of the majority, not the minority.
If 60 per cent of the world population subsist on 6 per cent of the wealth, and the poorest 30 per cent on 1 per cent, is that in the interests of the planet?
Does this mean Orissa should give up its mining projects? Perhaps it does, or maybe it means reconfiguring the terms on which these valuable resources are being exploited, with consent of the people for the benefit of the people.
At the very least the current global financial crisis (which appears to suggest that the current model hasn't served the ordinary citizens of the rich world minority too brilliantly, either) might be grounds for starting to reconsider the current, all-stifling orthodoxies.
Of course, all this is pie in the sky, since the people in power – the global corporations and the politicians – have an abiding self-interest in stopping alternative ideas and modes of development from gaining traction.
But in the end, even though it may not seem like it, these men suits do answer to the people – their electorates, their markets.
So when the effects of the current financial crisis reach the ground and have serious impacts on large numbers of ordinary people – in the West, but also in India, China, Brazil and other developing economies – it may be that in a messy, haphazard (ideas always operate in this manner) way there is a groundswell of demand for change.
If all this sounds naïve and far-fetched, it's meant to. Ideas are only unthinkable until they no longer are so.
to add a hyperlink.
Add comment
15 Comments
What an amazing story – and I have to admit the first I'd heard of it. Yet another example of how corporations are increasingly involved in human rights violations (as well as governments and armed groups – it seems everyone's at it nowadays).
Can anyone now argue that self-regulation by the market actually works? I was talking to someone from the banking world the other day, whose response to the present crisis was "it's the government's fault, they didn't regulate the industry properly" – cleverly forgetting that the banks will all have been lobbying like billy-o against any increase in regulation.
Meanwhile there doesn't seem to be much 'dripping down' in Orissa and things look like they'll be dripping the wrong way for a while in the UK!
Hi,
Good post and great idea to bring in guest bloggers with a variety of knowledge and experience across a wide range of topics. Good stimulating addition to the AIUK blog community.
I've personally always had mixed feelings at the loss of local culture in the name of progress. Whether it be small rainforest communities or traditional Chinese lifestyles and beliefs which were ripped apart by the cultural revolution. Why mixed? Because I think culture is what makes us what we are and grounds us to a bit of reality. It makes people value their community and each other. (Globalisation by it's definition destroys such local connections and "flattens" culture). But progress does bring benefits and should not be denied to people – they have as much right to enjoy the freedoms and benefits of progress as anyone. They should not be kept as "examples" of times gone past in a goldfish bowl approach. Where does the balance lie?
I'm a Lancashire lad and having moved around the country & seen different regional attitudes to life, I'm proud of it. Not obsessive to the point of fire bombing non-Lancashire people who buy homes in the county, but proud of the honest people and our attitudes. And Lancashire is one of those soot-coated counties of the industrial revolution. Life was actually intensely hard for the loom workers in the town of my birth, and whilst that industrial life has demised, their quality of life/health/wealth has no doubt improved. That has to be a good thing??
So for me, the balance between "progress" and the status quo is choice. Choice whether to embrace or reject particular aspects of progress. The Dongria Kondh and many other communities don't have that key factor. Choice. The Bhopal families still suffer for having chemical plants built slap bang in their town without their decisions. Communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have suufered enormous human rights abuses and wars because they happen to live in on of the most mineral rich regions in the world (hence the determination to control the area by violence and or money). Those with power have always made the choices, typically to their own benefits, and in the above cases the communities suffer.
Which is why it's fantastic to see the people of Singur, India, fight against Tata in the courts to protect fertile agricultral land promised to the people as part of the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. They are exercising THEIR choice to retain their land. They are fighting to protect their life and culture. And maybe they are lucky to have a solid legal basis on which to arm themselves – the Dongria are arming themselves literally with an almost inevitable tragic result of violence.
It's the absolute moral duty of those of us with privileged lives and the freedom of speech to stand up, shout loud against the oppression of peoples wherever it may be. And to support those fighting oppression themselves. Globalisation and capitalism do not have the right to expand for their own benefit at any cost to life, culture or community. They may bring benefits and the world may now rotate on the axis of theoretical monies & financial bonds, but individuals and communities must be empowered to retain their choices in life.
Good on Peter for bringing this to everyone's attention therefore. Look forward to more Telegraph blog entries.
Andy
Its atrocious and gross, i seriously doubt if your reporting would be the same if the owner is not an indian??? How prejudiced?
Scullerz – not clear what you mean I'm afraid. Are you saying the report is atrocious and gross & predujiced, or do those comments relate to the devastation of this community?
"i seriously doubt if your reporting would be the same if the owner is not an indian??? " But the owner of the mining company IS NOT Indian. It's British. From the UK, the same country as Peter that Peter reports into. So he's not being prejudiced against Indians at all. He's raising an issue on deep commercial pressure on Indians themselves?
Could you elaborate your post a little?? Cheers! :-)
This is a great initiative – we need to have other people and other points of view so it's really interesting to have a fresh take here.
It's a good post – Yunus is an inspiration and we should look in more detail at the gendered analysis of his project prototype. He is the first to admit not only that women and children are worst hit by poverty , but that women have proved a far better and more trustworthy investment for these projects.
I worked in West Africa for a while where women had managed to find funding for a small grinding mill for flour. It was hugely successful, all profits were used to repay loans and reinvested in the business to grow it. Small bonus type surplus was given to every woman for her to then invest in a business project at home – chickens, goats, sewing machines etc. The impact on the local economy was significant but even more importantly the status of the women grew hugely. However, the men wanted their share and offered to help run the finances as they were "better educated". The women agreed and within a year the project was on its knees as the men used the funds to buy radio, television and other gadgets for their pleasure. Many of these funding initiatives know the value of women yet this doesn't seem to translate to an actual recognition and respect at broader policy and economic level.
Jacoma – that project you mention sounds really interesting, is there anywhere online I can read more?
As for the original post, I think this case highlights a battle that's going on the world over; particularly wherever local communities happen to be located in an area rich with natural resources. It almost seems inevitable that big companies and industry will win in the end – are there any really good examples of local communities triumphing or becoming far more prosperous as a result of the influx of industry?
In response to Fiona,
Sadly i dont think that local communities can stand much of a chance, as you say –
Until there are proper accessible mechanisms in place for people, such as the people of Orissa, to be able to defend themselves by taking recourse to their econonmic, social and cultural rights.
this story reminds me of the fate of a local community in central India when suddenly it was decided to build a dam to redirect their river. Lots of people were living from the river and the construction of the dam forced them to leave their land. Their Narmada river dam's case is illustrate in a amazing documentary 'Drowned Out' I've watched last year at the Amnesty Human Rights Action Centre.
Boy! o boy. I know and understand where you are coming from. But i also have doubts about who really cares about what happens to some tribe strategically in a certain country even if you were from the same locality versus the coporate influence that appears to be every body's dream now-a-day?
The mentioned sentences above may sound some how vague.But the world also appears to be the same.Where some people have all the wealth and the majority struggles to get by day by day.
I at times ask myself if i landed a coporate deal that could change my life at the expense of my country the Congo and some strategic tribe would i say no? What is considered expense at this point.
After making wages with my coporate partners that commensurate with my efforts and able to afford earth's little pleasure like a home or homes and toys like vehicles and a capital to agreeably retire.Then what else do i need moneis for?This right here to me seems like a simple question. To help the people at whose expense i was able to afford earth's little pleasure as mentioned above.But in this vague world of business with a theory like mine,you are considered not fit enough to roll with the jones's and that kicks you out or not even lets you in anyways.
It is a crusade not to have many people educated as you and i envision believe me or not. Especially where there is an interest to serve like the best things in life diamond gold oils etc, etc.
Now, that is expense.Exploitations, extortions and greed are happening everywhere and everyday by people whom should be by the people and for the people .Right here i'm trying to express myself to a certain extent but i just cant because i'm not that advance education wise but i do have my eyes to see all of those architectural and naiive leaders go to rest while thier huge swiss accounts are left behind just as they left thier own people behind.
KEEP IT UP.
8d5e95
Hello all,
I found this blog and all the comments of great interest, I believe this story to be a microcosm of the situation around the world, OK no boubt, things are a little more complex, but we come acrross many stories like this. I not very good on, business, finance, economics, or any thing like that, but one point stands out, the fact that wealth generated, goes to the few and far away.
My faith in the Daily Telegraph is restored, I'd begun to believe the Telegraph had lost touch with reality, whilst papers like the Guardian covered such issues, the Telegraph, seemed to 'sweep them under the carpet'. Anyway I enjoyed reading this first rate blog.
Hello all,
I found this blog and all the comments of great interest, I believe this story to be a microcosm of the situation around the world, OK no boubt, things are a little more complex, but we come acrross many stories like this. I not very good on, business, finance, economics, or any thing like that, but one point stands out, the fact that wealth generated, goes to the few and far away.
My faith in the Daily Telegraph is restored, I'd begun to believe the Telegraph had lost touch with reality, whilst papers like the Guardian covered such issues, the Telegraph, seemed to 'sweep them under the carpet'. Anyway I enjoyed reading this first rate blog.
I am from Nepal and also now am reading in English, please tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "Find the best and cheapest rates on the airline tickets here and now - cheap consolidator airline tickets."
With respect :p, Ari.