1. The Health and Environmental Impact of Coal Mining in Chhattisgarh
(People First Collective India)
(Health Energy Initiaive – India)
3. Health and Environmental Impacts of Mining, A Study of the Health of People Living Close to Mines in the Ramgarh District, Jharkhand
People First Collective India
https://pfcollectiveindia.wordpress.com/
Links to media reports on Bastar drone attacks in chronological order
FACAM Silger Report 13 July 2022
The Forgotten People
India Labour Solidarity – Briefing on UK-India Free Trade Agreement – Summary
India Labour Solidarity – Briefing on UK-India Free Trade Agreement
Full Document
On World Indigenous Day, Community for the Eradication of Discrimination in Education and Employment (CEDE https://twitter.com/cedeyourcapital) shared this very useful introduction to Adivasi Rights – a 45 minute watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_IpXRJUs0Q
Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization’s statement on the recent police and corporate attempts in Odisha to begin mining operations in Majingmali and the valiant people’s resistance against this.
RESIST THE CORPORATE-STATE NEXUS’ ATTEMPT AT LOOTING THE PEOPLE’S RESOURCES OF MAJINGMALI, ODISHA
7th November 2023
On 4th November, around 10am, Odisha Mining Corporation Limited (OMC) staff, flanked by two police platoons and two JCB vehicles, arrived at Gadeljhola road juncture near Kalagaon which leads to the Majingmali bauxite hilltop. Around 150-170 women from Kalagaon and neighbouring villages of Kadejhola, Rugapodar and Majingmali gathered at the spot and initiated a sit-in protest in front of the police platoons and their JCBs, with the OMC staff claiming that they were at the site to conduct soil testing and a bauxite survey. The villagers firmly held the position that they will not allow the company and the police to enter Majingmali and managed to force the OMC staff and the JCBs to leave even though latest news suggests that 10 police officers are still stationed at the site per the instructions of SP, Rayagada as the villagers continue their protest. The coordinated efforts of companies and the police are clear when it comes to the mining operations.
The people’s resistance towards militarization and rapacious mining projects which displace the local farmers in Odisha in particular and the entirety of Central India in general has witnessed many such prolonged struggles against the state-corporate nexus. At Mali Parbat, close to Koraput district, Odisha, the people’s resistance towards Hindalco, part of the Aditya Birla group witnessed severe attempts by the police to use brute force to drive off the local Adivasi tribes opposed to the bauxite mining project at Mali Parbat. In January this year when the Odisha High Court the implementation of free and fair Gram Sabhas in the region to seek consent for the Mali Parbat mining project, the result on ground was a massive invasion of armed police and paramilitary as well as false cases against the anti-mining activists of Mali Parbat Suraksha Samiti which was leading the struggle in the region. Similarly in the Niyamgiri hills, the prolonged struggle of the Adivasi tribes in the region against the loot of Niyamgiri by Vedanta Limited led to a Supreme Court verdict which decided against the mining project. Yet, both attempts at re-starting mining operations in Niyamgiri as well as large scale militarization for the same, abductions, fake encounters and false cases have been levelled against the activists of the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti to curtail the people’s resistance. In Jharkhand, similar attempts have been made against activists of the Visthapan Virodhi Janvikas Andolan, an anti-displacement platform which opposes corporate loot.
Resistance towards this militarization and loot of natural resources, as seen in Majingmali, is continuing. In October, in Sijimali, in a so-called public hearing set up by the government in the presence of large number of police and paramilitary, the locals waged relentless protests against the hearing. To prevent the same, police arrested various activists and leaders who were heading the struggle against Vedanta Limited gaining the lease for mining the Sijimali block mine. As part of Operation SAMADHAN-Prahar, a large scale paramilitary operation at strategic hamletting which aims to use the brute force of the paramilitary and police to drive off the Adivasis from their lands for the sake of intensifying the rampant loot of natural resources by big corporates, the state is deploying a reign of terror upon all areas where resistance is emerging to corporate loot. Under SAMADHAN-Prahar, for this purpose, the state has even deployed aerial bombings along with building fortress-like ‘Forward Operational Bases’ to ensure the militarization at the service of big corporates. The people of Majingmali have re-iterated the strength of people’s resistance against corporate loot and militarization at its service and have stated, “like all the Malis which are our neighbours, we people are also kith and kins of different Malis. We shall die instead, of letting these Malis be destroyed.”
Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) condemns the attempts of OMC and the police to initiate mining operations in Majingmali.
FACAM demands the immediate re-calling of all police and paramilitary forces from Majingmali and the end of militarization at the service of big corporates for the loot of natural resources.
When Sky Spits Fire – uploaded 08/11/23
Siege of Silger – uploaded 08/11/23
FACAM CONDEMNS THE KILLING OF AN INFANT IN THE
NAME OF AN ANTI-NAXAL OPERATION IN BIJAPUR – uploaded 09/01/2024
Please note that this statement was published on 05/01/24 – and NOT 05/01/23 as stated in the document – an easy mistake to make at the beginning of a new year. That this is a mistake will become clear as one reads through the document.
FACAM Press Release Operation Kagar
On The Fake Encounter of Three Villagers in Nendra, Bijapur, Chhattisgarh
https://cgnarratives.github.io/report_en.pdf# Follow this link to read Citizens’ Report on Security and Insecurity, Bastar Division, Chhattisgarh August 2024
IndiaMatters UK 