' The oBviouS that was not quite obVioUs '

Progress : The Plight of Culture

By: GopiKrishnan

The Niyamgiri Hills : A place that has been home to the tribe of Dongria Kondh long before there was a country called India or a state called Orissa. To the Kondh, Niyamgiri Hills is God. They've worshipped nature for more generations than men have prayed in front of idols and pictures.

And Niyamgiri Hills was blessed, with a rich Bauxite ore. Mining of Bauxite, the raw material of Aluminium, is one of the most toxic and environmentally devastating processes imaginable

But none of these actually bothered the Kondh people until a company, ironically called Vedanta (The branch of philosophy that speaks about knowledge), one of the biggest mining corporations in the world became interested in the Bauxite.

If the mountains are destroyed, so would the greenery that clothes it be destroyed, and as much importantly, the belief and faith of a sect of people, who've lived their lives around their god, are going to be wrenched from them by men who've already made more than enough money for generations of prodigal sons to come!

The Dongria Kondh people are facing a threat of finding themselves evacuated from their Homeland.

What is the point of this development? Is the exploitation of nature and the destruction of an eco system and a tribe of fellow humans the price one has to pay for development?

To the ones who're anxious to seal this deal, where will you sell your soul?

Why can't we live in peace with nature?

Understand that true development is in adopting the pace of nature, to be one with the true self?

But Vedanta, unfortunately, have set their sight on the one mountain that is integral for the ecosystem's survival, in Niyamgiri Hills.

"We have lived here for Generations. How can the Government, out of nowhere, just say that it is their land and decide to allow mining without talking to us?"

This community is now under the fear of losing their way of life, as they've lived for thousands of years, their sacred hills and their right to a clean environment. Everything that has defined their lives is under siege under the name of development.

They're simple, self sufficient people. People who live without harming anyone, who live with the nature, instead of polluting, worshipping her.

THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE STOPPED WHEN IT IS WRONG.

"The Central Empowered Commission is of the view that the use of forest land in an ecologically sensitive area like the Niyamgiri Hills should not be permitted"

Ask LK Advani how much Rama or Ayodhya is worth in Public scandals in India? How much did Babri Masjid wound secularism? Will Gods be acknowledged only when there is a threat of impending violence?

We all have built our lives around certain beliefs, certain faiths. That is what helps us to find ourselves in this world.

The Hills are the Gods of the Dongria, just as there is a Christ or an Allah or a Buddha or a Rama. The difference, though, their gods are visible, around them, giving them strength, and they're about to be killed.

"We are poor, but we are self sufficient as we get everything we need from the hills, it gives us everything but salt." An elderly woman said.

They're happy. They're fine. The Bauxite might help make some rich people richer, but is it worth making these poor people poorer?

"If we are made to part with our hills and starve, all of YOU bear a responsibility."

On the one hand, the Indian Govt, with all its might, its judiciary and its police has aligned itself with Vedanta, and on the other side, the poorest forest-dwelling people of our country, who will be reduced to a mere sect of beggars if Vedanta succeeds.

STOP. NOW. IMMEDIATELY. BEFORE ANY MORE DAMAGE IS DONE.