Identity, Power, and Development: The Kondhs in Orissa, India

Abstract

This study is an attempt to examine and understand the nature of the nexus between the state, multinational companies (MNCs) and international financial institutions (IFIs) in the context of development projects and the latter’s impact on tribal and indigenous peoples. I do this with a case study of the alumina refinery project at Lanjigarh, in the Kalahandi district of Orissa, India. Vedanta Limited, an Indian MNC listed on the London stock exchange, is executing the project, which involves setting up a refinery capable of handling one million ton of alumina and a 75-megawatt captive power plant. The company has also proposed an investment of Rs 40,000 million (US$800 million) to extract three million tons per annum of bauxite, of which 50 per cent is for export. The mines of the project are located on the Niyamgiri mountain range, adjacent to the refinery and a heavily forested area. The people affected by the project are the Kondhs, especially the Dongaria Kondhs, who number less than 6000 as per the 1991 census (see Figure 9.1).

I am grateful to Dr. Bratindi Jena, ActionAid India, for sharing with me her materials on the Vedanta project.