Additti Munshi
Subsequent to the advent of the New Economic Policy adopted in 1990s, the government of India has portrayed industrialisation as the only weapon to overcome poverty in the country. A similar stance has been used for the resource rich Odisha, where the state government has been involved in the process of land acquisition since the early 90s. This mineral rich state has almost 60% of India’s known bauxite reserve, 25% of coal, 98% of chromite, 28% of iron ore, 92% of nickel ore, and 28% of manganese reserves. Most of these reserves are embedded under the dense forests and robust mountains inhabited mostly by tribal communities. Industries, roads, townships can be set up only by uprooting the occupants of this resource rich land. Every such endeavour of the government, has faced resistance from the people. The stronger the resistance, the greater is the repression of the government. One such instance, was the police firing at Kalinganagar on 2nd January 2006 which led to the death of twenty tribal people and one police constable.
The resistance of Kalinganagar
The Sukinda and Danagadi blocks of Jajpur district of Odisha, are together referred as Kalinganagar by the Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha(IDCO), which aims to make this area a hub of steel production. The conceptualisation of this idea dates back to the early 90s. The IDCO began acquiring land in 1992. About 40 memorandum of understandings (MoUs) were signed with private companies to set up steel manufacturing plants in the area. One of these MoUs was signed with Tata Steel in 2004, to set up a 6 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) steel plant in Kalinganagar. The estimated worth of this plant is Rs. 154000/- million or approx. US$2.3 billion at current exchange rates.
Land Acquisition
The government acquired 13,000 acres of land for the purpose of developing an industrial corridor in Jajpur district, Odisha. The government acquired land from the cultivators by paying them a compensation of Rs.15,000/- to 30,000/- per acre. This compensation was paid only to those who had a patta on the land. In addition to those who did not have a patta on the land; share croppers were also not given any compensation. In spite of the long history of displacement, the state of Odisha had no rehabilitation and resettlement policy until 2006. In the absence of such policy, the resettlement of the displaced people is guided by project specific administrative circulars. The irony of the process, was the fact that, the land was grabbed for private players, but it was not made obligatory for the companies to provide displaced people with jobs.
Run Up to the Main Event
Attempts to begin the construction of the Tata Steel Plant on 5th May 2005 was prevented by the protests of the local tribal who refused to vacate their lands, until their demands regarding resettlement and rehabilitation were met. On 2nd January the Tata employees along with the local administration began the process of levelling the land and construction of a boundary wall where the factory was to come up. Around 300-400 tribal people gathered at the site of construction, to prevent the construction. Some of them were even carrying traditional weapons like bow and arrows. On the other hand the Superintendent of Police had placed 10 platoons (a platoon typically consists of 15 to 30 personnel) to oversee the process. In an attempt to prevent the construction, the protesters tried to enter the restricted area. In order to scare the protesters the police fired stun shells. This led to the death of 14 people and another 6 succumbed to injuries in the hospital. One police constable was also killed in this process.
Cinema of Resistance
In an era of commercial cinema which focuses on target rating point (TRP) and money than on content; Cinema of Resistance is a wave of change. The festival was started in 2006, by the cultural activists of Jan Sanskriti Manch, filmmakers and journalists in Gorakhpur. The underlining objective of this festival, is to provide a platform to initiate dialogue on actual people centric issues, by presenting movies, based on real life issues of the common people. The movies showcased under their banner are based on movements, such as violations of democratic rights of citizens in Kashmir and Northeast under
the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), tribal land grab by multinational corporations, killings of innocent civilians by the state machinery, hunger deaths of peasants and unreported struggles of those without voices.
Since its inception, cinema of resistance has strengthened its presence across the nation. It is run solely on the sundry donations from its supporters. This movement has grown on the shoulders of like minded people who devote their time and labour, for the cause. From Uttar Pradesh, its seat of origin, the movement has expanded to Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttrakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Driven by the cause and placing their support be hind the movement, Saurabh, Aditi, Ankur and Vinitahave taken up the task, of bringing a chapter of cinema of resistance, to audiences in Mumbai. On the occasion of tenth anniversary of the Kalinganagar firing and people’s movements against Tata Steel and the Government of Odishsa, Cinema of Resistance began its Mumbai chapter. To commemorate the occasion, a series of 7 short documentary films based on the Kalinganagar firing were screened for a group of interested individuals followed by a discussion.
The following are the selected movies that were screened on 2nd January 2016:
Shot Dead or Development
A one minute long movie directed by Surya Shankar Dash provides a background to the 2001 Kashipur and Kalinganagar movements where Adivasi were killed for resisting mining. It is an animated movie that presents land grabbing for mining as the reason behind these two movements. The illustrations used in the clip are in Idital, a form of Saura Adivasi art, and the music is from the Koya and Bonda Adivasi.
Repression Diary
Those resisting the mining activities by corporate entities in Kalinganagar were subjected to untold misery and violence. The Repression Diary provides an account of one such fateful event in 2010 when the state machinery unleashed para-military troops on the protesting Adivasi. This video is important not only on the account of the violence it presents but also because of the fact that it is created by the inhabitants of the land. “Raghu” as introduced at the beginning of the film is an active member of the Bisthapan Birodhi Jan Mancha and also the one behind the camera. It provides a vivid scene, which
depicts the police brutality that the people had to face in order to protect their land.
Lament of the Niyamraja
This video captures the late- leader of the Dongria Kondh, Dambu Prasaka singing a song on Niyamraja,
the king of forest. The song describes the dependency of the tribals on the sustenance of the Niyamgiri forest, for their existence. A linkage is established between the mountains, vegetation, rivers, livestock and the Adivasi, who rely on each other in order to survive. The Niyamgiri hills replenishes itself with rain water and releases this water as streams and waterfalls, throughout the year. Because of the mining, large portions of the hills are cut, and as a result of which, the rivers dry up during the summer season. This has affected the ecological balance of the Niyamgiri forests.
Dhinki
This short clip focusses on the coastal villages in Odisha against Indian’s biggest foreign direct investment (FDI), by POSCO, a multinational steel making company. Dhinki or the husking pedal, is an important part of rural life in Odisha, where it is worshipped by women, on each and every festival. The paddy which is dehusked through the Dhinki, is considered to be healthier, than the paddy dehusked using a mechanized machine. In order to revive the use of Dhinki a number of self-help groups have come up. The process stands for two things: self-sustenance and the supremacy of traditional over modern
practices.
Big Fat Brutal Lie
The film begins with the Chief Minister of Odisha making a statement that he believes in peaceful industrialisation. The other picture brought about in the clip is police officials beating up protesting Adivasi. The strength of this video is that both these events happened simultaneously. Thus presenting the stark contrast between what is being said and done by the state.
The Human Zoo
This film is based on a fair ‘Arts and Craft of Primitive Tribal Communities’ conducted every year on 26th January by the Schedule Caste and Schedule tribe Research and Training Institute. Apart from tribal art and food; tribal people are also ‘displayed.’ This practise was a regular affair until this film came out. It was only subsequent to the release of this video that this process was stopped.
The Displacement Colony
“A few smiles make our day” is a billboard by Vedanta, just outside a colony of displaced people. The violation of rights does not stop at forcibly acquiring land. The process of resettlement and rehabilitation is equally unjust. This film talks about some of the ‘features’ of such resettlement colonies. The houses allotted are small, with very little or no ventilation facilities, poor drainage, institutions such as schools and hospitals are inaccessible. The only space which is left, is for the construction of such amenities and institutions. The director has used sarcasm to convey his message.
All the above mentioned movies talk about different tribal issues. However, they all underline that fact that the state has turned a blind eye towards them.
After the screening, the session broke into discussion on the various themes brought forth in the movies. For some it was difficult to acknowledge the stark difference between their social milieu and that of the tribal. For the others, it was just the tip of the iceberg as a lot of incidents’ go unreported in such regulated areas.
(Additti Munshi, Student of M.A in Social Work in Children and Family, TISS, Mumbai)
English
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