Last summer I wrote about an incident that took place in Orrisa when tribals protested plans to mine their sacred land. Tensions have only increased since then, resulting in this tragedy:
Twelve tribal villagers in India were shot dead by police on January 2 during a demonstration against the development of the Kalinga Nagar steel complex in the eastern state of Orissa. The impoverished protestors were demanding a halt to construction by steel developers on their traditional land. A 13-year-old boy and three women were among those killed.
At least this time the story got national attention. Even Sonia Gandhi visited the site and offered money to the victims. Filmmaker Vinod Raja continues to document the story as it unfolds. I look forward to seeing his film.
{adivasi, globalization, india, tribals}
