Report launch

Economic ‘boom’ spells doom for millions: Study

19 December 2007

WHAT:  Launch of the study - ‘Resource rich tribal poor. Displacing people, destroying identity in India’s indigenous heartland’ which reveals the impact of displacement on tribals and other vulnerable communities as India’s pursuit of economic growth intensifies.

The study examines development-induced displacement across four states – Orissa, Jharkhand, Chahtisgarh and Andhra Pradesh – all rich in minerals, forests and rivers and home to large indigenous populations.

“India is being celebrated in many quarters as an economic miracle. But displacement, destruction of livelihood and violation of human rights have reached a new high,” says Bratindi Jena who leads ActionAid’s work on tribal rights.

A short documentary film - Beyond the lost Frontiers: Hamari Jamin Hamari Pahchan, will bring alive the issues of people displaced by mines, dams and industrial plants as well as wildlife sanctuaries.

WHERE: India Islamic Cultural Centre, 86 – 87 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi

WHEN: 19 December 2007, 2 pm onwards

WHY: India’s much-hyped ‘economic growth’ comes at a dangerous social cost says the study. Displacement of millions is threatening the culture, identity and very existence of vulnerable communities. Primitive tribal groups, accorded special protection in the Constitution of India are amongst the hardest hit.

According to government data, in just four states over 1.4 million have been displaced by ‘development’ projects over the last decade.

“Tight-knit indigenous communities driven off their land are now dispersed and destitute. They have lost their social safety net and access to forests and streams they once depended on,” says Jena of ActionAid.

A 40 year old man from Bandhaguda Village, Orissa – one on the list of villages under threat from bauxite mining plans of Vedanta Plc. says he accepted cash compensation to leave his home under threat from company ‘touts’.

“We cannot eat money, and we know it won’t last long. We have lost our land and livelihood. While they make promises of better life for us, we are left only with problems,” he says.

WHO: Spokespeople at the event include:

Babu Mathew, country director, ActionAid India

Shabana Azmi, leading actor and board member, ActionAid India

Professor Virginius Xaxa, Delhi School of Economics and associated with civil society organisations and tribal movements

Bratindi Jena, leads ActionAid’s work on tribal rights in India

Joseph Marianus Kujur, Indian Social Institute and research coordinator for the study

Sanjay Basu Mullick, Eminent Tribal Rights Activist, based in Jharkhand

Notes to editor:

The study by Indian Social Institute, LAYA and ActionAid  draws on government statistics on land acquired and people displaced during the last decade (1996 – 006) and is a continuation of research by Walter Fernandes and his team on development-induced displacement and rehabilitation.

In-depth interviews were conducted with over 1700 affected people to assess the impact of development projects involving large scale displacement.

ActionAid is an international anti-poverty agency working in over 40 countries, taking sides with poor people to end poverty and injustice together. In India ActionAid is working with some 300 civil society organisations and over 12 million poor and excluded people in 24 states.