The WAR for STEEL: Documentary

This documentary, produced independently by me in the year 2013, attempts to document the conflict between Odisha government and people of the proposed POSCO project area in Jagatsinghpur. The documentary got the screening opportunity at 13th Seoul International New Media Festival (NeMaf -2013), South Korea as a GLOCAL category documentary.

 

The Modi Government’s war on environment

The Modi Government is pushing through reforms that weaken India’s existing environmental laws and threaten the rights of those who rely on the forests for their livelihoods.

Despite the bold warning from the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report of the catastrophic impacts of rising temperature on the global climate, Narendra Modi's Government is all set to enact changes to weaken the existing environment and land acquisition laws of India, in order to promote industrialisation and ensure high economic growth, allege activists and environmental experts.

People versus the State: Conflict over POSCO Project grows in Odisha

The dream project of Odisha government has become a nightmare for the people living in the proposed Posco project area. The conflict between Industrial development and livelihood has brought the State and people face to face. In such a situation, it may not become an easy sail either for POSCO or the protesting people to arrive at any logical conclusion.

No matter if it was lawful or unlawful. But the government of Odisha was determined to deal with any hurdle on the way of land acquisition for South Korean Steel major Posco’s 12 Million tonne Steel Plant project in the eco-sensitive coastal plains of Jagatsinghpur.

After a year long halt, Odisha government suddenly took an aggressive stand to restart land acquisition operations in Jagatsinghpur for the Posco Steel project. Accompanied by huge police forces the district administration entered the place of demonstration by anti-posco protesters on February 3, 2013, at about 4 am. The administration exercised its muscle to drive out the protesters by beating even the women and children brutally.

Conflict results in displacement of Tribal families in Koraput

While movements by tribal people to restore their rights over the land and forest are taking up to extremist ideologies, the tribal people not accepting to such ideas are becoming the worst victims of the conflict and such extremist movements.

Jambuli Maleka, a woman leader of Bandhugaon block of Odisha’s Koraput district and the Naib-Sarpanch (vice-Sarpanch) of Kumbarput Grampanchayat, was a peace loving woman and always wanted to lead development and live with her community. But destiny had something else to offer.

The supporters of the movement led by Nachika Linga, a radical tribal youth heading the Chasi Mulia Adivasi sangh (CMAS), came to the village Kopakhal and asked the villagers to join their organisation and the movement to ensure rights of tribal people on the land and the forest, as claimed by the CMAS and its leader Nachika Linga. The denial of the villagers made their life horrible with atrocious behaviour and continuous torture by CMAS Members.

Maoist hostage crisis in India: government indifference makes Maoists give up on mediation

Mediation has been successful at bringing down levels of violence and bringing popular welfare and social justice demands onto the political agenda. These gains are  under threat as the government fails to take the process seriously.
Banned since 2009 as a terrorist organisation Communist Party of India (Maoist) armed cadres now have a presence in more than half of India’s 29 States. Maoists have adopted the tactics of abduction of civil servants and lawmakers since the 1980s. In the last 15 months, Maoists have made three abductions in Odisha and one in Chhattisgarh. However, while the earlier abductions were aimed at a prisoner swap, the recent abductions have raised the possibility of establishing peace by minimising violence and establishing dialogue.