Discussing “modernity and tradition”: Dongria’s rights to their religion, to give or withhold their consent and to choose their own future and livelihood – Odisha

Excerpt

Twelve palli sabhas (tribal gram sabhas) in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa covering  the entire 250 sq km area is the sacred abode of Niyamraja, the supreme deity of the 8,000-strong Dongaria Kondh, a primitive tribe, straddling the Kalahandi-Rayagada district divide. The Supreme Court on April 12, 2013, directed that tribal opinion be specifically sought on whether the proposed lease of a 660 hectare area for a bauxite mine to feed Vendanta Aluminium Ltd’s currently one million tpa alumina refinery (sought to be expanded to 6 mtpa), vitiated their religious and cultural rights. […]

Nostalgia, fanned by latter-day Luddites, is not the way forward. What is sacred – sentiment or a richer life for the most wretched?

A reader’s response to ‘Modernity and Tradition’  Abhijit Mitra (accessed 7-9-13)

I am troubled by the article ‘Modernity and Tradition’. The piece is deeply biased and fails to respect the Dongria’s rights to their religion, to give or withhold their consent and to choose their own future and livelihood. The assumption that wage labouring for Vedanta would be preferable to the lives that the Dongria currently live demonstrates an ignorance and lack of respect for the Dongria and other tribal peoples.

The Dongria do not consider their lives to be nasty, brutish or short. Quite the opposite. One Dongria leader has said,

‘It’s crazy when these outsiders come and teach us development. Is development possible by destroying the environment that provides us food, water and dignity?’

I urge the author to show more respect for the rights of tribal peoples to choose their own ways of life and ask him to refrain from this paternalistic, prejudiced approach.

Source: “Modernity and tradition” by B G Verghese, September 2, 2013
Address : https://www.deccanherald.com/content/354701/modernity-tradition.html
Date Visited: 21 April 2020