Chhattisgarh BJP victory 'emboldens' forcible state-aided corporate land grab in Odisha

Counterview Desk
A civil rights group, Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM)*, has claimed that “corporate land grab” has intensified in Odisha by conducting “fake gram sabhas at gunpoint.” In a note, FACAM said, this is being done to favour of a mining project “which would displace the local Adivasi peasants from their lands.”
Stating that the corporate-state nexus has been extended its teeth “in the name of countering the Maoists in the region” by increasing paramilitary and armed police presence, FACAM said in a media communique, “The renewed and simultaneous onslaught comes right after the electoral victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the neighbouring Chhattisgarh.”

Text:

On 8th December 2023, news surfaced that in Aliguna village, about 10 buses full of police and company officials arrived in the village to forcefully conduct Gram Sabha in favour of the mining project in Sijimali bauxite block, Odisha. Recently, another attempt was made to conduct Gram Sabha in favour of the mining project which would displace the local Adivasi peasants from their lands and intensify the corporate loot of natural resources in the region, but the effort was thwarted by the resistance of the people.
At the same time, in Majingmali, Odisha, a battalion of police, along with a squad of women police personnel, are attempting to provide passage to company JCBs to reach the hilltop of Majhingmali, once again utilizing brute state power to conduct corporate loot of natural resources at the cost of the Adivasi peasants in the region.
They tried to build roads on the 8th December 2023 from Kalagaon to the hilltop but were thwarted by the women of the village who held a blockade. Just a month ago on 4th November 2023, an almost identical attempt was made to do the same at Kalagaon and once again, the attempt was thwarted by the alert response from the Adivasi peasants.
While the demand in the region has been the implementation of the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act to conduct fair village councils with the participation of the locals in the affairs of their own affairs, the state has not only failed to implement this act but rampantly using the paramilitary and the police personnel to conduct fake Gram Sabhas at gunpoint.
On 8th December, a shadow notice was floated by the state and company officials in Sagabari village for conducting Gram Sabha in favour of the Sijimali mining project, which was quickly removed by them after the villagers forced them out of the village.
The corporate-state nexus was extended its teeth into land in the name of countering the Maoists in the region and rapidly built camps, increased paramilitary presence and the armament of police in the region under Operation Samadhan-Prahar and are rampantly attempting to intensify the loot of India’s natural resources and the land grab of Adivasis through brute force of the state's guns.

Practice of abductions, fake encounters and fake cases under draconian laws like UAPA are a commonplace

It is important to note that the renewed and simultaneous onslaught on 8th December comes right after the electoral victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in neighbouring Chhatisgarh which has inadvertently emboldened the state to engage in fascistic onslaught on the people.
The practice of abductions, fake encounters and fake cases under draconian laws like Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) are commonplace in these struggles, with the nearby Niyamgiri hills being a recent example of the same where in August, the leaders of the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti were forcefully abducted by the police and fake cases were filed against them for resisting the mining operations in an area where even the Supreme Court in 2013 had given a verdict against the companies.
The pattern during these attempts is that the organized resistance of the people has kept the corporate-state nexus in check and their opposition to this model of development peddled by the ruling class apparatus in the name of “New India” highlights the importance of a people's model of development. Villagers from Kantamal, Banteji, Serambai and Bundel are already resisting similar attempts at forced Gram Sabhas like in Aliguna. It is of utmost importance to defend the democratic rights of the people and to immediately implement the PESA Act in this region.
Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) condemns the forceful Gram Sabhas in the region as well as the continuous attempts at illegal and undemocratic mining operations through police brute force in Majhingmali. FACAM demands the immediate stopping of all mining activities in Majhingmali and the immediate implementation of the PESA Act.
---
*Constituents: AISA, AIRSO, AIRWO, BASO, bsCEM, Collective, CTF, DSU, PLA, MAS, TUCI, VCF

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

On Teachers’ Day, remembering Mother Teresa as the teacher of compassion

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ It is Teachers’ Day once again! Significantly, the day also marks the Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta (still lovingly called Mother Teresa). In 2012, the United Nations, as a fitting tribute to her, declared this day the International Day of Charity. A day pregnant with meaning—one that we must celebrate as meaningfully as possible.

Gujarat minority rights group seeks suspension of Botad police officials for brutal assault on minor

By A Representative A human rights group, the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat, has written to the Director General of Police (DGP), Gandhinagar, demanding the immediate suspension and criminal action against police personnel of Botad police station for allegedly brutally assaulting a minor boy from the Muslim community.

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

Is U.S. fast losing its financial and technological edge under Trump’s second tenure?

By Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra* The United States, along with its Western European allies, once promoted globalization as a democratic force that would deliver shared prosperity and balanced growth. That promise has unraveled. Globalization, instead of building an even world, has produced one defined by inequality, asymmetry of power, and new vulnerabilities. For decades, Washington successfully turned this system to its advantage. Today, however, under Trump’s second administration, America is attempting to exploit the weaknesses of others without acknowledging how exposed it has become itself.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Counterview

Search This Blog