Trying to criminalise protesters seems a standard operating procedure in dealing with anti-displacement struggles in Orissa and beyond.
They captured national attention during their nerve-wracking stand-off with the police barely a fortnight ago over the Orissa State's forcible acquisition of their land for POSCO. Today, Dhinkia and Govindpur villages seem, on the surface at least, quite relaxed.
“That,” says Abhay Sahoo, smiling, “is partly because the 24 platoons of police which came here to throw us out have been busy with the Jagannath rath yatra in Puri (where they beat up the priests). They were needed there for some days.” Sahoo is the main leader of the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) that is fighting the land acquisition. Another reason for the lull, he says, is that “after they messed up in June, the Orissa government might worry about a new embarrassment. That too with a Parliament session just days away.” Hence the pause in the conflict. Anti-POSCO villagers won the last round, both on the ground and in the media. But, as they see it, the police serve Lord Jagannath's wooden rath for only two weeks. “Their commitment to Posco's steel rath is round the year. They'll be back.”
The returning police will meet a stubborn people. Quite determined to resist the State government's takeover of their farmland for the South Korean giant's proposed integrated power and steel plant and captive port. The project would also allow for the mining of 600 million tons of iron ore.
The vineyards
People here are among Orissa's better off agrarian communities. The betel vine (pan leaf) economy is central to their well-being. There are 1,800 vineyards in the project zone in official count. Betel farmers here put the number at 2,500. About a thousand of them in Dhinkia and Govindpur. The daily wage rate is Rs.200 or more plus a good meal. That's the highest in the State's agrarian sector, higher than what construction workers in Bhubaneswar get and close to twice Orissa's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) rate. It can go up to Rs.450 plus a meal for specific tasks in the vineyards. A tiny vineyard on a tenth of an acre can produce 540 labour days or more in a year. That's apart from 600 days of family labour. Some landless workers earn even more by being fishermen as well. That source of income collapses if POSCO's captive port comes up at Jatadhari. So locals mock the claim of projects bringing jobs, pointing to labour shortages and no major demand for employment. In all classes, even amongst traders, most are unwilling to lose their livelihoods for a project they find destructive and a compensation they see as meaningless.
Cases and warrants
Below the calm surface is a larger tension flowing from the State's way of dealing with the anti-POSCO struggle. With multiple cases filed against large numbers of people — and countless warrants issued — several have been unable to go out of these villages for five years. “Many can't attend close family weddings in other villages. They can't visit very ill siblings or parents,” protestors at the “human wall” guarding Dhinkia and Govindpur against police told us. This has fostered a state of siege feeling.
Abhay Sahoo has 49 cases filed against him and spent 10 months in Choudwar Jail while fighting them. “In all,” he says, “over a thousand people here have had 177 cases filed against them for resisting POSCO.” Trying to criminalise protesters seems a standard operating procedure in dealing with anti-displacement struggles in Orissa and beyond. Barely a hundred kilometres away in Kalinganagar is Rabi Jarika, leader of the tribal resistance to acquisition of land for a Tata steel plant. “I couldn't leave my village of Chandia in years. The police had slapped 72 cases on me under every section you can name.”
Jagatsinghpur district's Superintendent of Police S. Devdutt Singh attacks the PPSS' count as “utterly false. There may be,” he told us on the phone from Delhi, “200-300 troublemakers against whom there are cases. Cases have also been filed by those harassed by the PPSS, including 52 families they drove out forcibly. And if there are innocent people fearing arrest if they step out, they may have been misled by the PPSS.”
2005 MoU
Back in Dhinkia, Sahoo seems to be right about the present calm. While pouring rain was the reason advanced for a lull in the land battle, political embarrassment seems a more potent one. The latest is the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights' asking the State “to withdraw police forces sheltered in schools meant for the education of children” in the project area. Critics point out that the government is forcibly acquiring land for a project whose memorandum of understanding (MoU) expired a year ago. The 2005 MoU between the State and the corporation gave POSCO the mineral at way below market prices. Top government sources say “the renewal is likely in 15 days.” But the lack of an MoU has not stopped the State from moving to acquire 4,004 acres of land for the project. Roughly half of that is in Dhinkia and Govindpur.
Priyabrata Patnaik, CMD of the Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and the officer-in-charge of all land acquisition, declares: “It is not mandatory for us to have an MoU to acquire land. We have acquired and allotted over 9,000 acres for industries which have no MoU with the State.”
The Orissa government Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik told TheHindu, “We are acquiring only government land. Most of it here is forest and we will not take private land (which is a small portion of the total).” The vineyards,” he insists, “are fairly recent.” Villagers, however, point out that survey records show betel farms existing in 1927. “And we have been here even longer,” says Gujjari Mohanty at her vineyard. She is past 70 and has been “engaged in this work from an early age.”
Devdutt Singh asserts: “Of seven villages in the project zone, things have moved smoothly in all except Govindpur and Dhinkia, where there is resistance. Even in Govindpur, I believe the majority are not with PPSS, only in Dhinkia they might be. Right now, we are clearing the work in the first five. Then we will go on to the others. There is no war here. We will do our job. But I cannot discuss how many platoons we have there or our plans.”
He is right that there is no war here — in that one set of combatants is totally unarmed. But when the police do move in on Dhinkia and Govindpur, POSCO's steel rath might run into that human wall.
@ Dilu Panda and Jitu Mishra.. It surprises me about how little they know of P. Sainath, or they wouldn't have implied he was some 'arm chair activist'. PS travels more than 300 days in a year to the poorest parts of this country... more that any of these ignorant people who question his so called 'activism'. It's not activism, it's 'journalism'. You may not recognize this as journalism obviously, because that's come to be associated with the tripe you see on most mainstream media. How would these two gentlemen feel if they were thrown out of their houses, if their children were thrown out of their schools in the name of development? The tragedy of this country is that we have so few Sainaths and so many educated ignorants.
The reaons for the agitations are not far to seek. If tonnes of gold deposits are found under Sahid Nagar or Kharvel Nagar in Bhubaneswar city and if the government takes a decision to hand over the land to an MNC for mining gold, how would the babus there respond? We are here for decades together, our ancestors built these houses, our children are studying in the local schools, we are working in the offices here, all our relations live here etc etc. The answers are as simpler as that for these poor farmers who eke out a decent but modest livelihood. We should undersatnd and respect that sentiment with a semblance of common sense.
Dilu panda - I don't know where you get your ideas from but if you read the article and understand the overall situation you will learn that firstly, the project is to be run by a South Korean MNC. The profits of which will be transferred out of the country. Secondly, the land is being sold at a price much lower than the actual rate which once again shows that our corrupt politicians are making off with loads of black money. Thirdly, the people living in these areas are being kicked out of the homes and lands for a pittance. It is not that they are being offered fat salary packages in the company which they are not taking. The land take-over will not only affect their livelihoods but change their way of life. This in-turn creates a feeling of hatred among the locals and gives rise to violent movements such as the Naxalites/Maoists. What they want is for the govt to help them improve their lifestyle and infrastructure but if the govt can't do that then they just want to be left alone.
When 'development' becomes the 'cause of poverty' through 'displacement and dispossession of those in whose name it is justified' (i.e. the poor and the marginalized of society),we need to revisit what we mean by development and ask if this 'development' is perhaps the 'problem' and not the solution it claims to address. Who is this development really for? At whose expense will it be undertaken (the wealthy and comfortable)? In a state where 80% or more live off the land and the forests,can we afford to displace and dispossess people in the name of this kind of 'development'? Where does the wealth from such 'development' go? To the betel farmers and landless peoples of the state? Are 'ways of life' (culture) up for sale and simply a matter of compensation? We know the answers to these questions-think and act! This process has been played out historically and globally--let us learn from this and put an end to colonial relations (internal and external).
@Dilu panda- at least read the full article then write. So when POSCO says they want to set up their industry,sure they can. Then why not give the farmers / displaced people 50% of the profit. It's as simple as that - they are using the farmer's land to set up industry then why not give them 50% share in profits.Isn't it a legitimate bare minimum demand? But,POSCO like any other greedy organization wan't to take up the profit without giving a single penny to farmers.
I do feel that, now we are in a 'localonial' period. Around 250 years of British called colonial so now its 'Localonial'. The days of British's just asked to pay TAX but now our great blood sucking leaders asking LANDS.I really don't know what to say.
Another precise piece of reporting of problems of people whose land is being forcibly acquired. The Odisha Government is insensitive towards intersts of the farmers and protecting only corporate interests.
Some of them commented that this project develops Odisha. I donno how much is it true...but development at what cost? Who has given them the right to take livelihoods of tribal people? If the same thing happens to us and our family taking away our livelihood, would we resist or keep quiet and give statements that this is for development.One more thing I wanted to point out here who are the main stake holders involved in the project a group of capitalists and their urge to earn profits.Why would people resist if they would have got a very good rehabilitation which is worth than what they are enjoying currently. Stop crusading on our own people.
Why government is acquiring land to start a project by destroying another successfully run project? They should acquire land for POSCO project in some other place where land is in no use. India is having lot of such land area.
Just another example of the way things are done in this country where there is no voice and support for the poor and trampled from the Govt side.
This is one-sided view from an activist. I wonder why there are only children in the human defense, not youth, who are better decision makers. The innocence of children are tapped by their vested interested parents. We need investment, because the agrarian economy cannot support the economic growth. Today what is considered fertile land may not be there tomorrow. The climate fluctuation is going to affect the traditional agricultural practice. We need better solutions for the survival of subsistence people. Only investment like POSCO can bring changes.
Another nice piece by Sainath in Hindu, depicting plight of tribal of Orissa for grabbing their lands for Posco to set up steel plant! Orissa govt has lodged many cases against tribal farmers in many villages for protesting against possession of lands by officials by force. However, there is lull before storm as armed forces are currently deployed to manage Lord Jagannath rathyatra! Strangely, Orissa govt claims that Posco has been given govt land to set up industries! Forest lands are under possession and ownership of tribal in concerned villages and they are farming lands for hundred of years by predecessors and successors-govt falsely claiming lands and has given to Posco - and rightly tribal are protesting. There are huge areas under betel vines , being cropped by farmers in concerned land.Govt ruined their vines, houses , other crops in lands and started taking possession. In process, force were used and protesting tribal assaulted. Protest continues! Naxals may intervene! www.kksingh1.blogspot.com
What form of government governs the society when anarchy tramples the very ideals of democracy.
The Orrisa framers’ struggle is a one of a kind of non-violence movement. In those days what the British did to Gandhian movement of non violence the same and shame things happened here by the cops to the public. And these kind of land acquisition is happening throughout our country.. But its not exposed by the media.. But the people of Orrisa attracted the media by there human wall. I hope these kind of struggles should be exposed through the end..
There is a massive magnitude of bankrupcy and anti-people agenda inherint in the neo-liberal policies of the state and central goverment. Here is a chief minister of a state who takes pride in repeating a Kalinganagar saga. This morally corrupt state government should first withdraw platoons stationed in primary and secondary schools. Democratic credentials of this goverment seems to have vanished in thin air - after all the bribe it has been fed with will not blur its commmitment to that 'steel Rath'.
The writing from Sainath is on expected lines that of a activist, who stay in AC houses in Bombay and do not want any development of our Odisha. They want Odisha to keep on exporting iron ore with value addition being done in western parts of India, where they can led a cushy life. People like Sainath are a curse for our state and do not want any development of odisha.
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