Criminalization of Indigenous Activism: The Fight for Justice in Odisha

New Delhi: The Mulnivasi Sewak Sangh, which has been crusading against illegal mining in the Niyamgiri and the Sijimali hills, held a press conference in New Delhi. The organization attacked the corporations for plundering natural resources in the State of Odisha. MSS also targeted the government for repressing the struggle of Adivasis and not developing the region. The press conference was addressed by several civil rights activists who alleged that there has been a deliberate campaign orchestrated to weaken and criminalize these indigenous struggles.

UAPA Against Nine Members for Demonstration

Giving details about the repression by the administration, the press release said that the police had invoked the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), 1967, against nine Dalit-Adivasi leaders of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS) after they protested against the abduction of three NSS members, who were picked up unceremoniously by the cops and were untraceable for two days. The police released one member, Bari Sikoka, due to the pressure, but lodged FIRs against nine members with false allegations. Upendra Bhoi, who, along with British Kumar, had addressed the protestors and then went home, was "kidnapped by the police" on August 10th.

Mass FIR Lodged to Deter the Villagers

Subsequently, the release said that in the continued streak of repression and subjugation, FIRs were registered on the 5th, 6th, 8th, and on the 13th of August, 2023, when an FIR was registered against more than 150 people under the Arms Act. The FIR was lodged a day after the staff of the Maithri company went to Sijimali Hilltop and began the work of forest cutting and surveying. This had prompted the villagers to seek proof of permission from the company's staff. The company representatives had given a written assurance and left. But the following day, the police registered false cases under the Arms Act for this incident against more than 150 people who were not present. There have been 22 arrests in this case, with the last arrested person being Dibakar Sahu of MSS.

Government Failed to Provide Basic Amenities

Madhusudan, an IIT alumni, said that the purported assertion of the government that they want to develop this region is laughable, as the government has failed to provide basic health and sanitation facilities to the people.

Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023 seeks to Dilute the Influence of the Gram Sabha.

The release also alleged that the recent amendments made to the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023, are aimed at circumventing the gram sabha consent, mandatory for commencing and other developmental activities in Scheduled Areas, and encourage private plantation. They alleged that Vedanta has been pumping money to empower goons in the region.

The Mulniwasi Samajsevak Sangh placed the following demands before the Media.

1. Repeal of the Forest Conservation Amendment Act, 2023, which presents an existential threat to the lives and livelihoods of indigenous communities of Southern and Western Odisha.

2. The Odisha Police should stop working as henchmen for corporations, immediately cease police violence, and withdraw false cases against those peacefully protesting against the deprivation of their homelands. More importantly, remove additional police forces from the villages around Niyamgiri, Kashipur, Sijimali, and stop creating terror among Adivasis and Dalits.

3. From August 5th, 2023, to September 18th, 2023, the state government and the police should publish a list of those grassroots activists who were abducted in plain clothes by the police, where and why they were kept, and after how many days the police released them.

4. Full-scale judicial inquiry into the violation of the rights of the accused – including but not limited to the right to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, the right to inform a family member of the arrest, and the right against custodial torture.

5. Recognition of Community Forest Rights and Individual Forest Rights of the villagers to their forests as mandated under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

6. Make provisions for clean drinking water and sanitation in these villages, which suffer from Cholera epidemics every year, even in this day and age.

7. The central government and the state government should stop the land acquisition work until the protesters are released, until the false case is withdrawn, and until this case is heard in the first-track court. First, the Gram Sabha must consent, and a public hearing should take place to accomplish the mining projects.

8. The President of India should take notice and express concerns over the criminalization of indigenous people in her native state of Odisha.

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