Public Lecture on Niyamgiri: The Last Stand of Niyamraja

Toxics Link’s Environment & Health Public Lecture Series

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The Last Stand of Niyamraja

In defense of their faith and our collective future, one of the world’s earliest indigenous groups, the Kondhs, in Orissa’s Niyamgiri are fighting to save the Niyamgiri Hills from being dug out for bauxite by a multinational mining giant.

This struggle has taken the voice of a small community that has lived a sustainable life for many generations from the pristine forests of Orissa to the head office of the company in London.

The Kondh tribal worship the mountain as their God and know that its perennial streams and bountiful forests have allowed them to live with dignity for thousands of years. This is in sharp contrast to their fellow tribesmen who live downhill — displaced, battered and poisoned by the pollution from the company’s refinery that is producing aluminum sourced from other parts of the country.

But the conveyor belts from the refinery have reached the foothills of the Niyamraja….The mountain will be turned into a massive pile of rocks, and the dust from these will be turned into chocolate wrappers.

Toxics Link invites all for a panel discussion on the rights of indigenous people and the so called need for development

Panelists:

  • Suma Josan, Indo-American film maker and Activist
  • Ritwik Dutta, Lawyer Activist
  • Bratindi Jena, Head of Tribal Rights work in Action Aid

Moderated by: Professor Virginius Xaxa, Sociologist

Date: 21st August 2009, Friday
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Venue : Conference Room I, India International Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi

(In collaboration with India International Centre)

For further information, please contact:
Pragya Majumder – pragya@toxicslink.org
T: 24320711, 24328006
E: info@toxicslink.org

Aastha Kukreti

Aastha Kukreti holds a Master’s degree in Environment Management and her areas of expertise range from waste management, pollution ecology, green audits, ecofeminism, environmental equity and social justice.

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