A tiny tribe in India stands in the way of a $1.7 billion project and a mountain of aluminum ore

In a remote corner of eastern India’s Odisha province, some of the country’s most marginalized people are deciding whether a $1.7 billion bauxite mining project should be allowed on their land.

It is an unusual exercise in the world’s largest democracy where big corporations regularly domineer disapproving locals. And the early signs aren’t encouraging for the London Stock Exchange-listed Vedanta Resources, which is hoping that the tribes of this region, particularly the population known as the Dongaria Kondh, agrees to its proposition.

Vedanta wants to mine the rich bauxite (aluminum ore) reserves atop the Niyamgiri hills, spread across Odisha’s under-developed Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, but these picturesque, forested mountains are held sacred by tribes like the Dongaria Kondh that depend on it for their religion and the place they call home.

That is why in the first three village hearings that will decide the fate of the mining project, as directed by India’s Supreme Court in April, there has been near-complete rejection of Vedanta’s plans for Niyamgiri.

On July 19, the Dongaria Kondhs of Serkapadi village denied Vedanta permission, followed by those from Kesarpadi on July 22 and the villagers of Tadijhola on July 23. There are nine more meetings due to be held in the villages surrounding the Niyamgiri hills.

“The Niyamgiri is our revered God; we have been worshiping it for thousands of years,” said Gobind Sikaka, a Kondh from Serkapadi on July 19, “If anybody takes away Niyamgiri hills from us, it will undermine our religion and faith and the Dongaria Kondh tribe will perish.”

For the Dongaria Kondh, this isn’t the first taste of Vedanta Resources’ plans and promises. Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL), a subsidiary company of the FTSE 100 Vedanta Resources, already operates a 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) aluminum refinery in Lanjigarh, at the foot of the Niyamgiri hills. It wants to expand this into a five MTPA facility. Therefore, the demand for more raw material, much of it available in close proximity and easy to extract.

But in 2010, VAL drew severe flak from India’s federal environment ministry, which said the company (pdf) was not only in “illegal occupation of 26.123 ha (hectares) of village forest lands” in Lanjigarh, but had also begun its expansion project “without obtaining environmental clearance.” Moreover, the ministry denied VAL environment and forest clearance for the mining project, despite previous approvals.

Meanwhile, protests against the mine, which had begun early that year, grew so strong that the Church of England sold its stake in Vedanta Resources. The Church, which reportedly has an investment portfolio of about £5.5 billion ($8.4 billion), said that it was “not satisfied that Vedanta has shown, or is likely in the future to show, the level of respect for human rights and local communities” that it expected.

Not long after, state-owned Orissa Mining Corporation, which partners with VAL in the Niyamgiri project, challenged the environment ministry’s decision in India’s Supreme Court.

In an 81-page order on April 18 this year, the court said that, among other issues, the religious rights of the Niyamgiri tribes “has to be preserved and protected” and called for gram sabhas (village meetings) to take a call, before informing the environment ministry of their stand.

Whether they can win will depend not only on a few of India’s much-ignored tribes, but also the authorities’ ability to hold free and fair hearings. That is often easier said than done, especially with so much at stake.

Delhi University, India: Law student charged with cyber stalking

A Delhi University law student has been accused of stalking and threatening a woman online. He also created her fake profiles on social networking sites to defame her.

The woman, from Vasco-da-Gama, Goa, has lodged a complaint with Delhi Police alleging the accused has been harassing her for over a year now. She said the law student has been making obscene phone calls and sending threatening emails.

The victim, while working in Delhi last year, became acquainted with the accused. "He asked her to marry him. She alleged that when she refused, he assaulted her at Sarita Vihar. He also threatened to kill her," said a senior police officer. "She also lodged a complaint with the Sarita Vihar police in July last year. After this, he apologized and promised not to bother her in future," the officer said. The accused had reportedly given a written statement to police that he will not stalk her. After this, she withdrew her complaint.

The victim then moved to Goa to live with her parents. But soon after she left Delhi, the accused created her fake profiles on social networking websites. He then uploaded photographs on these sites and declared her to be his wife. "The accused also impersonated the victim online and made contact with her friends through these profiles," the officer said. The girl's marriage was called off due to this.

A case under Section 66-A of Information Technology Act was lodged at the Economic Offences Wing on Wednesday. In her complaint, the victim has stated that "she is a victim of cyber stalking and identity theft which has created grave problems for her and her family".

Senior officers said the accused will be questioned and soon arrested.

Spanish woman raped in Pushkar, India

It very shameful thing to happen to any woman in the world. We should protest just as we protest for any girl raped in India. We don't see much comments on this story as if it is normal for a spanish. No matter how modern she must be. it hurts really bad when anyone forcibly puts a woman in that situation.

UP: Minor raped, found dead in police station

Shocking Video: Horror in Uttar Pradesh, India: Girl stabbed in the eye resisting rape

Venkateswara Swamy shape on Tirupati hills

A 21-year old air hostess allegedly set herself ablaze on Thursday night in a house she shared with a colleague

 A 21-year old air hostess allegedly set herself ablaze on Thursday night in a house she shared with a colleague, in Hunasamaranahalli in Yelahanka police limits.

Asha Mohammed Ali poured kerosene and lit herself when she was alone. Preliminary investigations led police to believe that she took the step after breaking up with her lover.

Hailing from Thrissur, Kerala, she worked with Air India-SATS for the past year.

Her colleague, Sowmya, with whom she shared the house, tried to contact Asha several times that evening, but there was no response. When Sowmya returned home around 10pm, she found the door locked. She summoned her landlord, who opened the apartment with a spare key. They found Asha lying dead.

Yelahanka police, who got a call from her colleague Sowmya, rushed to the spot and registered a case based on her complaint. Police suspect that she was dejected after her lover spurned her. "This could be the reason why she took the extreme step. She did not leave a suicide note, so we cannot confirm it," police said.

Investigations revealed that Asha had fallen in love with a person identified only as Manu, about who she spoke often to Sowmya. Their parents opposed their relationship as they belonged to different communities. Police said Asha fell into a depression, and may have decided to end her life. "We did not find any suicide note in the house. But we questioned her relatives and friends, who admitted that she was in love with a certain man. Both sets of parents opposed the marriage, so we suspect this could be the main reason," an officer said.