Paper short abstract:

Indigenous rural women in India, particularly in Odisha (eastern State) have demonstrated in the last decade their strong resistance against the hegemonic state and its neo-liberalist policies.

Paper long abstract:

The question is not whether indigneous rural women have lost or won, but the fact that they have been able to keep their struggles and resistance alive in a highly hostile environment, where they are faced with the double disadvantage of patriarchy and a degrading and dwindling indigenous resource base is important to understand. Both print and online media have extensively reported on the resistance movements by indigenous peoples. Relying on our interviews with selected women leaders coupled with such available material, the paper focuses on two resistance movements in Odisha, centered on the imposition of state's effort to take away the land of the indigenous people and deprive them of their traditional livelihood by introducing national and multinational corporations. These mega companies have made inroads to the indigenous (for extraction of minerals and natural resources) lands. Despite several laws/Acts that allow autonomy to protect indigenous lands and natural habitat, they have been systematically violated by the state in the name of eminent domain and benefit for the larger good of the society. It has caused terrible devastations to the natural habitats these indigenous people have occupied for a long time. The nature and forms of resistance, manifested through grassroots activism has created oppositional spaces and practices that clearly seek to delegitimize the present state interventions. Women strenuously argue for their right to self-determination to reclaim their lands and livelihood, which is location-based knowledge(s) and experience. The production of such an alternative space provides a strong foundation to the identity of indigenous women and their sustained activism.