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Paper short abstract:

Kalahandi if full of bauxite ore in its mountain region. Also these areas are inhabited by indigenous tribal people. With neoliberal policy state intends to mine those areas with the help of MNC but faces severe protest and resistance from the indigenous tribal people. This paper discusses the case of Lanjigarh in Orissa from the field data.

Paper long abstract:

Orissa is made to known to the national imagination through the discourse of poverty and malnourishment. In fact in the last few decades, it has become almost a synonym for 'Hunger' and 'Poverty'. The tribal region is rich in natural resources. Timber, mine ores, water streams, and other natural entities are qualified and documented, according to the possible value generating possibility.

So a mega project, the Vedanta Aluminium Company, which has ventured into mining, in collision with the state is on a spree to buy the natural resources. Their promise is to offer the conversion of Lanjigarh into London, by their very magic of private investment.

The struggle of the tribals is to protect their livelihood and habitat, For Adivasis, mountains are spiritual entities, at the apex of the natural order that sustains them. They are spiritually attached to their lands. The paper thus looks into different articulations of life styles by tribals who see it as their homeland, and also by the functionaries of the state and the MNCs who envision the possibilities of creating a dreamland for Adivasis by converting their socio economic life as merchants, factory workers and coolies with proper monetary systems for exchange. This paper also discusses the struggle by the Dongria Kondhs to protect their Lord of law that is Niyamgiri. This paper intends to compare pro company and anti company movement in the Lanjigarh area of Kalahandi in its final analysis.