A matter of choice

This is, perhaps, the first time that I am writing about something that concerns what I do for a living.

A bit of background. So, one of the companies that I track as an analyst is Sterlite Industries. Now, Sterlite's Aluminium refinery has been shut for over half a year now because they ran out of economically useful Bauxite. For some years now, they have been looking to mine Bauxite from Niyamgiri Hills in Odisha and, to do so, have sought requisite approvals. In 2010, the Ministry of Environment and Forests had decided that their forest approval be quashed as the area in question is home to tribal communities. Ever since, the court battle has been on, and only in April last the SC finally decided to let the tribals take the decision themselves. They vote and, based on that, the Ministry decides. Seems this is as fair as things get.

Twelve Sabhas (conventions) are to be held as part of the process, three of which are already over. Unanimous voice - No mining atop the Niyamgiri Hill. Reason? Niyam Raja or the Lord of the Mountains is sacred to the Tribals and they will not tolerate anyone touching his abode for their gains. For the sake of this piece, I will discount the fact that such votes are often dominated by the opinion/influence of a few people who may or may not have a vendetta against the concerned company.

My question is - Do these people even know the import of the exercise? How many of them, for example, would understand the importance Aluminium production bears for the progress of the nation? How many of them are really aware of their being part of the Indian nation? Is it an issue of religious belief or is it the paranoia of private companies always deemed to be 'evil' in their intent? Let's say the Bauxite mining will spoil their current habitat and knowing this, Sterlite offers these people a house and employment opportunities to some members of the family. The decision sounds like a no-brainer, right? Yet, these people, apparently, are choosing a life of ignorance and hardship, cocooning themselves in the face of an alien force.

But is it really this simple? Is one way of life decidedly "better" than the other? Coming from the seemingly uneducated tribals the attachment to a sacred hilltop might seem ridiculous. But do our educated folk know better? Do we know better? All of us have had one silly, inanimate thing we feel a divine connection with, and would do anything to protect it. Maybe, it is this hill for the tribals.

The answers to these questions might never be understood. All I hope is the communities know what they are or are not signing up for? It is sad to see when little-knowing groups of people take decisions under the influence of a handful of manipulators, vehemently fight it out for these decisions to come through and end up losing everything they had or could have had. Hope the Dongria and Kutia Kondhs don't meet this fate.