Kalahandi, Orissa:
The Dongaria Kondh tribals from Kalahandi Orissa, became an international talking point among environmentalists. Their story mirroring the Naa'vi, the blue-skinned nature-loving aliens of the 2009 movie Avatar, who are massacred by greedy human miners drew much acclaim.
However, for the Dongaria tribe and its firebrand leader Lodo Sikaka, the repression is far too real. He alleges abuse and torture by none other than the law makers, the policemen.
"They said I had links with Maoists, I said no . They beat me up severely. To escape the torture I said yes they had come once to the village. They said they will kill me and cut my body to pieces if I did not agree to what they were saying," said Lodo Sikaka.
The marks on Lodo Sikaka's body say it all. Sikaka is leading the protests against Vedanta's mining project in Niyamgiri. He was kidnapped, allegedly by policemen in plainclothes on the 9th of August . Sikaka was tortured and forced to confess to Maoist links.
Incidentally, it was just the day after he had deposed before a Central panel and protested against allowing mining in the Niyamgiri hills, the abode of the tribals' Hill God, the Niyamraja.
"He's fighting to save his Niyam Raja, Niyamgiri and I think it is very much a conspiracy of the police administration and the state to suppress the people's movement in Niyamgiri and he has become a target," said Prafulla Samantray, an activist.
The three member NC Saxena committee which visited Niyamgiri recently has indicted the state government for allowing Vedanta to violate forest laws with impunity and has even accused it of collusion with the London-based company.
But not much has happened in reaction to the committee report. Under such circumstances, Lodo Sikaka and his men can only hope and pray that mining on the their sacred Niyamgiri is not allowed.