The FACAM-organised rally at Delhi University called for an urgent need for collective action against environmental degradation and the unjust displacement of marginalised communities across the country.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – The Forum Against Corporatisation and Militarisation (FACAM) organised a protest meeting against environmental exploitation and mass displacement here on Saturday.
The focal points of concern of the protest at Delhi University’s Arts Faculty here were the indiscriminate felling of trees in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo-Arand and the alarming cases of land grabbing of tribal farmers leading to mass displacement in Bihar’s Kaimur district.
Speakers at the event included Dr. Jitendra Meena Assistant Professor at Delhi University, Dr. Saroj Giri from DU’s Department of Political Science, and Dr. Nandita Narayan from St. Stephen’s College.
Dr. Meena shed light on the rapid displacement of tribals from their ancestral lands due to the growing interest of major corporations in initiating mining projects in resource-rich areas.
He highlighted the transformation of Hasdeo forests, once deemed a “no-go” zone, into an area now exploited for top businessman Gautam Adani’s mining projects following the change of government in Chhattisgarh.
Dr. Meena questioned the justification for displacing people under the guise of environmental protection and the establishment of tiger reserves like Kaimur through amendments to forest conservation and wildlife protection laws. He said displacement notices have been served on 108 villages in Kaimur, echoing similar situations in Rajasthan’s Kumbhalgarh, Karoli and Dholpur, where tribal farmers face eviction from their ancestral lands.
Dr. Giri emphasised the longstanding, undeclared war waged by the Indian State against tribal communities, evolving from Salwa Judum and Operation Green Hunt to the present Operation Samadhan-Prahar. He highlighted the people’s struggle against militarisation and corporate exploitation as a battle for their very existence, intrinsically linked to their land.
Dr. Narayan drew attention to the expanding scope of corporate plunder of resources and recalled Dr. G.N. Saibaba’s campaign against Operation Green Hunt. She underscored the State’s attempt to stifle dissenting voices, exemplified by Dr. Saibaba’s imprisonment.
The protest meeting, attended by constituent members of FACAM, called for an urgent need for collective action against environmental degradation and the unjust displacement of marginalised communities across the country.
