Home » Protest against Vedanta Resources in India

The Dongria Kondh are an indigenous tribe who have lived since time immemorial around the mountain Niyamgiri in the Indian state of Orissa. Because they revere this mountain as their god, it has not thus far suffered the deforestation and degradation experienced by similar areas in that part of the world but contains an elephant reserve with Sambar, Leopard, Tiger, Barking Deer, various species of birds and other endangered species of wildlife.

However now Vedanta Resources, a British (or perhaps Indian, not entirely clear) mining company, is set to destroy the forests, wildlife and way of life of the Dongria Kondh people. The Dongria Kondh have been struggling with all their might to protect their mountain but are being overpowered by the financial and political might of this multi-billion dollar company. In 2006, thousands of tribal people armed with bows and arrows came out to protest against the alumina refinery being set up by Britain's Vedanta Resources Plc. Local vociferous and effective protest continues to this day.
To support these local efforts, we believe that the key to stopping this from happening is for many people from around the world to write to the banks that finance Vedanta's operations and the UK's Department of International Development who have key roles to play to prevent this disaster from taking place.

Many groups from around the world have been campaigning to persuade Vedanta's shareholders and financiers to distance themselves from the company. As a result of their good work, the Church of England, the Norwegian government's sovereign pension fund and several other of Vedanta's shareholders have now sold their investments in the company, citing human rights concerns.

EI.