The annual festival is being organised in a bigger way since the anti-Vedanta agitation by the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti(NSS) gained momentum. From last year the significance has become more as the village Gram Sabhas totally turned down Vedanta’s design to mine bauxite during the public hearings held in 2013. It became the victory of the voice of the people and the Festival reflects this spirit.
For those interested to attend, the vehicles have to come 10 kms from Lanjigarh to Ijirupa (in the forest at the foothill where there is a small village consisting of just a handful of huts; one of the Vedanta hearings took place here) to park themselves. From here the steep and arduous ascent starts for the hilltop ( Srinubhati, Amolabhati) which is surprisingly a vast and flat tabletop, a characteristic of mountains with bauxite reserve and it provides the ideal ground for the Festival.
The documentary “The Referendum’’ on the Gram Sabha hearings on Vedanta produced by NGO ‘Samadrusti’ was released (screened for the first time) at the Festival on 21st night.
Dongria leader, Lada Sikkaka , was the central figure at the Festival. He made all arrangements for fooding and the Puja/rituals .He reiterated that the Dongria Kondhs and the Jharnia Kondhs are in no way prepared to give their hill, land and water at any cost. He was also very caustic about the arrests of innocents made in the recent past citing Maoist linkages.
The 21st and 22nd mornings saw the customary Niyam Raja Puja to be followed by animal sacrifice to please the Niyam Raja god (the jungle itself is taken as the God). The rituals of the Puja are unique to these tribals . Then the NSS arranged for a symbolic joint burning of the Land Acquisition Ordinance document as a message of protest. The tribals and activists, at the end of the three-day Festival, together resolved that they would continue to oppose the “pro-corporate” Ordinance till it is withdrawn. The activists announced a State-wide agitation against the Ordinance that they said goes against the Forest Rights Act rendering the Gram Sabhas powerless.
“The Dongria Kondh tribes in Niyamgiri have struggled a lot for years to seek justice from the government and Supreme Court, which finally resulted in Gram Sabha concept. It was hailed as a great victory in India and abroad. However, many corporate houses, who used to control the successive governments for decades, did not take it lightly and hatched a conspiracy to force the new government to bring a new ordinance with amendments to the previous law.The Land Acquisition Ordiance’ 2014 is very dangerous and has threatened the very existence of poor tribals across the country. The provisions will make the rich super rich and the poor will be finished forever. The Industries and Corporates will easily take over the land, forest and water resources, while the tribals will be driven out of their land. The 5th and 6th schedule of the ordinance may result in the extinction of many tribes. In 2013, the old land acquisition law helped the Dongria Kondh tribes to fight back hard and defeat the evil design of Vedanta by giving a massive mandate against the land acquisition in Gram Sabhas.
On 22nd, around mid day, the Niyam Raja Puja was also held at Ijirupa on the foothills. The arrangements were made by NSS President,Kumuti Majhi. Present on the occasion was former Congess Kalahandi MP, Bhakta Charan Das and Prafulla Samantara, famous Human Rights activist of NAPM. Reminiscing back, as the Kondhs danced to the rhythm of their tribal beats, the serene Niyamgiri Hills came to life and one had to appreciate the ethos of life and struggle of these simple yet brave Kondhs, for whom mother Nature is their cradle and the Forest their God.