Indian Government Permits British Company to Mine Tribe's Sacred Mountain

The Indian government decided to permit the British company Vedanta Resources to build an open-pit mine on the Dongria Kondh tribe's sacred mountain in Orissa, India. This week, protesters from the indigenous rights group Survival International targeted the Indian High Commission in London.

The Niyamgiri Hills are home to more than 8,000 Dongria Kondh who "lead a self-sufficient life, nurturing the forest-covered region and relying on it for their food, culture, and medicines," writes ActionAid UK, an international development organization. "They also worship the mountain as their god."

"The mine would devastate the ecology of the region and spell the end of the Dongria Kondh's independent way of life, polluting the streams and destroying the forests they rely on," adds Survival International. "Ill health, misery, and destitution already afflict many hundreds of other Kondh people in the area, thanks to the Vedanta [bauxite] refinery at the base of the Niyamgiri hills."

Many people have already lost their homes due to the construction of the refinery and, continues Survival, "the Orissa government's pollution control board has ruled that chemical emissions from the refinery are 'alarming' and 'continuous'."

Survival International has made a ten-minute film called "Mine: story of a sacred mountain" about the situation.