Supreme Court judgment - Vedanta loses

After four years of tracking the conflict between Vedanta Resources and the Dongria Kondh tribe about mining bauxite from the sacred Niyamgiri Hills I am glad to report that the Supreme Court has rejected the Appeal by Orissa Mining Corporation.

Dongria Kondhs at Khajuri village

In essence the tribe is to have the decisive say in whether any mining goes ahead and the Court has recognised the tribe's religious rights.  Evidence must be put before the Gram Sabha (the Village Council), which must reach a decision within three months.  As some form of protection the court has directed that the proceedings be attended by a judicial officer with the rank of District Judge. On the face of it this is a landmark victory for tribal people here and elsewhere as Amnesty asserts.  For a balanced summary I commend the news item at Survival International.

There is big money at stake here and sceptics like me will be concerned that there is plenty of scope for coercion, extortion, perjury, bribery even murder.  It is important that the spotlight remains on the next stages to ensure that there is an untainted conclusion.

Aunt Elsie's Spring Fling in Reading

Reading's Market Place was transformed on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th May. Under an elegant marquee about 20 designers, makers, recyclers, and publishers, showed and sold beautiful art, textiles, handmade gifts and books.  It was warm, sunny and jolly which the many visitors enjoyed.  It was good to see a public space used creatively.

There will be the Christmas Do from midday Thursday 5th, through Friday 6th and Saturday 7th December 2013. It was hugely popular last year so please make a note in your diary.

A visit to Bhuj, Kutch

I made a brief visit to Kutch before Christmas.  The main objective was to see the Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya (design school) and the end of year degree show.  Students put on a fantastic fashion show using professional models.  This was out in the open, well-lit and filmed.  The real surprise was that both the 500 MW power stations are now complete and operating.

Compare this picture with page 65 of my book about Kutch; the pastoral foreground has not changed for centuries but beyond the palm is a new road leading to Tata's coal-fired power station.  The pervasive fumes soon tickle throats. There was a Mela on the day after which gave visitors the chance to learn more about the textiles, techniques and chat with students including many Rabari women.  

Much work has been done to the Aina Mahal.  There is excellent new lighting in the once gloomy corridors and many paintings have been professionally cleaned.  Even the Prag Mahal has been reopened to the public.

A walk down Saraf Bazaar revealed that the lady owner of Senorita (p53) has sadly died last year but an old friend keeps the shop going .

Now on sale in India

Both books are now available at the famous specialist Art Book Center in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India and a place of pilgrimage for booklovers.
The book on Kutch is also on sale at Nalanda Bookshop in the Taj Palace Hotel, Mumbai
Otherwise they can be bought direct from Pipal Press and nowhere else.

A bit of colour

Sometimes B/W is not enough.  These fine lilies on the backwaters of Kerala open fully at night and close after dawn. Yes, there is a plastic bottle in the centre!
Happy New Year to all viewers.

Vedanta and Tribal Rights – Final Stages

When I started researching my book ‘Elusive India: tribes’ in 2009, little did I think that a couple of paragraphs on p 37 would touch on a major conflict that is likely to become an historic event.  It is time for a reminder and an update.      

            There are vast amounts of high-grade bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills in Odisha (formerly Orissa) and Vedanta Resources wants to mine this valuable asset.  Vedanta has already established a large operational refinery, recently shut, at Lanjigarh and violated various laws in the process. This resulted in a licence being rescinded in August 2010 by Jairam Ramesh, then Environment Minister, after the Saxena Report.  The indigenous Dongria Kondh tribe has lived here rightfully for millennia, and as animists hold the hills sacred.  With the support of international organisations the Dongria Kondh and the hills are safe for the time being .

            However the State owned Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) holds the mining lease and a 24% share in the joint venture with Vedanta Resources. OMC has appealed to the Supreme Court of India to have the 2010 decision overturned so mining can proceed. 

Elusive India: Kutch

This new book was launched in London at TransIndus in April 2012. It looks at the geology, a brief history, the people and places in this unique part of India.  It is a selective photo-documentary of Kutch just ten years after the devastating earthquake of 2001. There is a massive increase in various forms of development and the book suggests how these changes will affect the people.

There are 72 pages and 80 black and white images beautifully printed on fine quality paper by Calverts. Copies are available direct from Pipal Press for GBP 15 each plus postage and packing.  Also recently on sale in India - see post above.

Comments:

Michael Palin (author and traveller) -  His strong, beautifully composed black and white photographs and his concise, well-informed text give a vivid and easily digested insight into this remarkable corner of India.  (his) unpatronising and unpretentious style suits the material perfectly.  This is Kutch how I would like to remember it, and how I would like others to see it.

John Keay (eminent historian specialising in India) - I've read it with delight and can thoroughly endorse Palin's introduction.  You have a canny way of matching text and pictures, not just as to content but also as to style. It deserves to do well and I hope it does.

Bookface at Reading UK

On Sunday 14 October the Rising Sun hosted this Artists Bookfair, an annual event for those who don't compromise on quality and individuality.  A rare and eclectic mix of handmade books, one-offs, collectors' books and small scale authors and publishers.

 Pipal Press was there too.

"Elusive India: Kutch" the latest book by Michael Thomas did well and booklovers liked the new format for this emerging series.

Photographs by courtesy of Ross Hale

Elusive India: tribes

Copies of Elusive India: tribes - Chhattisgarh and Orissa are still available. It is a limited edition - a collector's item and mainly consists of photographs with informative text. Here are a few examples.

The book is a quality production with 48 hand sewn pages and 48 B/W photographs.  The cover price is now GBP 15 plus postage and packing.

It is NOT available from Amazon and other discount sellers.
The Art Book Centre, Ahmedabad, India stocks copies and please contact them direct.  For ALL other enquiries please contact Pipal Press.  Click on the blue highlight to send an email.

Michael Palin's comments

Michael Palin has sent these comments about Elusive India: tribes:

"I found it fascinating with short, sharp, sympathetic comments on the people in Orissa.  I particularly liked the fact that your comments were so unsensational and balanced, and the photos were equally clear and direct!

    It is important to have books like yours to help us understand what is going on in the Niyamgiri Hills and indeed other parts of Orissa.  It will be interesting to see whether the current wave of interest around Vedanta will be able to save the Dongria Kondh villages."

Voyeurism - 'human safaris'

The post above shows a group of Bonda women on the way to their Haat or weekly market. That was in 1999 when I was with a guide who had lived with them and could speak some of their language. Recently the Observer newspaper has been running articles about some tour operators promoting ‘human safaris’ to see these people and three firms have been charged with selling such tours ‘in an obscene manner’.

    Ten years later I was shocked by the large number of intrusive tourists, many of whom had no respect for these people, and snapped freely. The Bonda people I have met have been very friendly and talked about their lives since we had met before. There is much to learn about the egalitarian way in which tribal people live.

    My book was intended partly to inform and to encourage those who visit to do so ‘with greater awareness and some sensitivity’. So I am very pleased that the Observer is reaching a wider audience including the State of Orissa. Hopefully the State will not have to resort to more laws and banning cameras.

News - Michael Thomas FRGS

Michael Thomas has been admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.