HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lingaraj Azad, popularly known as ''Azad Bhai'', is a dalit activist from the Indian state of
Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...
. He became notable for his activism in opposing
Vedanta Resources Vedanta Resources Limited is an Indian diversified mining company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest mining and non-ferrous metals company in India and has mining operations in Australia and Zambia and oil and gas opera ...
's bauxite refinery in
Lanjigarh Lanjigarh is a town in Lanjigarh Tehsil in Kalahandi district in Odisha State. Lanjigarh is 58 km away from Bhawanipatna and 430 km from Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The ...
and mining of Niyamgiri Hills that tribals say would displace thirty villages of Dongria Kondhs (the "Mountain Tribals") on top of the mountains.


Early life

Lingaraj Azad was born into a
Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
family in
Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...
, a state in eastern India.
Dalits Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...
are a diverse group of Scheduled Caste community in Orissa. Among dalits, his family more specifically belongs to the
Ganda Ganda may refer to: Places * Ganda, Angola * Ganda, Tibet, China * Ganda, the ancient Latin name of Ghent, a city in Belgium Other uses * Baganda or Ganda, a people of Uganda ** Luganda or Ganda language, a language of Uganda * ''Ganda'' and "Ga ...
caste.


Activism

Western Orissa is rich in natural resources and many government and private companies have appropriated land to build number of natural resources extracting factories. Due to lack of official documentation of the Tribals and repressed class people's community rights over the forests, mountains, rivers and land they have been unable to claim their rights on community properties. Anil Agarwal set up one of the world's largest aluminum smelting plants in the area, with a bauxite refinery at
Lanjigarh Lanjigarh is a town in Lanjigarh Tehsil in Kalahandi district in Odisha State. Lanjigarh is 58 km away from Bhawanipatna and 430 km from Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The ...
at the foothills of the Niyamgiri Mountains. Azad and his organization Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (Association for the Safeguard of Niyamgiri Hills) - says apart from causing massive displacement, the project will destroy the forests in the area. It will also affect the water sources and ecosystems, thereby threatening the environment and the very source of sustenance for indigenous peoples, it says . Anil Aggarwal's Vedanta on its part says that it does not want to grab local peoples land and is willing to negotiate with all stake holders. Azad counters that the subsistence tribal communities would receive will not survive the alienation from their native land and they cannot be compensated for such a loss. He has been jailed multiple times for his active involvement in the environmental movement. He participated in the ''yatra'' (Sanskrit for journey, used in the context of Indian politics to mean an "awareness campaign") conducted by the NAPM from Mumbai to Delhi against proposed mega-industrial corridor in 2013.


See also

* Kondha Tribals of Niyamgiri


References

*http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-11-01/news/34857888_1_niyamgiri-hills-niyamgiri-project-bauxite *http://www.foilvedanta.org/uncategorized/global-day-of-action-against-vedanta-draws-thousands-in-london-odisha-and-goa/attachment/picture-56/ *http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2012/08/aug28-03.htm *https://archive.today/20130218074932/http://www.cdca.it/spip.php?article1694&lang=it *http://www.cpimlnd.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/limit,5/limitstart,10/


External links


Lingaraj Azad: Real Avatar in real fight Niyamgiri
*http://www.tehelka.com/story_main52.asp?filename=Fw170412SACRED.asp {{DEFAULTSORT:Azad, Lingaraj People from Kalahandi district Activists from Odisha Adivasi activists Living people 1962 births