A Bold Mineral Extraction Narrative about Adivasis of Odisha Struggle

 

Out of This Earth

East India Adivasis and the Aluminium Cartel (Second Edition), Orient Black Swan. 2020. Second edition. Originally published in 2010.

Authors: Samarendra Das and Felix Padel

There already are few dozen reviews of this momentous book. Non-fiction book based on epic struggles over minerals underneath on land inhabited by indigenous people known as adivasis (first settlers) in Eastern State of Odisha in India. Within the local context these adivasis are known as Dongria. They share deep relationship with their beloved mountain -Niyamgiri - whom they worship as Nebaraja. Hence the discourse around midnight extraction is as much about spiritualism as it is of economics, Politics and ecology, if not more.

Book certainly contains expected brilliant analysis of the relationship between corporates-state nexus to hoodwink local people in surrendering their rights and entitlements over bauxite beneath. Additionally book foraged it's scope into two daring terrain. The first one is a critical scrutiny of NGO-corporate nexus to hijack the struggle agenda on ground which is rare and unconventional in books like this as these aspects often get pushed under the carpet of scholarly scrutiny to find its way in public domain. It's a form of extraction by itself that is rewarded with analytical attention it well deserves.

The second terrain is extention of scope of extractive analysis to countries in three more continents - Africa, Latin America and Europe. This makes book truly international in its scope with never vanishing shelf life as the issues raised in the book remains evergreen in its relevance and shine across national and continental boundaries.

From my personal experience I know that this book is not written from the insulated academic towers. Both Samarendra Das and Felix Padel are involved with the communities on ground connected with mining to varying degrees. I have had privilege of meeting them both during different period of time during their Goa visits.

My first interaction with Samaredra Das dates back to December 2006 over a phone call when he alerted me on directory of export data published by Goa Minerals Ore Exporters Association. When I purchased this costly document and perused it's pages I was shocked to see export heads details in it's pages which mention "including black". Mining industry was so confident of its illegal conduct of business that they were brazenly knowingly calculating it in columns! That led us to sit on day long demonstration at Azan Maidan, Panjim on 19 December 2007 and later in 2008 evolved into sustained organised efforts through founding of Goa Federation of Mines Affected People (GOAMAP) for two years.

Felix Padel visited Goa in 2009 and we had public meeting in Morpirla, Quepem. The village then was in the middle of agitation against bauxite mining proposals.

Samarendra continue to be involved with mining struggles in different countries in different continents. He and his team has been particularly focussed on exposing scams in the underbelly of Vedanta mining company. In 2010 the international efforts led to founding of "Foil Vedanta" whose consistent campaign ultimately led to its de-listing of this corporate entity from London Stock Exchange in 2018.

I appreciate the way Samaredra Das moves all over the continents including Goa to maintain his connect with those who are involved at the grassroots past quarter of the century. His operational principles of granularity and ground truthing has provided him with sustainability in honest and accountable relationship to the communities he is writing about. He is one example to cite always when it comes to how a scholar can intellectually contribute to the community defence with mind and heart.

This book is a must read for everyone working on extractive mining industry specially in India, and beyond too.

Sebastian Rodrigues 

Chennai NGT Judgement details on Honnavar Port

 

This Judgement has Total 27 pages...

Text of Supreme Court order on Honnavar Port

 

This Order was in response to legal challenge to Southern Zone, NGT Judgement dated 10 June 2025.

Theory of reading books!

 

Books are not made of paper; they are made of time, dreams, tears, and courage of thousands of people who lived before us. When you hold a book, you are not holding just 200 pages but 200 lives.

In today's world, everything is fast. Reels are 10 seconds, news is in headlines, friendship is in likes. But a book teaches you to slow down. It says, "Sit. Breathe. I will take you somewhere, but you have to walk with me."

A Book Never Leaves You

A phone will betray you when its battery dies. People will betray you when their time changes but a book never betrays you. You can keep it closed for 10 years, open it on the 11th year, and it will start from the exact same line where you left it, with the same love.

When you are sad at 2 AM, no friend will pick up your call but a book will. When you are alone in a new city, with no one to talk to, a book becomes your roommate, your family, your home.

It never judges. If you are poor, rich, dark, fair, topper, failure - the book talks to everyone in the same language.

The Book Sees You

In school, teachers taught us to read books. But no one taught us that books also read us.

A 10-year-old reads Harry Potter and sees magic.

A 20-year-old reads the same Harry Potter and sees friendship.

A 40-year-old reads the same book and sees sacrifice.

The book never changed. You changed. That is the miracle. A book is a mirror. You don't see the book, you see yourself inside it.

One Book Can Save a Life

We have all heard of doctors saving lives, but books also save lives. How many people who wanted to quit life, read one line - this too shall pass - and decided to live one more day?

How many lonely children found courage in comics? How many broken hearts found healing in poetry? How many poor boys found a new world because someone gave them a free old book?

A book is the cheapest ticket to travel the world. With Rs. 100, you can go to the ocean with a fisherman, to space with an astronaut, to a war with a soldier, and come back home for dinner.

Why We Are Losing Books

Today, we have information but not knowledge. We have data but not wisdom. We scroll 1000 posts a day, but we can't finish 10 pages of a book.

We say we have no time. But the truth is, we have no patience. A book demands patience. It doesn't give you the climax in the first 5 seconds. It builds you.

If you lose the habit of reading, you lose the habit of thinking deeply. And a society that cannot think deeply can be easily controlled.

My First Book

I still remember my first book. It was not costly. It's cover was torn. The pages were yellow. It was given to me by my school library teacher.

I didn't like it on day one. But on day three, I finished it at 1 AM under a small torch light because my home lights were off. I cried that night; not because the story was sad, but because I realized for the first time, someone who lived 100 years ago, wrote something that touched my heart today. That is immortality.

Since then, books became my addiction.

The Future of Books

Some people say, "Books will die, everything will be on mobile." Books will never die. The form may change - from palm leaves to paper to Kindle - but the soul will never die because humans will always need stories. We need stories to understand our own pain, to feel less lonely in this big universe.

Even after 1000 years, a mother will still read a storybook to her child to make him sleep. That is the power of a book.

Conclusion

So today, open a book. Any book. It can be a 10-page small story, a Bhagavad Gita, Qaran, Bible, a science book, or a comic.

Don't read the book to complete it. Read it to meet yourself because in the end, we will not remember how many likes we got, but we will remember that one book that changed us.

And if you have not found that one book yet, keep searching. Your book is searching for you too!

Apeksha R. Tandel

Just how much is enough?

In my artwork, an earth mover machine is shown drilling a hole into the land alongside colossal, fresh mango fruits. The fruits appear to be engaged in a poignant conversation. This imagery tries to nudge humanity's conscience about its relentless pursuit of progress, which has led to rampant concretization, technological advancement, and consumerism, ultimately threatening to annihilate our very existence. It poses a profound question: just how much is enough?

The artwork offers multiple layers of interpretation. The imposing, fresh, and healthy mangoes symbolize the resilience and cultural significance of indigenous communities, who cherish the fruit as an integral part of their heritage. The mangoes also represent these communities' bravery in resisting the destruction of nature, despite facing forced evictions and land acquisitions that cater to the interests of the wealthy and powerful. The mangoes' imposing size serves as a testament to nature's inherent power.

In the background, a stark strip mining landscape reveals the devastating consequences of iron ore extraction, underscoring the artwork's themes of environmental degradation and the clash between progress and preservation. The painting signifies the imminent threat to the land, as iron ore is transported away, leaving the land bereft of soil – the lifeblood of its people.

The mangoes hold a deeper significance, representing a universal love and appreciation that transcends socioeconomic boundaries. Both the rich and the poor, even those responsible for destroying the land, cherish the mango. However, this shared love is paradoxically overshadowed by the destructive forces of greed and the lust for wealth. This conflict highlights the struggle between those who seek to preserve the land for the benefit of all and those who prioritize profit.

Loretti Joyce Pinto

Travel through Sunderbans mangroves

Book: Paro of the Sundarbans (Paro & the Jungle)

Published: May 2023

Author: Vaishnavi Giri 

Illustrator: Pallavi Jain

Publisher: Karadi Tales 

For Age group: 4+ 

Number of pages: 36

In the vast mangroves of the Sundarbans, little Paro the mudskipper is lost. Far from her marshland home, she has to find her way back through a forest full of busy silver rhesus macaques, a scheming checkered keelback snake, a sinister terrapin, and the fierce, majestic tiger.

This is a beautiful nature-centric picture book. Vaishnavi Giri doesn't make it a preachy environmental lesson — she makes it an adventure. Children learn about a very unique ecosystem (mangroves, mudskippers, Sunderbans) while rooting for a tiny, brave hero.

The real star is the art. Pallavi Jain's watercolours make the Sundarbans leap to life — lush green, muddy, mysterious and alive. The long 14x7 inch format feels like you are travelling through the mangroves with Paro.

What I loved:

- A female protagonist who is small but courageous

- Introduces Indian wildlife beyond lions and elephants

- Perfect for read-aloud, rich vocabulary but simple story

- Production quality is excellent, as expected from Karadi Tales

For whom: 4-8 year olds, nature lovers, and for your library collection of Indian picture books. A great addition.

Rating: 4.5/5 — Short, sweet and visually stunning. Goes slow where it needs to.

Apeksha R. Tandel

The Fisherman and The Sea

The fisherman and the sea is not just a relationship, it is a story written by time itself. Long before farmers started farming and builders started building, there was a man standing near the water with a net in his hand. That was the first fisherman.

The Daily Life

The life of a fisherman is one of the hardest lives in the world. His day does not start at 9 AM. It starts at 3 or 4 AM, when it is still dark. He wakes up while his wife and children are still sleeping. He drinks his tea, checks his boat, checks his nets which he repaired the previous evening with his own hands. Then he goes to the sea or the river, like our Tungabhadra river near Koppal.

For a normal person, the sea is for holidays and photos. For a fisherman, the sea is his office. It is a place full of secrets. He can read the water. By looking at the color of the water, the direction of the wind, and the sound of the birds, he can say if today will be a good day or a dangerous day. No school taught him this. The sea itself taught him, and his father taught him.

The Struggle and The Lessons

His work is full of risk. Sometimes he goes 10 kilometers inside and catches nothing. Sometimes his net tears. Sometimes a big storm comes suddenly. Many fishermen have lost their boats, and some have lost their lives. But still, the next morning, he goes again. That is why we respect him.

A fisherman teaches us the greatest lessons for life:

1. Patience: In today's world we want everything fast. Fast food, fast internet, fast money. But a fisherman can wait for 5-6 hours just sitting silently with one fishing rod. He teaches us that good things take time.

2. Hard Work Without Guarantee: A software engineer works and gets a fixed salary. A fisherman works the hardest but there is no guarantee he will get anything. He teaches us to do our duty without worrying too much about the result.

3. Living With Nature, Not Against It: He never takes all the fish. Traditional fishermen like our people know to leave small fishes so they can grow. They know not to fish during breeding season. They are the real protectors of the river and sea.

4. Courage and Faith: To go alone into a huge sea in a small wooden boat needs unbelievable courage. And to go every single day believing that today will be a good catch, even after failing for a week, needs deep faith.

The Modern Problems

Today the fisherman's life is even more difficult. The water is polluted with plastic and factory waste. Big companies come with huge trawler boats and take all the fish with big machines. Due to climate change, the rains and winds have changed, and fishing has become more dangerous. The fish are becoming less and less.

Despite all this, he smiles. He comes back to shore, his children run to him, and whatever small catch he has, he shares with his family and neighbors.

Conclusion

In the end, the story of the fisherman and the sea is a love story. Sometimes the sea is angry, sometimes it is kind, but the fisherman never leaves her.

I feel so proud when I think of this. I am happy to be the daughter of a fisherman because my father is not just a man who catches fish, he is a brave man who fights with nature every day to feed his family with honesty.

This is why we should all respect fishermen. They feed the whole country.

Apeksha R. Tandel

When The Caged Bird Sings...

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 

This book is Maya Angelou's first autobiography, covering her life from age 3 to 16. It is one of the most powerful memoirs ever written.

The Story:

Young Maya and her brother Bailey are sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. There, in the deep American South, they face the brutal reality of racism - white people treating them as less than human. Maya is a smart, sensitive child who loves reading Shakespeare and Dickens, but the world around her constantly tries to break her spirit.

Later she moves to St. Louis, San Francisco and faces even deeper trauma, including assault. After that trauma, she becomes mute for almost 5 years. She believes her voice is dangerous. During this silent period, a kind teacher named Mrs. Bertha Flowers helps her fall in love with poetry and the spoken word again. That is when the caged bird begins to sing.

Why this book is so mportant:

On Racism: It shows racism not just as a big event, but as a daily insult - how it makes a child feel ugly and unwanted. Maya's journey is about reclaiming her beauty and blackness.

On Trauma and Silence: The most moving part is how Maya stops speaking and how she heals. It teaches us that silence can be a wound, but also a place where we grow.

On Womanhood: It is about a young girl becoming a young woman in a world that does not respect either. Her courage to become a mother at 16 and still graduate is inspiring.

Writing Style: Maya's language is like music. She writes simple scenes that feel like poems. You can feel both the pain and the humor.

Final Thought for a Talented Reader:

This book is for anyone who has ever felt caged - by people, by society, by self-doubt. It tells us: You may be caged, but you were still born to sing.

Your talent, your drawing, your crafting - that is your song. Don't ever stop singing it.

Rating: 5/5 - A classic that stays with you for life.

Apeksha R. Tandel

Sharavati river and the life of fishermen

 

Photo: Raju D. Tandel

I am very connected to the Sharavati River because during the rainy season, boat do not go to sea for three months, during that time small boats go in the Sharavati waters. The Sharavati River gives us fish during the rainy season. Like my mother, the Sharavati River, I don't want to lose it. The Sharavati River is our lifeline.

Sharavati is the lifeline of Honnavar. It originates at Ambuthirtha in the Western Ghats, creates the world-famous Jog Falls, and flows 128 km to meet the Arabian Sea at Honnavar in Uttara Kannada.

Where the river meets the sea, a very fertile estuary is formed. This estuary is everything for the local fishermen. For hundreds of years, around 6000 fishermen families from Tonka, Kasarkod, Mallukurva and Honnavar have depended on it for fishing, clam collection and women-led dry-fish business.

The health of the river is directly linked to the life of fishermen. When Linganamakki and Gerusoppa dams were built, the freshwater flow changed. The river mouth shifted 3.5 km to the north. Due to change in salinity, clams, mussels and special estuary fish decreased.

Now the big discussion is about HPPL - Honnavar Private Port Limited. The company has proposed to build a private commercial port right on the sand-spit where the river meets the sea.

Concerns of fishermen:

- Space for fishing: Fishermen have expressed concern that the breakwater built for the port may affect boat movement and fish breeding grounds.

- Coastal erosion: Experts say that if the natural movement of sand is obstructed, there is a possibility of increased erosion in Tonka and Kasarkod villages.

- Environmental sensitivity: This Tonka beach had several Olive Ridley turtle nestings and dense mangrove forests. In Honnavar, the dense mangroves are not exactly on the open beach - they are inside the Sharavati estuary behind the sand-split. It is important to maintain ecological balance.

What fishermen say is - "Along with development, our livelihood and environment should also be protected."

Currently discussions and legal processes are going on regarding this project, and everyone is focused on saving the Sharavati river and the sea.

Apeksha R. Tandel

When waste turned into secret garden at Chandigarh

 The Boy Who Built A Secret Garden: Nek Chand

by Lavanya Karthik - Duckbill / Dreamers Series (48 pages, 2020)

This is part of Duckbill's Dreamers series - short, illustrated biographies for young readers.

The Story:

Before he built a world-famous garden, Nek Chand Saini was just a boy in Barian Kalan village with a dream of home. He made his first garden from sticks, stones, clay, and bits of his sister's broken bangles - inspired by his father's stories and his mother's songs.

Then Partition in 1947 forced his family to walk for 24 days into India. He became a road inspector building Chandigarh - the new planned city designed by Le Corbusier for "rules and order, straight lines and hard edges". 

While building the new city, he saw how much was being thrown away. In 1957, in a secret forest clearing near Sukhna Lake, he started collecting that waste - broken pots, glass bangles, ceramic sinks, scrap - and turning it into kings, queens, gods, monsters and animals. 

For 15 years his 40-acre garden remained a secret. When the authorities discovered it, it was threatened with demolition, but the people of Chandigarh rallied to save it. Today it is open to public since 1976 and draws visitors from across the world. 

Why it works:

Theme: It's not just about art. It's about displacement, memory, and upcycling long before it was a buzzword. Each stone is a story of Partition.

Writing: Simple, warm and engaging. Lavanya Karthik keeps the focus on Nek Chand's imagination and perseverance.

Illustrations: Mosaic-style art that mirrors the Rock Garden itself - bright, textured, made of fragments.

Perfect to inspire kids that you don't need expensive materials to create something magical - you just need to see value where others see garbage. The book also beautifully tells the importance of following a dream and the transformative power of art. 

Rating: 4/5* - A must-read if you've ever been to Chandigarh's Rock Garden or want to introduce kids to sustainable creativity.

Apeksha R. Tandel