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
