Survival International has a new short film on the way, entitled, “Mine: Story of a Sacred Mountain.”
Narrated by Indian-born actress Joanna Lumley, “Mine” tells the story of the Dongria Kondh tribe in Orissa, India, who are struggling to protect the Niyamgiri hills from an open-cast bauxite mine proposed by Vedanta Resources.
The Dongria Kondh regard themselves as the traditional caretakers of the hills, which they believe to home to their god, Niyamraja Penu. They say the hills must remain inviolate, and protected at all costs.
Without the Niyamgiri hills, the Kondh say, “there is no life for us.”
Here’s a short trailer for the film. If you want to be notified when the film has been completed, head over to Survival’s website.
Trailer: Mine – story of a sacred mountain
Background Information
- Tribe forms human chain to keep British company off sacred mountain
- Vedanta Tries to Enter Dongria Kondh Territory
- Tribe vows to fight mine with axes and arrows
- Voices from the Niyamgiri Hills
- Vedanta says no mining without tribe’s ‘permission’
- If I die – you die too
What You Can Do to Help
- Sign a petition, “Save Niyamgiri Mountain and its Tribal Community from Devastation“
- Write to the Prime Minister of India asking his government to safeguard the Dongria Kondh’s rights.
- Send an email to Vedanta demanding they respect the Dongria Kondh, investorrelations@vedantaresources.com
You may also want to contact directly some of the company’s investors. According to Mines and Communities‘ database on Questionable Funders, they include:
- Alliance Trust, AXA Investment Managers UK Ltd, Barclays PLC, BlackRock WMT, Citibank/Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Dexia, Fidelity Investments, Forrest Group, ING, INVESCO, JPMorgan,Legal and General Group PLC, Standard Life, TPG-Axon Capital Management LP, Volcan Investments Ltd (53.29% controlling stake), Wellington Management Company LLP