Mission Saranda: A War for Natural Resources in India (Bihar-Jharkhand: Deshaj Prakashan, 2015), by Gladson Dungdung, pp. xxxiv + 244, ISBN 978-81-908959-8-9, Price Rs. 300.00.
 |
| Mr. Gladson Dungdung |
The Book, Mission Saranda: A War for Natural Resources in India is about the exploitation of tribals and their habitat in Chotanagpur specially in the mineral rich areas of the dense forests of Saranda by the government and corporate world for their selfish gain. In the words of the author, “Mission Saranda reveals that the war against CPI-Maoist is actually, fundamentally, a war for mineral resources, waged against the security of the common people in the Red Corridor, their peace, good governance, development and prosperity” (p. xiii). The book is a rich source for the issues on mining and ecological crisis. The mining and thus the decimation is brought about by the mining companies aided by the government is a testimony to the short term thinking of a modernizing state blinded by its rhetoric of development. As the name itself indicates, Saranda means ‘the land of seven hundred hills’, (p.35) is one of the lifelines of Chotanagpur for its flora and fauna. Tribals are the people who preserved the diversity for centuries and is now targeted for its rich natural resources of minerals by the Government and the multi-national companies in the name of ‘development.’ To prevent ‘the rape of mother earth’ (p.xix), the militant organization was formed by the people, because, the tribals believed in the dictum: ‘the mountains need us and we need mountains’, and ‘not that we own the land but the land owns us.’ The book also therefore reflects the violence that has spread in the region with the armed police, Maoists, and their splinter groups, whose offer of justice and rights went stale long ago. Long period of suppression, division and polarization of communities echoing the colonial legacy and subsequently banding the area as ‘Red Corridor’ by the government in the year 2009 and therefore ‘civilizing’ the people by the government is the subject matter of this book.
The book is divided into twenty five chapters. Each chapter meticulously deals with issues connected with the subject. The chapter begins with the combing operation, ‘Mission Saranda’ launched in 2010 by the Central Government through military force to control over the Saranda Forest and to establish ‘so-called development’ plan ‘Saranda Action plan’ (SAP) in December, 2011. The hidden agenda behind this is to control Manganese, Iron and Bauxite ore beneath it. The subsequent chapters deal with the geography, people, benefits and aftermaths of mining, origin of militant groups and their atrocities, the plight of poor adivasis who are caught among guns, corporate world, education, inability of people, Action plan of development, judiciary system, and various companies.
In other words, the book is a selfie on the development model taken up in Maoist rich areas of Jharkhand state. Commenting on the book, the noted anthropologist Felix Padel, the great-great grandson of Charles Darwin opines in the preface of the book that any development model concerning tribals must be evaluated through the eyes of tribals which is the plight of the people of the land. Mining industry does not represent real development. What is wrong basically in mining industry is the corruption, corruption from top to bottom and bottom to top (p.xx).
The author is a noted environmentalist, Human Right Activist, Tribal activist, independent researcher, motivator and writer. He has authored several books like, Whose Country is it any way?, Ulgulan Ka Sauda and co-author of Crossfire, Vikas Ke Kabargah, Jharkhand main Asmita Sangharsh and over 200 articles on various issues like human right, Tribal rights, displacement, politics and social issues.
Various data, real life experience of both of the author and the people, biting reality of the place, difficulty in reaching out, various other contemporary issues such as Jal, Jañgal and Jameen, cultural heritage etc., make it an authentic research work. It is a must read for all tribal well-wishers, exploiters and exploited. Let the real aim of development, “to bring happiness on every face” (p.244) of tribals be a reality one day.
Fr. Raju Felix Crasta
