Tribals of Niyamgiri expressed their firm resolve to uproot Vedanta from their area. A massive rally of the Niyamgiri tribals and their supporters was held at Lanjigarh on October 30, 2010 to demand that Vedanta refinery at Lanjigarh be closed. According to a report some 5,000 activists from Kalahandi and Rayagada took part in it. (The Hindu, October 31, 2010)

The rally was held at a juncture when the Odisha government is planning to approach the Supreme Court against scrapping of Vedanta’s bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri hills by the  Environment and Forests ministry of Central government. On the other hand the Congress is trying to lull the tribals into believing that they have won their fight while the refinery stands on the same ground and thereby hangs like a sword over their rights. Congress is keeping mum on the issue. So long as the refinery remains the ruling classes parties’ conspiracies to forcibly displace the tribals and usurp their land will continue. Hence the central slogan of the rally was : ‘Khani Nahin ta factory Nahin, Vedanta Company Rahiba Kahin' (Without mines there can be no refinery, then why should Vedanta be here).

This rally had been convened by the Niyamgiri Surakshya Samity (NSS), the organisation fighting against proposal of bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills and the rights of Dongria Kondh tribals. The rally was supported by Lok Sangram Manch (LSM) whose members participated in large numbers. Around 5,000 activists, mostly tribals of Niyamgiri area from Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, took part in it. Whole Lanjigarh town was awash with red flags and the sound of slogans of struggle reached far. Leaders of different organizations like Lok Sangram Manch (LSM), CPI (ML)-New Democracy and Samajwadi Jan Parishad (SJP) who had supported NSS in its fight against Vedanta since its inception also took part in this rally as invitees.

The State government and Vedanta officials tried their utmost to sabotage this rally. To counter this anti-Vedanta rally of tribals of Niyamgiri hills and supporters of their struggle, an organization named Lanjigarh Vikas Samity (LVS) also took out a counter rally and met the Kalahandi Collector in support of VAL and its plans to mine Niyamgiri hills for bauxite. The NSS activists alleged that government agencies and VAL officials were behind this organization.

According to CPI (ML)New Democracy Odisha spokesperson Com. Bhala Chandra Shadangi activists on their way to this rally from Muniguda area in Rayagada district were stopped near Bijabandili and Asuragada by supporters of the VAL. Similarly leader of LSM from Muniguda Haribandhu Kadraka was allegedly stopped by police to refrain him from attending the public meeting. He was released when the crowd threatened to gherao the Lanjigarh police station. Initially the NSS had planned to hold its public meeting against the company in front of the gate of refinery complex of the company at Lanjigarh. But administration had imposed restrictions under Section 144 of CrPC in the area. So, the venue of the meeting had to be shifted to a spot near the conveyor belt of the VAL refinery at Lanjigarh. Rally was taken out from Kadamguda, which culminated at this spot for a public meeting.

Speakers in the public meeting included Com. Bhalachandra Shadangi (CPI(ML)-New Democracy), Lingaraj Azad of Samajwadi Jan Parishad, Mr. Haribandhu Kadraka (LSM) and NSS leaders- Lada Sikaka, Bari Wadeka and Dadi Pusika. Lado Sikaka asked why Rahul Gandhi is silent on closure of the refinery? The speakers said they would continue their long-term agitation till the refinery of VAL at Lanjigarh was closed down. They also added that a large number of agitators had faced atrocities at the hands of goons of the company as well as the police. Several activists of the NSS had cases pending against them as they had protested against the Vedanta project. The NSS demanded the government to immediately quash all the cases pending against the anti-Vedanta activists. It was also demanded that the company should be compelled to pay up compensation to the families who suffered due to these false cases.

 Madan Kalundia, a leader of anti-displacement movement of Kalinganagar (Odisha), died on August 3, 2010 in judicial custody. Death of Com. Madan in judicial custody has come as a part of the Govt. Admn.-police attempt to crush the anti-displacement struggle of tribals against TATAs. His death is a telling story of the criminal disregard of basic rights of the people by not only the police and admn. but even judiciary in the service of corporates. Hundreds of tribals have been thrown out of jobs in the industries of the area for refusing to leave their land for TATAs. Leaders and activists of the movement are arrested and not allowed to come out even on bail as they are re-arrested on trumped up charges. Leaders and activists are being implicated in the open ended FIRs routinely registered against the agitators for false and fabricated charges. The power of different wings of the state and the goondas of TATAs is being openly employed to strangulate the struggle of tribals for saving their land.

Madan Kalundia, a 34-year-old Adivasi from Baligotha village of Kalinga Nagar was arrested on 15 September 2009. He is one of the several Bisthapan Birodhi Jan Manch leaders and activists who have been picked up and framed under false charges. Madan had 6 criminal cases against him the most severe being a case under Sec 506 of the IPC. 3 cases were of 2007, 2 cases of 2008 and 1 case of 2009. Then another 8 cases were slapped against him on the 5 Oct '09 including one under Sec 307 for attempt to murder. 2 cases were of 2006, 2 of 2007 and 4 of 2008 which included the attempt to murder case.
Then on 10 Feb '10 one case from 2005 was brought up against him and on 23 Feb '10 another case from 2006 was made against him. In the 1st week of May Madan got bail in 14 cases and 2 cases were still pending. That day Madan had requested the judge to direct authorities to provide him with immediate medical aid as he was in severe ill health. The judge did not even acknowledge his plea and Madan died on 3 August '10 either in Chowduar jail or at SCB Hospital, Cuttack. Death of Madan Kalundia in judicial custody through denial of medical aid to him is clearly a case of killing of a anti-displacement struggle leader by the state agencies.

It is not yet clear what the official cause of death is but an investigation into a few recent incidents indicates what might have transpired with Madan in the jail. Before being shifted to Chowduar jail on 26 July '10 he was being held at Ragadi jail in Jajpur. While in Ragadi jail, news reached Madan’s relatives in Baligotha village that he was suffering from jaundice.
So the widows of his two deceased brothers visited him in jail with herbal medicine for jaundice. One of Madan's deceased brothers is Ghanshyam who died earlier this year due to lack of medical aid in the village that still remains cordoned off from the rest of the world by the police and Tata goons. When Madan's relatives met him in the jail they found several injuries on his body likely to have been incurred from torture. Madan was also unable to walk by himself and had been brought to the visitors’ area with the aid of two wards of the jail. His eyesight had also deteriorated badly and he could recognize his relatives. The herbal medicines brought by the relatives was denied by jail authorities who said they would take good care of him. Madan's relatives had visited him around the 20 July '10. On 10th July '10 he had been taken to Jajpur hospital where the doctors said he had no physical problem and his ill health was due to psychiatric problems.

Madan's death again exposes the ugly & brutal reality of a State that is ready to torture people, deny them medical aid and kill them in captive for the sake of companies like Tata and Vedanta. Whether Madan died from torture or jaundice the blame definitely rests on the Govt. The Tata project seems to be setting up a mega a graveyard of Adivasis rather than a steel factory. From this graveyard is emerging a powerful resistance of the tribals, deaths  and sacrifices of the leaders and activists of the struggle like Madan Kalundia are part of it.

Three hundred acres of private land (this huge amount of land is private land because there is no settlement of land in this village of Ganjam dist. since 1947) of the landlord was captured in Muliapalli village of Sorada Tehsil in Ganjam district. This struggle has once again highlighted the land problem in the area and the determination of the landless to fight for their rights.

For the last several years many land struggles were conducted in South Odisha. Thousands of acres of Govt. land, ceiling surplus land and patta lands of big landlords were captured by poor and landless peasants under the leadership of Lok Sangram Manch in different villages of Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada and Kandhamala districts. Continuing the struggle this year three hundred acres of private land of the landlord was captured in Muliapalli village of Sorada tehsil in Ganjam district. Another 200 acres of patta land and temple land was occupied by landless tribals and dalits in Kasinagar and Gumma blocks of Gajapati district. 

In Muliapalli village nearly 150 landless tribal, dalit and backward caste peasants of nearby six villages - Muliapalli, Sadhuapalli, Mathakhala, Hatigada, Daising and Hastinapur - have organized themselves under the banner of Lok Sangram Manch. In that village a Brahmin landlord was in possession of more than 300 hundred acres of land. He has even illegally occupied some 38 acre land of common peasants of Muliapalli for the last 58 years. People of Muliapalli have been fighting several legal battles in different courts. But the landlord with his money and influence has been able to succeed. Frustrated with this, people of Muliapalli left the hope of getting the right over their land. In the meantime LSM organized the landless villagers of Muliapalli along with those of nearby five other villages to capture that land. Sensing this development the landlord organized some of the small peasants of Muliapalli and Hatigada who were share croppers in his lands for several years and carried out physical attack on LSM activists twice to prevent them from capturing this land. The local police and administration instead of taking any action against the attackers rather supported the landlord and his associates.

Against the attack and inaction of the police the LSM Sorada block committee called an armed protest rally of more than 2000 people at Muliapalli on 19th June and vowed to capture that land. The leaders called upon the people to resist the landlord attack. On 30th June more than 600 people with their traditional weapons entered these lands and captured by  planting hundreds of red flags around 300 acres land including patta lands of the landlord. Once again the followers of the landlord came to attack our people with arms. But they were pushed back by well prepared people by injuring six of them. Due to large scale media propaganda about this land capture movement the local administration and police became disturbed and approached for a discussion. The next day our leaders participated in the discussion and categorically told them that there is no question of compromise with the landlord but instead we are ready to leave nearly 48 acres of land to the small peasants of Hatigada village which they have been cultivating. After our declaration the small farmers of Hatigada who were earlier attacking struggling people decided to leave the landlord and supported LSM making this task easier. Again on 22nd July our people along with poor peasants of Hatigada unitedly with nearly 200 pairs of bullocks ploughed the land. This created a big impact in the public. Now people are farming the land.     

In Gajapati district's Kasinagar block under the banner of Lok Sangram Manch people participated in land movement in Haripur (35 acres), Sukunpeta (71 acres), Jaiguda (10 acres), Rugudusing (12 acres), Kailashguda (25 acres). Expect Haripur where nearly 12 acres are belongs to temple land all lands captured in Kasinagar block are patta lands (benami) controlled by landlords. In the same block last year also LSM had captured nearly 210 acres of land in Goribandha village from a landlord which has been under litigation in the High Court. In Gumma block of Gajapati landless tribal peasants under the leadership of LSM captured land in Jogipadu (22 acres of temple land), Purturu (15 acres) and in Buruda (12 acres). In all these places people are cultivating.

On July 13, 2010 morning at 11:30 AM Andhra Pradesh police killed Com. Ganesh (Tholem Rama Rao), Squad Commander of CPI(ML)-New Democracy in the Bakka Chintapalli village, a tribal hamlet of Polaram village in Warangal district. Com. Ganesh along with other members of the squad had gone to Bakka Chintapalli village. Coming to know of it, police contingent started from Hanmankonda (Warangal) reached the village at 11:30 AM and suddenly attacked the squad. Com. Ganesh was killed on the spot while other members of squad escaped.

Com. Ganesh, a tribal, was the resident of Gunjedu village of Pakala Kothagudem mandal of Warangal district. He was aged 26 years. He was active in PDSU. While he was student of Intermediate, he left studies to join the revolutionary movement. He joined the self-defence squad. Police executed this attack to terrorize the villagers and eliminate a revolutionary devoted to the cause of the poor and oppressed people.

While the Congress Govt. declares to solve the problems of the people, it is attacking the revolutionaries who are fighting for the people. While the Govt. talks of addressing the issues of the people, it is bent on eliminating those taking up these issues. It is launching murderous attacks against the revolutionaries, resorting to even fake encounters.

Immediately large number of villagers of Gunjedu, Bakka Chintapalli village assembled in large number (over two thousand) and protested against the police attack. The police opened fire on the angry villagers who according to media reports had pelted stones. People did not allow the police to take away the body of the martyred comrade. Only next day, the body was given for postmortem.

On 14^th July 2010 a big procession was held against the police attack. Leaders of the Party and mass organizations led the procession and later addressed the mass meeting.

Condemning this police attack, Andhra Pradesh State Committee of CPI (ML)-New Democracy has demanded a judicial enquiry by a High Court sitting judge. AP State Committee also demanded that action be taken against the police officers responsible for this attack.

CPI (ML)-New Democracy pays its homage to the revolutionary memory of the martyred comrade, expresses condolences to the members of his family and vows to carry forward the struggle for New Democratic Revolution for which Com. Ganesh offered supreme sacrifice.