Felix Padel and Samarendra Das’s recent book Out of this Earth: East India Adivasis and the Aluminium Cartel, which essentially deals with the impact of bauxite mining and the manufacture of aluminium on the tribals of Orissa, has been published at a time when the aluminium industry is desperately trying to acquire land for new projects in the mineral-rich states of the country. It is a much-needed and fitting rejoinder to the myths that corporations, governments as well as the media continuously propagate – that this ‘sustainable’ and ‘environment-friendly’ industry will automatically lead to ‘development’ and prosperity.
One of the companies involved is London-listed Vedanta.
See http://www.cpiml.org/liberation/year_2010/june_10/book_review.html.