New Delhi based Sanjit Das has some beautiful images of the Dongria Kondh community. They are the indigenous Kondh tribes who have lived in the lush forests of Niyamgiri hills, in Kalahandi and Raygoda districts of Orissa.
According to Das’ website: “They have survived foraging in the forests, raising livestocks and through agriculture. Now, local families are living in fear for their future due to the arrival of a combined bauxite mining and alumina refinery project in the heart of their ancestral domain by an Indian subsidiary of the UK mining and metals company, Vedanta Resources plc. Villagers’ protests about the threat the project poses to the forests they depend upon for their livelihoods have been repeatedly ignored by officials and the company. They also have deep concerns about the impact of mining on Niyamgiri, from which they derive many of the religious beliefs and cultural practices that define their tribal identity.”
View Sanjit Das’ Dongria Kondh images.
