Natural Justice and the Battle for Niyamgiri
The Niyamgiri hills are a thickly forested range in the state of Odisha in Eastern India, revered by vulnerable Dongria and Kutia Kondh Adivasis as the seat of Niyamraja- their god of law. The sacred hills' reserves of bauxite have been eyed by UK-based mining giant Vedanta Resources Plc., which quickly set up a polluting alumina refinery in the foothills. But the company's plans to mine in Niyamgiri have been met with dogged resistance for over a decade. In a historic referendum in 2013, twelve village councils in a row unanimously vetoed Vedanta's designs. But the battle for Niyamgiri is far from over. These pictures have been taken between 2011 and 2018, as part of ongoing personal documentation.
