Activism losing colour, lustre at anti-Vedanta protests

The venue where metal and minerals major Vedanta Resources held its 2010-11 shareholders’ meet  in London is an earshot from Westminster, the seat of the UK’s government. It was here at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in January this year former Prime Minister Tony Blair had faced the Iraq Inquiry, when the international media had descended to cover the spectacle.

This year, like in the previous two years, media had been alerted in advance by Survival International to join them and cover the protest. Survival, over the last three years, has been spearheading the campaign demanding Vedanta abandon its bauxite (for aluminum) mining project in the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa.

Unlike in the past two shareholders’ meet, this year’s protest seemed to be missing the bells and whistle of earlier years. The number of protesters seemed to be far fewer than in the previous years. Survival, however, claims the turnout from their side has been better this year.

In 2009, the protest was led by Bianca Jagger, social activist and former wife of Rolling Stone’s lead singer Mick Jagger. That year, the protesters had also brought in bright yellow JCB mining trucks giving a great photo op for the media. Last year the colour of protest had turned blue with protesters painted themselves as characters from James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster Avatar. (Survival later claimed that Bianca Jagger was there at the Wednesday protest, a claim that could not be confirmed by other media members who were present at the venue.)

This year’s protest had no props from Survival. A new group calling themselves Elephant Family had a couple of people dressed like stuffed elephants, joined the protest. But the venue missed the presence of the most important element — global media.

The police outside the venue had allotted a tiny spot with barricades beyond which the protesters were not allowed. The size of the cordoned area itself restricted the number of people who could participate. Before the shareholder meeting got over inside the conference centre, the crowd outside had dispersed.

The scene inside the shareholders meeting was even less impressive. Of the 60-odd shareholders who turned up for the meet, a dozen or so were representatives of various pro-Niyamgiri and anti-Vedanta groups. The questions raised by members of these groups, that initially seemed to dominate the proceedings of the AGM, can at best be described as ill-focused and inarticulate.

Jo Woodman who heads Survival’s campaign in Niyamgiri, admitted this year’s protests lacked the bite seen in earlier years.

“This does not mean we are sitting on our hands and doing nothing. There has been some slowing down on the protest front as we are keenly awaiting the Supreme Court (in India) ruling in the case between Orissa government and ministry of environment and forest,” said Goodman. The Orissa government had earlier challenged the centre’s decision to stop mining in Niyamgiri.  

The shareholders’ meet that lasted for nearly two and half hours ended with very little discussion or debate on operational issues. The last 15 minutes saw an overwhelming majority pass a dozen or so resolutions and the crowd breaking for tea and snacks. The voices of descent had walked out before the business for the day could be concluded.

Later a visibly happy Anil Agarwal, chairman of Vedanta group, walked through the front doors of the QEII Conference Centre, towards the shiny Mercedes that was waiting for him, with none of his critics around to stop him.