P. Sainath

large_01-ORISSA-M07-03_done-PS-Chased_by_development_in_Chikapar.jpg

medium_01-ORISSA-M07-03_done-PS-Chased_by_development_in_Chikapar.jpg

small_01-ORISSA-M07-03_done-PS-Chased_by_development_in_Chikapar.jpg

thumbnail_01-ORISSA-M07-03_done-PS-Chased_by_development_in_Chikapar.jpg

01-ORISSA-M07-03_done-PS-Chased_by_development_in_Chikapar.jpg

Your university, I told them in 2011, is likely situated, at least partly, on the land of a village whose inhabitants were displaced a record number of times. That is in no way your fault or responsibility. But do be respectful of that.They were respectful of that – though it came to them as a bit of a shock – the keen and focused bunch of students at the Central University of Odisha, Koraput. They were mainly from the department of Journalism and Mass Communication. And the story of Chikapar disturbed them. A village that was arbitrarily displaced – three times. On each occasion in the name of ‘development’.And my mind went back to late 1993-early 1994, when Mukta Kadam, a Gadaba Adivasi (in the lead photo on top with her grandchild), told me of how they had been evicted on an angry monsoon night in the 1960s. She had herded her five children before her, luggage on their heads, guiding them through jungle in darkness and pouring rain. “We didn’t know where to go. We just went because the saab log told us to go. It was terrifying.” They were making way for the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) MIG Fighter project. A project that was never to fully arrive or happen in Odisha. But the land was never returned to them. Compensation? “My family owned 60 acres of land,” says Jyotirmoy Khora, a Dalit and activist who continued the struggle for justice of Chikapar’s displaced over decades. “And, many, many years later, we got Rs. 15,000 as [the total] compensation – for 60 acres.” The evictees rebuilt their village once again, on land owned by them and not the government. This they nostalgically also called ‘Chikapar.’

The Gadabas, Parojas and Doms (a Dalit community) of Chikapar were not a poor people. They held quite some wealth in large tracts of land and livestock. But they were mainly Adivasis and some were Dalits. Which made then sitting ducks for displacement. Adivasis have endured the most of forced displacement for development. Over 25 million human beings were displaced by ‘projects’ across India between 1951 and 1990. (And the draft National Policy in the 90s conceded that almost 75 per cent of them “were still awaiting rehabilitation.”)Adivasis made up some 7 per cent of the national population in that period but accounted for more than 40 per cent of the displaced persons on all projects. For Mukta Kadam and other Chikaparians, worse was to follow. In 1987, they were thrown of out of Chikapar-2 – for a Naval Munitions Depot and the Upper Kolab project. This time, Mukta told me “I left, herding my grandchildren.” They rebuilt yet again at a site you could call Chikapar-3.When I visited and stayed there in early 1994, they had received notices for a third eviction, possibly for a poultry farm, or probably for a Military Engineering Services depot. Chikapar was literally being chased by development. This would also make it the only village in the world to have taken on the Army, Air Force and Navy – and lost.Mostly, the land originally taken for the HAL was never used for the officially stated purpose. But some of it and the different sites they had settled on were parcelled out for various uses – to all but the original owners themselves. Some bits of that, I learned in 2011, had gone to institutions of, or affiliated to, the Central University of Odisha. Jyotirmoy Khora was continuing his battle for justice – and to get family members of the displaced some jobs at least, in HAL. A far more detailed version of this story, in two parts, appears in my book Everybody Loves a Good Drought, but ends at 1995.

Chased by development in Chikapar

ചികാപാർ ഗ്രാമത്തെ ‘വികസനo’ പിന്തുടർന്നപ്പോൾ

చికాపూర్ ని తరిమిన ‘అభివృద్ధి’

ਚਿਕਾਪਾਰ ਦੇ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਦੇ ਜੜ੍ਹੀਂ ਬੈਠਾ ਵਿਕਾਸ...

চিকাপাৰত উন্নয়নৰ নামত ঘনে ঘনে উছন এখন গাওঁ

ଚିକାପାରରେ ବିକାଶ ଆଣିଛି ବାରମ୍ବାର ସ୍ଥାନାନ୍ତର ସମସ୍ୟା

ترقی کے نام پر بار بار اجاڑا گیا ایک گاؤں

चिकापारच्या मुळावर उठलेला ‘विकास’

উন্নয়ন নামের খ্যাপা ষাঁড়ের গুঁতোয় চিত্তির চিকাপার

एक ऐसा गांव जिसे ‘विकास’ के नाम पर कई बार उजाड़ा गया

வளர்ச்சியால் விரட்டப்படுபவர்கள்

ચીકાપરનો પીછો કરતો વિકાસ

ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಯ ಉಪಟಳಕ್ಕೆ ಬಸವಳಿದ ಚಿಕಪಾರ್

Koraput

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Chased by development in Chikapar

Little Chikapar in Koraput, Odisha, was probably the only village in the world to have taken on the Army, Air Force and Navy – and lost

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit