Portrait of a Climate Leader

Why do so-called “upper-castes”, who dominate climate activism—and practically all other fields (journalism, law, healthcare)—in India and globally, not see our community leaders as climate leaders, activists, and experts in their own right?

As resistance to brahminical colonisation of knowledge and evidence production, this is a portrait of Poonam Jetty, a resilient Adivasi woman, climate activist, and leader who was (sometime back) on a crucial one-day trip to Delhi, embodying the spirit of resistance against multiple proposed iron mines in their villages in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, India.

Jetty’s husband, Laxman Jetti, alongside 20 others were forcibly taken away by the police in a helicopter and their phones seized. The police also vandalized small huts and shelters at the protest site. Videos emerging from the incident reveal the police lathi-charging (brutalized) protestors and reprimanding those who attempted to document police action.

As a representative, Poonam articulated the concerns of peaceful protest that unfolded in Gadchiroli, spearheaded by the Madia-Gond Adivasi community, one of the three Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups in the region, aimed to oppose establishment of mines and the unjust repression that follows in its wake.

The epicenter of their grievances is the Lloyd’s iron-ore mine, whose severe impact reverberates through Surjagarh. Many decisions bypassed necessary consultations with local gram sabhas, violating the Forest Rights Act 2006 and the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act 1996. Many expanded their mining operations from 3 to 10 million metric tonnes per year, encroaching on Adivasi lands designated for community forest rights.

In June 2023, six new mines covering 4,684 hectares were leased to five companies. If allowed to operate, these mines could displace at least 40,900 people.

Repercussions are multifaceted, ranging from the pollution of water sources to the engulfing of agricultural fields in silt, rendering them unproductive. The health of the community is at stake.

Poonam’s single-day Delhi trip for me, becomes a microcosm of a larger narrative, where environmental justice, social equity, and the preservation of Adivasi identities intersect. The echoes of her and the community’s peaceful on ground protest resonate not just as a local struggle but as a call for broader societal awareness and collective action against the detrimental consequences of such exploitation that multiple marginalized communities at the moment face.