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Article

5 Dec 2016

Author:
Rina Chandran, Reuters [UK]

Life and death: Defending land rights in India is a dangerous job

Bhupendra Vira, an activist who tried to expose political links to illegal land dealings...was shot dead...A couple of weeks later in another case, Nandini Sundar, a Delhi University professor, was charged in the killing of an indigenous villager in the restive Bastar region. Sundar had just written a book on indigenous people losing land to mining firms in Chhattisgarh...The two cases highlight harassment and deadly violence against land rights activists in India, campaigners say. Land is increasingly sought in India for industrial use and development projects, as one of the world's fastest growing major economies expands...Unfortunately, the government believes that activists who speak for land rights or defend tribal communities are obstructing development...said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Instead of addressing concerns and providing proper rehabilitation and sustainable livelihoods to affected people, the state treats human rights defenders as irritants ... (and) deems any criticism as anti-national...she said.