Investor-Friendly Development Policies: Unsettling Consequences for the Tribal People of Orissa

Abstract

India has adopted investor-friendly development policies under globalising influences. The present paper examines the adverse social and cultural impacts of these policies on the tribal people of Orissa, a state in eastern India. With its rich natural resource endowment and investor-friendly policies, Orissa is witnessing a private sector investment boom in mining, steel and other sectors. However, investment projects have significantly displaced tribal people. The present policies may boost economic growth, but at the expense of social structures and cultural values that once characterised Orissa's distinctive tribal society. Although the Government of Orissa approved a Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy in 2006, its formulation has not fully reflected the aspirations of tribal people and, as yet, there has been no independent assessment of its application in projects.