Dear Jack,
 

Please stand with Indigenous communities fighting coal mining in India.

Hasdeo Forest is a priceless gem in the heart of India. Twenty thousand Adivasis (as India’s Indigenous people are known) call it home, and have lived there since time immemorial. Under their care it’s not only provided them with a bounteous livelihood, it’s also become a refuge to elephants, leopards and sloth bears.

But it has the misfortune to sit on top of enormous coal reserves, and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is determined to exploit them – even though he is coming to COP26 presenting himself as a leader in the fight against climate change.

Two mines are already operational, vast open wounds in the lush green landscape. The government has just approved a third mine, but the diggers haven’t yet started…

It’s not too late to stop it, if enough of us raise our voices to object.
 

The Adivasis are determined to resist. It’s a real David and Goliath battle, as they’re up against the most powerful forces in India – not only the might of the government, but its richest corporate giants too. They recently marched 200 miles to the regional capital to protest, braving intimidation from pro-mining thugs.

Shakuntala, an Adivasi woman, said: “If the mine comes to Hasdeo Forest the entire region, including the Adivasi villages, will be destroyed. The forest gives us everything we need. How can we watch anyone destroy our Mother? We are ready to give our lives for Mother Earth.”

Please email the Indian authorities today, to demand no new mining in Hasdeo Forest. For the Adivasis, it really is a matter of life and death.
 

In solidarity,

Jo Woodman 

Campaigner
Survival International