www.IndianJournals.com Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale Downloaded From IP - 128.128.128.169 on dated 19-Feb-2015 Afro Asian Journal of Anthropology and Social Policy Volume 5, Issue 1, January-June 2014, pp. 61-65 DOI : 10.5958/2229-4414.2014.00185.9 Senior Research Fellow in Anthropological Survey of India, Central Regional Center, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India 61 Impact of Displacement on Tribal Children: Cases of Child Labour and Abuse in Odisha Madhulika Sahoo ABSTRACT Displacement due to development projects is rampant in Odisha now; research reveals that most of the cases of displacement are largely seen on the tribal belt. However, the impact of displacement has been studied by many research scholars and social scientist. The impact of displacement on children is all the more precarious. It was revealed that displacement in many cases has lead to child labour in Odisha especially, when they are not resettled and rehabilitated properly. Research indicated that, in most of the time, displaced children find themselves separated from their close relatives and community people; they are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. They are generally weakened by the long distance resettlement that they are forced to travel and they have to thus endure the difficulties. They are more prone to the easy targets by the smugglers, traffickers, and/or armed groups. Furthermore, such displaced children can also become victims of discrimination and many of their fundamental rights may be violated due to their displacement. This article has tried to examine the impact of displacement on tribal children in Odisha, which has further tried to study the case of child labour and child abuse in post-displacement situation. Keywords: Displacement, Tribal children, Child labour, Abuse DISPLACEMENT IN ODISHA Across the world, tribal (or indigenous) populations are being displaced for mining activities, irrigation projects and other developmental activities. Mining struggles in indigenous communities have been witnessed in numerous countries not only in India but also from Canada to the Philippines, and from Uganda to Papua New Guinea and to the USA, which massacred native Indians (Rosa and Hocker, 1997). Mineral resources are often found in places inhabited by indigenous populations. Therefore, when mining activity begins, these communities are displaced from the hills and forests where they live. The displaced tribal’s mainly lose access not only to their homes and land, but also to their traditional livelihoods (Kalluri and Rebbapragada, 2009). In Odisha, Vedanta has tried to establish an alumina refinery on the top of the mountain, illegally encroaching forestlands without clearances. Although the company claims that the refinery will bring ‘significant employment and economic livelihood for the local people’. The reality is that local communities have lost their land and their most sacred place of worship and they are living in a state of corporate intimidation affecting the life of the children and adolescents who are innocent victims of what has been allowed to happen by the state (Vedanta response to Survival International Media Statement, 2008). Similar situation arises for adivasis in Kasipur who are caught in the midst of daily conflict because of the tensions created by the mining company (Samatha, 2002). However, the displacement figures of Odisha from various sources give an idea of the extent of the problems. Until year 2000, the total