ABSTRACT
In Odisha, the idea of development is an upshot of neoliberalism. The visible impacts of this development paradigm were reflected through the forceful displacement and accumulation of livelihoods from the Adivasis communities. Moreover this idea of development also facilitated the growth of slums, impoverishment, inequalities and gentrification and also attempted to assimilate the Adivasis into the new social structure. But the Adivasis resisted and challenged this move by making alliances with various civil and political societies. This development intervention was resisted by the Adivasis for its impact on livelihood and in being exploitative. Drawing from Patricia Hill Collins’ Marxian notion of class and its class and indigeneity (Adivasis) intersection, the chapter argues that class and class-based exploitation is reproduced in Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex due to displacement. This reproduction of class and its exploitation leads to the emergence of a class-based resistance movement. It further explores that the ways through which these resistance movements affect the trajectories of development in Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex. Moreover this chapter also explores the colonial and neoliberal forms of exploitation in Kalinga Nagar to highlight how these different phases of class-based exploitation have an important role to play in the neoliberal resistance movement in Kalinga Nagar. The chapter is based on fieldwork employing ethnography as its methodology. Interviews and group discussions were conducted with affected and displaced people, movement leaders, activists and other members involved in the movement. Secondary sources of data such as district gazetteer and settlement reports are used to trace the colonial form of exploitation in the territory. It also refers to the collective mobilisation, demands and strategies behind and beyond the resistance movement. The chapter argues that Adivasis resistance not only forced the state to formulate resettlement policies, but it also has influenced the state for proper implementation of the policies. The chapter can contribute to the understanding of the developmental state.
