Sucheta Dalal :Vedanta’s ‘happiness’ backfires; celebrities pull out of PR campaign
Sucheta Dalal

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Vedanta’s ‘happiness’ backfires; celebrities pull out of PR campaign  

March 5, 2012

Looks like Vedanta’s ‘happiness’ has met with a stumbling block the size of Niyamgiri Hills

Moneylife Digital Team

The British mining corporation’s Vedanta Resources’ PR campaign has backfired with two Bollywood celebrities pulling out of it. Renowned film maker Shyam Benegal and actress Gul Panag have decided to opt out of a panel which was supposed to judge a number of short films by budding filmmakers which would show the ‘happiness’ the company brings to the villages where the company has its presence.

This is not the first time that Vedanta has run into trouble. Its presence at Niyamgiri in Odisha has drawn severe criticism from Amnesty International, Survival International and Action Aid; who have slammed blatant violation of the rights of the local Dongria Kondh tribes. Bianca Jagger, human rights lawyer and The Rolling Stone’s lead singer Mick Jagger’s former wife has been campaigning against the mining company and in 2010 submitted 30,000 signatures on a petition asking Vedanta to respect human rights. She famously called Vedanta as one of the ‘worst companies’ she came across, which misled the world with a dubious PR campaign.

Vedanta launched its ‘Creating Happiness’ campaign a couple of months ago. Incidentally, the final hearing is coming up in 9th April on Orissa Mining Corporation’s appeal in Supreme Court against the decision to stop mining in the Niyamgiri Hills.

Also, the Sesa Goa-Sterlite merger is on the cards, both the companies being owned by Vedanta Resources. Vedanta will own 58.3% in Sesa Sterlite post-restructuring. It showed a little girl Binno and her village, where Vedanta has supposedly done a lot to promote anaganwadi and mid-day meal initiatives. It is Sterlite which was to start mining bauxite in Odisha.

Filmmakers were asked to make short films for the campaign. However, the campaign drew a lot of criticism. Ms Panag declared on Twitter that she was unaware that the competition was part of Vedanta’s PR initiative, and pulled out. She tweeted, “My bad. Just got full details. I wasn’t aware that the competition was part of Vedanta glorification/PR. Have pulled out.”

The darling of parallel cinema, Shyam Benegal, also reportedly pulled out for similar reasons. Even a filmmaker, has asked for his film to be withdrawn.

Stephen Corry, director of Survival International, an activist group that is opposing Vedanta’s project at Niyamgiri and supporting the tribals, said, “It’s astonishing the lengths Vedanta will go to pursue its goal of mining in the Niyamgiri Hills. Not content with losing its fight against the Dongria Kondh in 2010, it’s now spending millions of dollars trying to change attitudes and convince the world that it’s working in the interests of local communities. The actions of these two jury members speak volumes and set a commendable example.”

Vedanta’s reputation received a severe blow when it ventured to mine aluminium ore in the Niyamgiri Hills of Odisha, and trampled on the rights of the Dongria Kondh tribe to whom the site is sacred. The company planned to go ahead with its plans without addressing environmental or humanitarian concerns, but a popular movement built up which garnered support from all over India. Independent media concerns and activists opposed its presence, the project was stalled.

Several shareholders have sold their shares due to human rights concerns. This includes the Church of England, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, the Marlborough Ethical Fund and Millfield House Foundation. The BP Pension Fund and PGGM (a Pension Fund from the Netherlands) have also divested their shares. The British and Norwegian governments have both condemned the project, and Martin Currie Investments has also disinvested following pressure from Survival.

 


-- Sucheta Dalal