People of no Land

Campaign Film

“How can I leave this land? I belong to it"

 As the sun sets, a song rises from deep within the Indian forests.
The tune’s indigenous, but the words convey deep pathos.
They sing:

“We won’t leave our villages, our forests, or our mother

earth...we won’t give up our fight.

They built dams, drowned our villages, built factories, cut

down our forests, dug out mines and built sanctuaries.

Without water, land and forests, where do we go?

O God of development, how do we live?”

India’s 104mn tribal people are the world’s largest

indigenous population. Their lands and forests have
been forcibly taken from them, and gifted at
throwaway prices to industrial groups to mine bauxite,
iron-ore and coal to usher India into a new era.
In Jharkhand (tribals comprise 25% of population), 6.5mn tribals
have been displaced in the name of development since
independence. They’re pushed to relocate to unfamiliar
environments, increasing their vulnerability to exploitation,
poverty, malnourishment, starvation and disease, including
serious psychological trauma

As a result, it also signals the

death knell for their culture.
The Earth Summit urges states to
recognize indigenous people and
support their identity and culture and
enlist their participation in
sustainable development.
Instead, we have an Investment
Summit by Jharkhand government
boasting a “land bank” of 334, 207
hectares, targeting investments of
$28bn.

Sustainability vs Development

Tribals haven’t read the Brundtland report,

but they certainly understand sustainability
and development differently than the
mainstream world.
 At Dainik Jagran, we believe
that development must
happen within the realms of
humanity. While, it’s a long
road to enacting laws like
Bolivia’s Law of Mother Earth,
and Ecuador’s Right of Nature
Law, we took a fearless stand
for indigenous people, their
culture and identity

Hence , we launched our campaign

The voice from Jharkhand demands
Culture, Prosperity and Development

Objectives

Draw attention towards Recognize their role in

the dying cultures of environment
indigenous people conservation
 For these people, their land is their identity.
Take that away, and you take their dignity

In this crazy land-grab, it’s not just people being displaced, it’s the death
knell for cultures that developed for millennia in harmony with nature. With
no state institutions to preserve their culture, whatever we lose now, we
lose forever.
Our campaign took on the ‘development mafia’ and
asked the tough question
“Development yes, but at what cost?”

We created public conversation

135 pages of newspaper content brought to light the
interminable suffering of the indigenous people, how
they were being displaced from their land, and forced
into the ever-expanding, low paid, insecure, transient
and destitute labour market, to make ends meet in a
society dominated by market and capital. In the
absence of natural resources and traditional systems
of subsistence, tribal communities end up facing the
brunt of the growing global markets. This leads to the
loss of homes, cultures and livelihoods, and pushes
the communities on the margins of society
We demonstrated what we’re doing
We created a series of 3 films that brought to light how
the most vibrant of all cultures was dying a slow and
painful death. These films were shared across on social
media using geo-targeting capabilities and had a reach
of 3.7mn. They were shared in over 100 hyperlocal
Whatsapp group which would trigger multiple views

Nature worship Nature-inspired Tribal Art Tribal Dance Form

Campaign promotion
It’s a simple thing
We have to find a solution to the problems that our state finds itself in
When development is at the expense of our environment, it’s about
finding a balance between people and the environment
When human ambitions want to touch the skies above the mountains,
then it’s time to save the glory of our mountains
When a coal miner starts believing that his destiny is darker than the
coal he mines, then it’s time to light up these lives with a new light
When we see nature losing the war in our jungles, then it’s time for
humanity to remember the comfort of mother nature’s lap once again
When the present betrays the future, then it’s time to understand that
our tomorrow will take birth from our present
It’s a simple thing.
The past few centuries have shaped us who we are.
It’s just about taking these centuries forward
All we need is to connect the legacy of our past to the promise of our
future.

Campaign promotion
These colors, and this art define me And every evening when he comes back We are one with music, rhythm, beats
I exist if this art exists home and dance
Yes, in our eyes we see the colors of tomorrow He must see a brighter future in his It is this unique connection defines our
But this future we will shape with the colors of blackened hands existence
our past We have to brighten up this miner’s All we need is to connect the legacy of
This is all we need to do tomorrow our past to the promise of our future.
All we need is to connect the legacy of our past All we need is to connect the legacy of
to the promise of our future. our past to the promise of our future.

These trees and the jungle define our identity
They are the jewels adorning our mountains
Whose majestic heights motivate us
We just have to strengthen this relationship
All we need is to connect the legacy of our past
to the promise of our future.
For centuries this treasure lay deep within the
womb of mother earth
Do we need to plunder all of it today?
Or we also need it to decorate our future
All we need is to connect the legacy of our past
to the promise of our future.
The old bazaars coexist with old cinema halls,
and swanky new towers and malls
Yes we have to modernize and make progress
But do we really need to sacrifice the identity of
our cities?
All we need is to connect the legacy of our past
to the promise of our future.
Getting stakeholders to weigh-in
We conducted 18 panel discussions with over 350 public policy influencers
to ensure that the voice of indigenous people is amplified

Giving Indigenous people a voice

We organized 23 meetings of village Cluster Heads. These were attended by
2000 village cluster who represented 16000 villages
Giving Indigenous people a voice
Voices at the Village Head meet

Meanwhile…
The indigenous
people’s party won the
elections, the Chief
Minister promised to
enlist the participation
of indigenous people
in the achievement of
sustainable
development, and
uphold the laws which
guarantees them their
rights
Not all campaigns target brand
salience, and attempt to sell more
copies. This was one campaign that
reminded us of the true purpose of
our existence as powerful agents of
change. Through this campaign, we
walked in solidarity with an
indigenous people and fought for
preserving their lands, their culture,
and their very identity.

People of no Land

Campaign Film