READ final PhD seminar: Voices of Resistance: Indigeneity, Dispossession and Extr-‘activism’ in Eastern India

PhD final seminar: ‘Voices of Resistance: Indigeneity, Dispossession and Extr-‘activism’ in Eastern India’.

This final PhD thesis seminar will explore the struggles and resilience of Indigenous communities in Odisha, Eastern India, against resource extraction. The research examines how communities navigate the challenges of dispossession and the local ‘frames’ of injustice that emerge in their resistance movements. The findings reveal that the way individuals and groups perceive and express injustice is deeply rooted in their identities, which include, but are not limited to, gender, as well as their beliefs, values, and lived experiences within specific socio-cultural contexts. By integrating Indigenous and Western methodologies with 'framing' as a theoretical approach in a 'multi-sited' ethnography, the thesis critically analyses the complexities and power dynamics inherent in Indigenous social movements that advocate for social justice and self-determination.

Bio:

Kunal Kishore Hansdah is a PhD candidate at the Resource Environment and Development group, Crawford School of Public Policy. A Santhal Indigenous scholar from India, he has experience as a Social Development Expert in Housing for All (Urban) and Young Professional in the AP State Planning and Development Society.