Women Staged a Semi-Nude Protest

Geetha Sunil Pillai

A shocking incident came to light in Kusmunda area of Korba district of Chhattisgarh, when about 20-25 land-displaced tribal women staged a semi-nude protest at the main gate of the office of South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL). On July 18, the women staged this protest demanding proper compensation, jobs and rehabilitation after the acquisition of their ancestral lands.

This is the first time that women have staged a semi-nude protest inside such an office. The women waved their bangles and sarees. Seeing this kind of anger among the women, the administration was also shocked and the clips of the protest went viral on social media, after which the Chhattisgarh government was also severely criticised.

Korba is a major industrial and mining area of Chhattisgarh, known for coal mines and power generation. SECL’s coal mines in Kusmunda are one of the largest mining projects in India. Large-scale land acquisition was done for these projects, which includes ancestral lands of Korwa and other scheduled tribes. These communities were earning their livelihood through farming and forest resources on these lands for generations.
Under the Forest Rights Act 2006, they have been given rights over land and forest resources, but these provisions have been violated repeatedly. SECL acquired these lands for coal mining and in return the affected families were promised compensation, jobs, and rehabilitation. However, even after many years, these promises have not been fulfilled, due to which there is deep disappointment and anger among the tribal communities.
The employment case of land-displaced people has been pending for a long time, and many years have passed since applying, but the land-displaced people have not gotten employment. The protesting women said that they had demonstrated and struck many times in the mine earlier also.

The affected families said that their lands were snatched, but they neither got proper compensation, nor jobs, nor rehabilitation facilities. SECL had promised jobs for the land displaced, but in many cases fake appointments were made. Some families alleged that other people were given jobs in their name or that their rights were completely ignored. After the land snatching, these families have lost their livelihood and are facing financial difficulties.

The protesting women said that their lands were snatched in the name of industrial development, but the big industrialists got the benefit, while the local tribal community was neglected. The president of Bhu-Visthaap Rojgar Ekta Mahila Kisan Kusmunda said that the persons employed fraudulently in place of the real land displaced should be removed. Also, repeated applications were made to keep the real heir.

Despite complaining to the local administration and SECL officials several times, no concrete action was taken, which pushed these women to this extreme step.

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Frontier
Vol 58, No. 8, Aug 17 - 23, 2025