Conversations in KUI - An initiative to reach out to the people in Niyamgiri

There’s no communication in the society without a common, bankable and agreed upon language. Kui is such a beautiful South-Central-Dravidian language spoken by the Kondh tribes in the western parts of Odisha. It was also known as the Kalinga language during the historical times. These tribes are native of the hills in Koraput and Kalahandi district.

For several years even after independence, the region has been grappling with abject poverty and neglect. Although much has been said about the infamy of this region in media, it has been conveniently been forgotten in the time that has gone by. It is excruciatingly tough for a person who is not from these parts of the country to fathom how a woman could sell her 12-year-old sister-in-law, to a blind man for Rs. 40 and a sari to feed her family. It is a region which has seen the worst imaginable droughts, unabashed child selling, malnutrition and rampant starvation deaths that the social workers started referring it as 'Kalahandi Syndrome'. It is a remorseful fact that too little was done for the people of this region even as late as the early 2000s.

In 2003, The Government of Odisha invited the company to invest in the state and under its CSR, work towards poverty alleviation. Vedanta realised that for the business to grow, it had to take in its stride the local communities and villages towards development. With an estimated spending of 175 crores in CSR alone, Vedanta made its commitment stronger.

But as soon as the refinery was set up in the foothills of Niyamgiri, trouble started brewing. Even before the promised bauxite was given to the company to start its operation, vested interest groups began spreading rumours and propaganda against the company on a war footing. This did not stop the company from carrying out its duty towards the people. A hospital, a school and many infrastructural projects were carried out without delay. Yet, the mercenary NGOs and self-proclaimed messiahs of the tribal folk and the villagers left no stone unturned to mar the name of the company saying development and industrialisation were bad for the people. They took the innocent people into confidence & turned them against the company.

The people have to realise that living in poverty and starving to death is not an option if a source of livelihood and education for the coming generation is made easily accessible. For achieving this, the company is trying to showcase the transformation that its initiatives have created over the years through short videos in their native language – KUI. The local folks feel very inclusive when hear the videos in their own language and feel that the company has really understood their problems and is a participant in their own struggles. 

After all, Marshall McLuhan once said – The medium is the message. 

*The videos can be viewed HERE. 

*The underlined words direct to a link.