Investment-Induced Displacement and the Ecological Basis of India’s Economy

Abstract

India’s economic policies need to be reviewed holistically in relation to their impacts on ecosystems and communities and to ensure long-term sustainability. The term ‘Development-Induced Displacement’ adds insult to injury in a context where a majority of those displaced by industrial projects do not experience these as development at all, but experience a drastic drop in their living standards. What is indisputable is that this process is ‘Investment-Induced Displacement’, since financial funding is the driving force that makes projects happen; and Adivasis themselves often say ‘We are being swept away by money’.