Context
In 2005, local communities started to fiercely resist a planned steel plant run by the South Korean steel-making giant POSCO. At the time, the project would have been the largest foreign investment in the history of India. In March 2017, thanks to their powerful mobilization, they managed to force POSCO to back off: the company had to hand over to the government the land they had acquired.
The community’s victory, however, was short-lived. Instead of giving the land back to the local communities, the Indian government invited the Jindal Steel Works (JSW) group — an Indian-based multinational corporation — to set up a new mega-project in the same location. The proposed plan involves an integrated steel factory, with an associated port, a cement grinding facility, mines and power plants.
The local people are mostly indigenous Adivasi and they mainly work as farmers and fisherfolk, heavily depending on their betel vineyards, rice and cashew plantations, and the fish caught in the Bay of Bengal. The proposed projects threatenens their livelihoods and ways of life, and it’s being imposed in clear violation of their right to free, prior and informed consent. According to the international organization FIAN International, the factory will heavily impact the livelihoods of at least 40,000 farmers, agricultural workers and fishers.
As soon as the local communities started to peacefully oppose the proposed project, the repression began. Local authorities have violently tried to curb the protests and security forces have committed severe human rights violations, forcefully evicted local villagers, and criminalized hundreds of people.
Credit: Anti-Jindal Anti-POSCO movement.
About the community-led struggle
“This collective and united struggle, through the mobilization of local communities and international solidarity, is a powerful tool to resist the forceful land acquisition process pushed forward by corporations and the state. We have withstood all sorts of dirty tactics used by the state and the company to try and divide our community, and we have never been afraid of going to jail for protecting our land. We’ll continue resisting,” (local human rights defender).
Despite the repression faced, the Anti-Jindal and Anti-POSCO Movement has been leading a powerful resistance through concerted advocacy efforts, public campaigns, media work and community mobilization at the local level.
The CRE has been collaborating with the Anti-Jindal and Anti-POSCO Movement by facilitating linkages with other allies at the international level, supporting the advocacy efforts and legal litigation cases, and collaborating with Inclusive Development International on a follow-the-money research to map the different project stakeholders. As a result of these collective efforts, the Anti-Jindal and Anti-POSCO Movement has raised awareness at the local level, built capacity, and strengthened their campaigning efforts to stop the project.
In May 2025 – with support from the CRE collaborator Bank Track – the Anti-Jindal and Anti-POSCO Movement filed a human rights complaint against Australian bank ANZ, and Japanese banks Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Mizuho, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). The complaint alleges that by financing Indian steel major JSW Steel, the banks are linked to numerous human rights violations stemming from the company’s JSW Utkal steel and coal project.
Further resources
- « Indian steel-affected communities launch complaint against Australian and Japanese banks » (BankTrack – May 2025)
- « Decades of Resistance: An Indian Community’s Struggle Against a Polluting Steel Plant » (The Diplomat – June 2022)
- « POSCO repeat: Resistance brewing against JSW’s steel project in Odisha » (Mongabay – March 2020)
People of village Dhinkia who passed a resolution against the JSW Utkal Steel Limited. Credit: Anti-Jindal Anti-POSCO movement.