With the expansion of nuclear-powered energy production, the need for procuring uranium (the basic raw material for nuclear fission) became inevitable. Expansion plans are in full swing for the construction of several others. It is thus worth exploring the controversy surrounding the nuclear policies of the Indian state, especially the issues surrounding uranium mining and its impacts on the marginalized tribal communities.Ĭurrently, India has 20 nuclear reactors operational in six different nuclear power plants, generating approximately 3% of the total energy needs of the country. Although there is a tremendous push by the Indian state to expand and multiply its nuclear power plants, the viability, sustainability and safety of these projects are seldom discussed in the public domain. India’s nuclear program, which began modestly after independence in 1947, has now metamorphosed into a giant business venture, comprising dozens of functional nuclear power plants, massive mining operations and the establishment of several allied industries. It will also examine how a state-owned company, which is solely responsible for uranium mining in India, has been ignoring the rights of the tribal people who live near the uranium mines in Jaduguda in the state of Jharkhand, who suffer the trauma of radiation and its dangerous aftereffects. This article is an attempt to unravel some of the controversies surrounding uranium mining in India. India, on the other hand, is surging ahead with a grand expansion plan for its nuclear power plants.

In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan in March 2011, countries across the world are rethinking the safety aspects of their nuclear power plants and re-examining their reliance on nuclear power.

Hmar Struggles for Autonomy in Mizoram, India.

“Jan Natya Manch” and the Success of People’s Theatre in India.Save the Ridge: the Fight to Preserve Delhi’s Urban Forest.The Story of Manipur Cycle Club: Cycling for Life in Northeast India.The Telengana Movement: Peasant Protests in India, 1946-51.The Plachimada Struggle against Coca Cola in Southern India.Resistance and Repression in Jharkhand, India: Stories of Martyrdom, 1973-1985.The Battle for Indigenous Lands: Protesting Mining in Northeast India.Caught between War, Development and Conservation: the Case of Loktak Lake in Northeast India.The Koel Karo People’s Movement in Eastern India.The Struggle against Mapithel Dam in Manipur, India.Return of the Nuclear Shadow: Uranium Mining and the Tribal Community’s Struggle for Survival in Jaduguda, India.Special Economic Zones and People’s Struggles in Gujarat.Nupi Kheitel: the Struggle of the Women’s Market in Manipur, India.

Return of the shadow