Power of Ordinary Women

They are ordinary women, otherwise largely invisible, trying to hold on to their livelihood to protect it for their children and their children from the rapaciousness of state and capital. This is their dream in all ‘ordinariness’ — Resisting Dispossession: The Odisha Story

This thread has names and stories of those ordinary women from unknown villages of Odisha who fought extraordinarily to protect lands, forests, mountains, rivers from corporate giants, tolerated state brutality. Thank you Ranjanapadhi and Nigamananda Sadangi to write this book.

History hasn’t given space to women in its pages, for their contribution in freedom fights to their inventions in science, or to their writing. The book “Resisting Dispossession — The Odisha story” has given great details about women’s participation, leadership. Most importantly with their NAMES. Below are few names and their contribution derived from the book.

1) Ambai Majhi from Kashipur fought against bauxite mining companies not for her or for her children, but for the entire Kashipur, She says women can see what men cant. While women are oppressed within four walls of their own homes, they don’t hesitate to give 100% support to men

2) Jema Katakia from Dhinkia Panchayat was part of the Anti-Posco movement. She dint chose Development as she knew it will never come to her children or their children. She chose to protect her land for them and trusted her magical hands that produced paddy n vegetables.

3) Sini Soi from (in)famous Kalinganagar created ‘Bisthapan Birodhi Mahila Sangha’ along with other women. She was jailed under sedition charges and got acquitted after 21 months. Her house was razed down. She had lost her son to this protest. But she didn’t give up

4) Jambabati Bijira of the Gandhamardan region fought against BALCO company. She laid down her small children and herself before the company’s vehicle on the road to stop them from entering the village.

5) Minati Jena from Baliapal was just 19 or 20, joined the anti-missile test range movement. She had joined many rallies. They never used any weapons to fight. Their only weapon was their slogan — Take our lives, but not our lands.

6) Bhabani Bhuyan — She remembers how they used ‘conch’ as a medium to mobilize women in thousands. Only women can think like this and be creative. Read the image that Bhavani had described abt how they stopped police to enter their villages, the administration was afraid

7) Pramila Behera had sacrificed her life in the struggle of saving Chilika during Sorana’s firing. Not just women had participated or led the movement, but had sacrificed their lives. This list is long

8) Juna Lakshmi, 60yr old from Ganjam who got seriously injured and died two days after the protests. The police chased, beat, and dumped women protesters of Badaputti and Chamakhandi into ponds. They were protesting to protect their villages, Kia flowers from TISCO’s steel plant.

9) Sainee Erma also died at the age of 55 after 8 days of police violence at Basanaputti. Local people still remember Juna — Amma of Badaputti and Sainee for resisting. But all the women in Odisha must know them who had the guts to fight against the powerful at the age of 60 and 55

10) Nirmala was killed in the protest to save Mali Hills Kashipur against Birlas. Her mother remembers her last words “I might die, I might live. I will never leave the party. I might die for my land, my village, my community. How does it matter if one person dies for the land?”

11) Kuni Sikaka — who along with her spouse signed a surrendered statement as Maoists to avoid prolonged jail. But they didn’t accept 2lakh that police offered as the package for surrendered Maoists.

12) Manorama Khatua, Sanjukta Mantri, Latika Parida, Tikki Bardhan, Bachani Biswal are few names out of thousands of women from the Anti-Posco movement of Dhinkia Charidesha.

A must-read book to understand the power of ‘ordinariness’, power of ‘ordinary women’ and ‘peoples’ movements’ and about Odisha. ResistingDispossession- The Odisha Story.

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