01 April 2026

Friends of the Earth India condemns the arrest of Lingaraj Azad and Suresh Sangram on March 25, 2026, in Bhawanipatna, Odisha, and calls for their immediate release. We also demand the immediate and unconditional release of at least 25 Adivasi villagers, including 11 women, who are currently imprisoned for defending their land, forests, and livelihoods. We stand in solidarity with them, as well as with Adivasi communities and others engaged in defending their land, forests, water, and livelihoods.

These arrests take place in a wider context of ongoing tensions in parts of Odisha, particularly in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, where Adivasi communities have been raising concerns regarding proposed bauxite mining and other extractive activities. Lingaraj Azad is a national leader of the National Alliance of People’s Movements and a long-standing voice for social and environmental justice. He is involved closely in protecting the rights of rural and tribal communities in the context of water, forests and farmland (jal, jangal, zameen). He was a key organiser of the recent Loka Adhikara Yatra which travelled across Odisha, connecting struggles and reinforcing a shared understanding that land, forests, and rivers are not commodities, but living systems central to community survival, culture, and identity.

The arrest of people’s movement leaders and community members is not an isolated incident. It reflects a broader attempt to silence dissent and weaken collective struggles that question a model of development driven by extraction and profit, often at the cost of ecological sustainability and social justice.

The situation also underscores the importance of effectively implementing existing legal protections, including the Forest Rights Act and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act. Ensuring meaningful consultation, including adherence to the principle of free, prior, and informed consent, is essential in addressing such issues in a fair and sustainable manner.

WE DEMAND

• Immediate and unconditional release of Lingaraj Azad, Suresh Sangram, and all imprisoned villagers
• Withdrawal of all false and fabricated charges against community members and activists
• An end to the cycle of re-arrests and repression
• Immediate halt to police violence, surveillance, and militarisation in Adivasi and forest regions
• Recognition and full implementation of community forest rights under the Forest Rights Act (2006)
• Protection of Gram Sabha sovereignty and ensuring genuine, free, prior, and informed consent
• Suspension of all mining and extractive projects in ecologically sensitive and community-dependent regions
• An independent inquiry into violations of ecological and community rights

Friends of the Earth India reaffirms its solidarity with Adivasi communities and all those defending their territories and rights. We reaffirm that the protection of forests, water, and land is central to addressing the wider ecological crisis and ensuring a just and sustainable future

Release Lingaraj Azad now.

Stop criminalising ecological defenders.

Defend community rights. Defend the Earth.