31st October 2026
Friends of the Earth India condemns the police brutality against students and youth peacefully protesting the proposed Siang Dam at Arunachal Bhawan in Delhi. The use of state violence to silence democratic dissent exposes the authoritarian character of a development model that prioritises mega-projects over people, ecology and justice. Peaceful resistance is a democratic right, not a crime. We demand an immediate end to police intimidation, repression against indigenous communities and the criminalisation of people’s movements.
The Adi people’s resistance to destructive dam projects on the Siang River is part of a decades-long struggle to defend their ancestral lands, rivers, livelihoods and Indigenous identity. Through mass mobilisations, community assemblies and sustained democratic protests, generations of Adi people have challenged the imposition of mega dams without their consent. Despite continued state pressure, intimidation and attempts to suppress dissent, communities have refused to surrender their rights. This struggle is not merely against a dam, but against the colonial logic of resource extraction, ecological destruction and the dispossession of Indigenous peoples in the name of development.
The proposed Siang Dam poses grave threats to the Siang River ecosystem, Indigenous territories, livelihoods and the cultural identity of the Adi people. Rivers, forests and Indigenous lands cannot be sacrificed in the name of national security, corporate profits or destructive development. The future of the Siang River must be determined by its people, respecting Indigenous self-determination, community sovereignty and the right to free, prior and informed consent. No development project can claim legitimacy by violating the rights and democratic aspirations of affected communities.
Friends of the Earth India stands in solidarity with the Adi people, students, youth and all communities resisting ecological destruction and state repression. Our struggle for ecological justice is inseparable from the fight against corporate exploitation, authoritarianism and the dispossession of Indigenous peoples. The Siang River belongs to its people and the living ecosystems it sustains- not to corporations or the State to exploit at will !
SAVE SIANG! STOP THE DAM!
STOP STATE REPRESSION!
DEFEND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS!
Friends of the Earth India