Overview

International Investment Agreements (IIA’s) are critical legal instruments, which drives Foreign Direct Investments (FDI’s) in several economic sectors and especially impacting communities dependent on natural resources. Until the end of 2012, India had signed 86 IIA’s of which 73 are operational, but still its implications on Adivasi rights have not been probed sufficiently. The few obvious reasons behind shortage of relationship analysis between IIA’s and Adivasi rights is that these agreements still remain a gray area by revealing very less and operates like a invisible force on the ground. Secondly, Adivasi Rights itself remains a contested domain as it has been evident from oppositional interpretations from the Supreme Court and the Indian Government in various cases and legislations. For example, how do we analyse the historical SAMATA judgment in 1997, where the apex court decisively outlined the contours of Adivasi rights over land but later on overturned it in the BALCO case of 2001. In the complex ecosystem of rights, it appears difficult to ascertain when and why Adivasi rights are over-ridden and when it over-rides. Similarly, ambiguities also remain at policy-making level, which weakens the claims of Adivasis further marginalizing and disempowering them in globalized India. While focusing on mining sector, this exploratory study intends to outline a framework of analyzing implications of IIA’s on the rights of Adivasi communities granted to them in Indian Constitution.

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