Popular Intellectuals, Social Movement Frames and the Evolution of the Anti-Mining Movement in the Niyamgiri Mountains, Odisha, India

This chapter explores the role of ‘popular intellectuals’ in framing the anti-mining movement in the Niyamgiri Mountains, Odisha, India. The movement organized by Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (Organization to Save Niyamgiri) is mainly led by marginalized communities, including Dongria Kondhs, but is framed or influenced by other activists. Although the movement was dubbed a success, following a 2013 favourable verdict in the Supreme Court of India, the push for mining continues. Building on theories of social movement framing, this chapter explores how popular intellectuals have been central to the shift in the movement’s frames since the 2013 verdict. It sheds new light on the ways in which connections and conversations across areas of ontological difference – between Dongria Kondhs and popular intellectuals – are key to the movement’s evolution.