Priya Pillai of Greenpeace India tries to ensure development for one citizen does not come at the cost of another, or the environment

“Singrauli ke dharti pe log 24 ghante mein nipat jaate hain (In Singrauli, people can be dealt with in 24 hours).” This is not dialogue from a Bollywood film. Threats such as these are all in a day’s work for Greenpeace India’s Priya Pillai. They are a result of her engagement with governments and multinational corporations over the future of large tracts of forested land in Madhya Pradesh, and its inhabitants.

On 11 January, Pillai was supposed to travel to London to meet a group of British parliamentarians. Her objective was to make them aware of the activities of an Indian multinational which is registered in the English capital. Drama unfolded late at night at Delhi airport, where Pillai was waiting to board her flight. Immigration officials prevented her from leaving the country. The Union ministry of home affairs dubbed her “anti-national” and argued that she would send out a “negative image” of India when she met the British members of parliament. The 37-year-old activist was vindicated when a Delhi high court ruled that the government had acted wrongly.........................Read more

Source: livemint