Be it aluminium and bauxite mines in Kashipur, in the state of Orissa, or the planned Koel Karo dam in the land of the Munda peoples in Jharkhand, or the forest "development project" in Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, or the Nagarnar steel works in Chattisgarh or a new commercial port planned for Umbergaon, Gujarat, all the development projects documented in this film share a common feature: the collective property of the territories and the tribal identity of the communities. At the first sign of organized protest the police react with mass ransacking and destruction of homes, appropriation of grains and animals, beating the men and women, using the feared lathis (heavy, iron-bound bamboo sticks) as weapons or firing guns. This is done in the name of legitimate defense.
