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India's Nuclear Ambitions:
India's
emergence in the nuclear energy and nuclear weapons arena comes at a
colossal human cost. Jadugoda, a tribal town in a mineral-rich belt in
Jharkhand State, is the only source of Uranium in India, and the indigenous
people of Jadugoda have been paying with their lives - seeing their
community's health destroyed, their environment devastated. To resist the occupation and devastation of their land by uranium mining, the people of Jadugoda have organized themselves as JOAR - Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation, and their demands range from better safety measures against radiation, to protection of their environment, to opposition of planned open-cast uranium mines.Who Pays the Price?
The film screening will be followed by discussion with the activists, including a brief history of the struggle, some of the successes they've had, and the challenges facing them. Discussion will also include nuclearization in India/South Asia and its dangers; the problems with nuclear arms and nuclear energy; Indian/Indian-American opposition to the US-India nuclear deal and a report about the just-concluded Indigenous World Uranium Summit. The title of the film is a twist on the term "Operation Buddha Smiling,” the code name for the first nuclear tests conducted by India in 1974. The film was selected best film at EARTH VISION - The Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival 2000. The
event is free and open to all. Tax deductible contributions to support
the work of JOAR(Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation) will
be welcomed at the event. Presented by Resource Center for Nonviolence, Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation and Friends of South Asia
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