Out Of This Earth: East India Adivasis And The Aluminium Cartel
Felix Padel and Samarendra Das
This is a rather interesting book tracing out in great detail the world aluminium industry. There is a particular focus on how the aluminium industry affects tribal peoples, which is particularly relevant given that a great many of said tribal peoples live on land which the aluminium industry is digging up, and trying to dig up, in order to make aluminium.
I think most of us in the ‘West’ understand the global political importance of oil, but hardly appreciate the impacts of the other extractive industries: metals, and in this case aluminium, being key among them.
I haven’t read far into this book yet, but it is written from a very interesting perspective: that of a ‘reverse anthropology’: trying to understand the actions of the West (focus on mining) in an anthropological academic style, but written from the perspective of indigenous people, as far as the authors could manage. (As opposed to a traditional anthropological perspective which is normally taken through the eyes of western culture, looking at another culture.)
I’m looking forward to having read this… it is pretty huge though!
