Nuclear resistance escalates in South India's Koodankulam...

Hundreds of people have been arrested, dozens remain in custody and three deaths have been reported as protests against the start-up of the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam, India, reached a crisis point this week. The government’s announcement that it would start loading nuclear fuel into one of the two Russian-built reactors beginning September 11 sparked a new round of mass resistance from villagers living along the coast of Tamil Nadu state at the southern tip of India.

An estimated 30,000 people rallied in the village of Idinthakarai over the weekend of September 8–9. Seven thousand police were positioned on the roads nearby to quell protests like those that have so far prevented bringing the reactor online. The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), led by S.P. Udayakumar, initiated a yearlong series of mass fasts and nonviolent demonstrations by farmers and fishermen who live and work in the shadow of the reactor. For several months last winter, area residents blocked roads and prevented construction workers from reaching the plant. Police have filed 55,000 First Information Reports, the first step for criminal prosecution, while 6,918 people face charges of sedition under a much-criticized section of Indian law.

In the wake of the Fukushima catastrophe, popular opposition to the Kudankulam project has grown ever larger, including from opposition political parties and some who are not committed to the nonviolent discipline observed by the PMANE protesters. Full story...

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