The cases of Great Nicobar and Vantara show how authoritarian extractivism takes shape. By the time the broader public learned of the denotification, the legal status of the land had been quietly altered. Together, the rushed assessments, administrative reclassification, side-lining of Indigenous consent, and securitised justification constitute a textbook case of authoritarian extractivism. The Nicobar project also reflects the far-right’s civilisational geopolitics, where territorial expansion and maritime presence are narrated as part of Hindu resurgence and national destiny. Vantara, a sprawling private conservation project operated by Reliance Industries in Jamnagar (Gujarat), reveals a very different but equally significant form of exercising power.

Source: The Hindu February 03, 2026 10:22 UTC