Survival International

The Shompen face obliteration: they urgently need your support

SHOMPEN: Uncontacted tribe in India faces genocide in the name of ‘mega-development’.

The Shompen are one of the most isolated tribes on Earth. They live on Great Nicobar Island in India, and most of them refuse all contact with outsiders. 

Numbering between 100 and 400, they are now at risk of being totally wiped out by a “mega-development” plan of the Indian government to transform their small island home into the “Hong Kong of India.”

If the project goes ahead, huge swathes of their unique rainforest will be destroyed – to be replaced by a mega-port; a new city; an international airport; a power station; a defense base; an industrial park; and 650,000 settlers - a population the size of Las Vegas.

Uncontacted tribes are the most vulnerable people on the planet and the Shompen will not be able to survive this overwhelming and catastrophic transformation of their island.

Please tell India’s Tribal Affairs Minister that the project must be scrapped, or the Shompen will be wiped out. 

(Your email will be copied to the other relevant Indian government ministers and authorities and to the companies currently vying to build the first stage of the project – the mega-port. They are: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, JSW Infrastructure Ltd, Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V., Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, Container Corporation of India Ltd, Essar Ports, Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd, Navayuga Engineering Co Ltd, Vishwa Samudra Holdings Pvt. Ltd and PDP International Pvt. Ltd.)

Don't miss out on your next chance to stand with Indigenous and tribal peoples worldwide.

We take your privacy seriously. We will never sell or swap your details. You can unsubscribe at any time from the footer of our emails or change how you hear from us by calling our team on +44(0)207 687 8700 (International headquarters) / 510 858 3950 (US office) or emailing us at [email protected] (International headquarters) / [email protected] (US office). Find out how we protect and use your personal data in our Privacy Policy.