DOWN TO EARTH Protests against resources being acquired for industry form the environment movement of the poor. In Sikkim, bowing to local protests, the government has cancelled 11 hydro-electric projects. In Arunachal Pradesh, dam projects are being cleared at breakneck speed and resistance is growing. In Uttarakhand last month, two projects on the Ganga were put on hold and there is growing concern about the rest. In Himachal Pradesh, dams are so controversial that elections were won where candidates said they would not allow these to be built. Many other projects, from thermal power stations to greenfield mining, are being resisted. The South Korean giant POSCO's iron-ore mine, steel plant and port are under fire. The prime minister has promised the South Korean premier the project will go ahead by August. But local people are not listening. They don't want to lose their land and livelihood. In Maharashtra, mango growers are up in arms against the proposed thermal power station in Ratnagiri. In every nook and corner of the country where land is acquired, or water is sourced, for industry, people are fighting, even to death. Like it or not, there are a million mutinies today. Like it or not, there will be two million tomorrow. Unless we understand that these protests are not just about politically-motivated people stirred up by outsiders and competitors to obstruct development. After I visited Kalinganagar, where villagers died protesting against Tata's project, I wrote this was not about competition or Naxalism. These were poor villagers who knew they did not have the skills to survive in the modern world. They had seen their neighbours displaced