25, April 2026
Environmental Justice Movements in Tamil Nadu: A Comparative Study on Sterlite and Ennore
Author(s): M.Prathap, P.Arul, J.Sivaranjani,
Authors Affiliations:
1Assistant Professor, Department of History, AVS College of Arts & Science (Autonomous), Salem – 106,India
2 Assistant Professor, Department of History, AVS College of Arts & Science (Autonomous), Salem – 106,India
3 Assistant Professor, Department of History, AVS College of Arts & Science (Autonomous), Salem – 106,India
DOIs:10.2017/IJRCS/202604014 | Paper ID: IJRCS202604014Abstract
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Abstract: This article examines two of the most significant environmental justice movements in contemporary Tamil Nadu, the anti-Sterlite protests in Thoothukudi and the ongoing struggle against industrial pollution in Ennore, North Chennai. These movements, though differing in visibility, pace, and outcomes, share a common thread resistance from marginalized communities against state-sanctioned ecological degradation. Through a comparative analysis, the article explores how Dalit, working-class, and fisher folk communities, particularly women, have emerged as the vanguard of Tamil Nadu’s grassroots environmentalism. The Thoothukudi protests against Vedanta’s Sterlite copper smelter, culminating in a state-sponsored police firing that killed 13 protestors in May 2018, captured national attention and ignited a broader debate about corporate impunity, environmental regulation, and democratic dissent. In contrast, the struggle in Ennore, shaped by decades of coal ash pollution and toxic industrial activity, unfolds more quietly, through legal advocacy, grassroots monitoring, and sustained community mobilization. Despite differences in tactics and visibility, both movements reflect a shared distrust in the state’s developmental priorities and a growing consciousness of ecological and social rights. Drawing on field reports, local testimonies, media coverage, and activist scholarship, the article frames these movements within the larger discourse of “environmentalism from below,” highlighting the role of caste, gender, and language in shaping Tamil Nadu’s environmental resistance. It also critiques the inadequacies of state responses, the complicity of pollution control mechanisms, and the limits of elite-led environmental narratives. By foregrounding the voices of those most affected, the article calls for a rethinking of environmental justice in India not as an abstract or technocratic pursuit, but as a lived political struggle rooted in questions of dignity, survival, and collective future. The cases of Sterlite and Ennore underscore the urgency of building ecological movements that are intersectional, locally anchored, and democratically accountable.
Key Words: Environmental Justice in Tamil Nadu, Sterlite Protests, Thoothukudi, Ennore, Industrial Pollution, Dalit Environmentalism, Caste and Ecology, Fisher folk Resistance, Environmental Violence, Tamil Eco politics, Intersectional Environmentalism.
M.Prathap, P.Arul, J.Sivaranjani, (2026); Environmental Justice Movements in Tamil Nadu: A Comparative Study on Sterlite and Ennore, International Journal of Research Culture Society, ISSN(O): 2456-6683, Volume – 10, Issue – 4, Available on – https://ijrcs.org/