The Sustainable Development Forum Nagaland (SDFN) has expressed solidarity with the Indigenous Adi people and other communities of the Siang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh opposing the proposed 11,000 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), calling for an end to coercive measures against protesters and respect for indigenous rights and democratic freedoms.
In a statement issued on November 6, SDFN expressed concern over escalating tensions in the Siang Valley, including the deployment of security forces, arrest and detention of community members, and restrictions on peaceful public mobilisation and expression.
The forum said development could not be pursued at the cost of indigenous rights, ancestral lands, cultural heritage and ecological integrity. It described the Siang River as more than a source of hydropower, calling it an irreplaceable ecological and cultural lifeline supporting communities, traditional livelihoods, biodiversity and sacred landscapes across the Eastern Himalaya.
While acknowledging the state’s responsibility to maintain public order, SDFN maintained that fundamental democratic rights, including peaceful assembly, freedom of speech and lawful dissent, must be protected. It warned that administrative coercion against legitimate public concerns could deepen alienation and undermine democratic deliberations on infrastructure projects of such scale and consequence.
The forum called upon the governments of Arunachal Pradesh and India to immediately de-escalate the situation by withdrawing additional armed security personnel from affected areas and ending measures that intimidate or restrict peaceful community gatherings. It said any restrictions on movement or assembly must be lawful, necessary and proportionate, and that the rights guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution must be upheld.
SDFN also urged the governments to review cases registered in connection with the protests, withdraw proceedings against community members, youth and leaders charged solely for exercising their right to peaceful dissent, and ensure the prompt release of those arbitrarily detained. Allegations of excessive force, unlawful detention and harassment or intimidation of journalists, lawyers and civil society observers, it said, should be investigated through an independent and credible inquiry.
On indigenous rights, the forum called for recognition of the Adi people and affected riverine communities as the primary custodians of their ancestral territories and rivers. Citing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), it said development interventions must adhere to the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
It maintained that no pre-feasibility report surveys, exploratory activities or subsequent project clearances should proceed without the explicit consent and freely expressed decisions of affected communities.
The forum further called for independent and transparent scientific assessments of the project’s geological, seismic, hydrological, ecological and social impacts, with all findings made publicly accessible.
It pointed out that the Siang basin lies in a highly seismically active, ecologically fragile and climate-vulnerable region, warning that large infrastructure projects could pose irreversible risks to upstream habitats and river ecosystems, as well as downstream communities in Assam and the wider Brahmaputra basin.
Raising concerns over who should determine the future of the region’s natural resources, SDFN said long-term regional security and sustainability could not be achieved through top-down decisions that disregard local communities.
The forum also appealed to civil society networks, student organisations, research institutions and community bodies across Northeast India to stand in solidarity with the people of the Siang Valley in defending shared river systems, indigenous stewardship and ecological heritage.