Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex, Orissa, January 8, 2006: the fires had flickered out before half the night was through. Cold January air seeped through their thin blankets and chilled them to the bone, as they lay huddled in groups by the highway. It had been a long night for the tribal protestors manning roadblocks along the 4 km stretch of the Daitari-Paradip express highway in Kalinga Nagar. A sense of unease prevailed at the tiny hamlet of Ambagadiah, the protestors' unofficial headquarters.

In the inky darkness beyond the last roadblock, trucks could be heard revving up their engines and driving towards the barriers. Bows, swords and sticks in hand, men, women and children, would rush on to the road shouting, confused, aggressive