Guwahati: Adi activist and engineer Katon Moyong, popularly known as ‘Abor Man’, has challenged the Centre and Arunachal Pradesh government’s national security argument for the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), saying indigenous communities have opposed dams on the Siang river for decades and will not accept the project.

“We have been saying no to the Siang dam for 47 years,” Moyong said, accusing politicians and officials of taking decisions concerning indigenous lands and rivers without consulting local communities.

Addressing Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu directly, Moyong said discussions on the project had gone on long enough and reiterated that the community would not accept a dam on the Siang river.

“Pema Khandu, the time for discussion is over. No dam means no dam. If you build dams in smaller tributaries, our community will help you. But you have to exterminate Adi people if you want to build a dam on Siang,” he said.

The Centre and the BJP-led Arunachal Pradesh governments have argued that the proposed project is necessary to counter the potential downstream impact of China’s upstream hydropower developments on the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, especially the 60 gigawatt (GW) Medog hydropower project.

Moyong, however, described the national security rationale as a “false narrative” and said it could not justify building a dam without the consent of indigenous communities. He said the Adi people have protected the region’s frontiers for generations and questioned why their concerns are being treated as secondary to national security arguments.

“India was born in 1947 and China in 1949. We have been living here much before that,” he said.

Moyong described opposition to dams on the Siang as a decades-long struggle by the Adi people against what he alleged were attempts by corporations, business interests and political parties to take control of indigenous ancestral land.

He accused successive Congress and BJP governments at the Centre and in Arunachal Pradesh of pursuing hydropower projects without adequately considering the concerns of local communities.

“They sold all rivers from Myanmar to Bhutan,” he alleged, accusing hydropower interests of influencing political decisions.

“Political parties need funds. Funds come from projects, and big funds from mega projects,” he said.

Moyong claimed that the government’s justification for building a dam on the Siang had changed repeatedly over the years. He said the community’s traditional council opposed an earlier proposal in 1979, when the project was presented as a flood-mitigation measure.

“Not an inch of land or a drop of water” would be given to the project, he said, recalling the community’s position.

The present multipurpose project took shape after it was proposed by government think tank NITI Aayog in 2017 to combine the planned Siang Upper Stage-I and Stage-II projects into a single storage project.

“Our people were educated and accustomed to the same tricks of the government. So we denied it. The history of Siang dam is not new; it’s 47 years old,” Moyong said.

He also criticised Khandu for not accepting the community’s opposition and reiterated that dams could be built on smaller tributaries but not on the main river.

Moyong said the government’s concerns about China’s upstream hydropower projects and the possibility of water being used as a strategic weapon does not justify the proposed dam. He suggested that if the government is concerned about China’s activities, it should raise the issue directly with Beijing rather than pressuring indigenous communities to accept the project.

“If the government is truly worried, its officials should take the matter to Beijing rather than pressure indigenous communities,” he said.

“You are not just here to collect commission. You have a duty to your people who have voted you in,” he added.

The state government has defended the proposed project on strategic grounds. Khandu has also acknowledged the need to consult local communities.

“Ultimately, it is a national project, but the public is the owner. It is the land’s owner. It is very important to take them on board,” Khandu said.

Moyong also questioned restrictions on border trade with China and Myanmar, arguing that dependence on routes through Assam made the region vulnerable to disruptions.

“If you truly want development, allow us to trade. Why do we have to buy goods from Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh?” he said.

Moyong referred to Arunachal Pradesh’s history of resisting outside powers, including forces from Tibet in the north, the Ahom kingdom in the south and the British. He said local communities had resisted successive incursions with bows, arrows and guns.

“India, you were different. You came with books and medicines to us in the 1950s. We respected that with folded hands, and today we are Indian citizens,” he said.

However, he warned that the community’s goodwill has limits, accusing the government of prioritising the region’s resources over the wishes of its people.

“If you come with guns and armies, that’s how we will retaliate… Let’s keep the boundary clear,” he said.

He also said the community would not be intimidated by the deployment of security forces in the Siang valley.

Moyong questioned the appointment of Arunachal Pradesh Director General of Police Shiv Darshan Singh Jamwal, who headed the Ladakh Police when four people were killed in police firing during protests in Leh on September 24, 2025. Jamwal’s transfer to Arunachal Pradesh was announced in January 2026.