The Great Nicobar Island plan; with a new port, airport, city, and even a military base; sounds like a dream for development. But for the Shompen, an uncontacted Indigenous group living there, it’s a nightmare waiting to happen. The UN’s CERD body says India must stop ALL construction until a full, independent impact study is done; covering not just trees or fish, but the cultural, spiritual, and survival rights of Indigenous communities. Here’s the catch: the government itself admitted it can’t even talk to the Shompen. So how do you get their consent? You don’t. And that’s a red flag under international law. 39 genocide experts already warned in 2024: this project could lead to cultural and physical extinction. This isn’t just about one island. It’s about a pattern; tribes evicted for tiger reserves, land taken for ‘development’, consent ignored. Survival International says: no economic gain justifies genocide. The real question? Who decides what progress looks like; corporations with balance sheets, or communities with centuries of wisdom? The UN has spoken. Now India must choose.