What Can a Signature Really Do?

On Nicobar, the Shompen, and 2-Click Convictions

Lush greenery meets pristine shores on the breathtaking Nicobar Islands

I signed a petition today. It took me all of 15 seconds. Maybe less.

It was about Great Nicobar Island, a remote piece of the Andamans where the Indian government plans to build an international port, an airport, a power plant, a trans-shipment hub, and possibly, its version of “progress.”

And somewhere in the middle of all that, there’s a tribe called the Shompen — one of the last nomadic hunter-gatherer communities in India.They live deep in the forest, speak their own language, and want nothing to do with our kind of chaos.

This ₹72,000 crore development plan might displace them. It might expose them to diseases. It might erase them entirely.

And I’m not sure what I can really do about that. So I did some armchair activism and signed a petition.

But do petitions even work?

Honestly, I don’t know. So I did what mildly chaotic and confused people do: Googled it.

Turns out, sometimes they do.

They can:

• Gather public attention (especially if the media gets involved)

• Signal collective discomfort to policymakers

• Spark movements or conversations

• Lead to court interventions or review requests

• At the very least, make you feel like you did something

The leatherback turtle is one of the many species threatened by the project.

But they don’t always lead to change. Sometimes they just sit there. Waiting. Scrolling. Drowning in “likes” and good intentions.

So… why did I sign?

Because scrolling past felt worse. Because I’d never heard of the Shompen until today — and maybe that's the problem. Because I don’t know how much difference a digital signature makes… but I know silence didn’t feel like the answer either.

Development vs. Displacement: What’s the line?

I’m not anti-development. I run a design agency. I build things. I like progress.

But I also think we should ask:

• Who benefits from the building?

• Who bears the cost?

• Who disappears in the process?

So what can a signature do?

It can’t stop a port. It won’t erase ₹72,000 crore from the budget. It might not protect a tribe.

But maybe it nudges a conversation. Maybe it tells a government: we’re watching. Maybe it makes someone Google “Shompen.” Maybe it gets us thinking about the price of progress. And maybe that’s a start.

If this made you pause — even for a second — I’ll leave the petition link here: Click to view and sign.

Sign. Don't sign. Might work. Might not. No pressure. Just presence.

— Mayank K