The History of mineral development is as old as the civilization. In the Indian context, it can be traced as far back as 6000 years. the remains of some of the old mines working are a witness to this fact. Mining Industry in India is a major economic activity and it contributes to the GDP is around 2% to 2.5%. However, the mining in India is also infamous for violation of human rights, environmental pollution, and mining scandals.
Mining industry as its a major contributor to the economy, people are looking at it as one of the reasons for the development of the country and it's true that mining industry has played important role in nation building after Independence and it is still playing an important role in the development of the country. I had the similar viewpoint for the mining sector, but during my fieldwork in Rajasthan, I came in contact of the mining villages and mining workers, and I realized that the development of mining industry comes with a cost, which is paid by the mine workers.
The village in which I was doing my fieldwork is a tribal village, mining started in this village around 1987. the mines are owned by upper castes and many of them are active in politics as a MLAs and MPs they used tribes as a pawn to take lease by giving them some money, the workers in the mines are tribes. There is no Labour union in this village, the owners don't hire local people as the locals have unity because of the same village and they can fight for their rights so therefore the owners don't hire locals. The workers work 8 to 12 hours and get very low wages, without any social securities and in extremely risky condition with very limited safety tools. The reason for the worst condition of the workers is also due to the tender system, the mines working under the tender system is discriminating mine workers more, they only provide one holiday in a month, giving fewer wages, and remove any worker at any time. the use of machines has increased rapidly and it reduced the workload for the worker but it also reduced workers in mines, now if anyone speaks against the discrimination then he will be removed from the mine work, so now the people need work in mines so they are doing it without complaining.
There are 2-3 shifts for work, the most owner wants 2 shifts so the worker can work 12 hours, and by this, they require less work in the mines so because of less worker they need fewer safety tools, and easy to control few workers. in many mines now only 20-25 workers are working in a single shift and the production doesn't decline as machines were introduced, so very few workers with technical skills are working there. The idea of the owner is to hire most capable and young people in mines, and to use more and more machines so can produce more in less time and money, so in most of the mines, the number of workers reduced to 40 % to 50%. In recent year the price of the marble has reduced but it doesn't affect the profit margin of the owner as they cut down labor and make them work more hours in same wages so their profit remained the same.
In this village, many people are migrating to other places in search of livelihood, as very few local people are getting a job in mines, and other options of livelihood have been destroyed by the mines like agriculture and livestock, so they are forced to migrate to other nearby cities or states. so the people of the village lost their land, as well as livelihood on his land forced to migrant to other places for work.
The village in which I was doing my fieldwork is a tribal village, mining started in this village around 1987. the mines are owned by upper castes and many of them are active in politics as a MLAs and MPs they used tribes as a pawn to take lease by giving them some money, the workers in the mines are tribes. There is no Labour union in this village, the owners don't hire local people as the locals have unity because of the same village and they can fight for their rights so therefore the owners don't hire locals. The workers work 8 to 12 hours and get very low wages, without any social securities and in extremely risky condition with very limited safety tools. The reason for the worst condition of the workers is also due to the tender system, the mines working under the tender system is discriminating mine workers more, they only provide one holiday in a month, giving fewer wages, and remove any worker at any time. the use of machines has increased rapidly and it reduced the workload for the worker but it also reduced workers in mines, now if anyone speaks against the discrimination then he will be removed from the mine work, so now the people need work in mines so they are doing it without complaining.
There are 2-3 shifts for work, the most owner wants 2 shifts so the worker can work 12 hours, and by this, they require less work in the mines so because of less worker they need fewer safety tools, and easy to control few workers. in many mines now only 20-25 workers are working in a single shift and the production doesn't decline as machines were introduced, so very few workers with technical skills are working there. The idea of the owner is to hire most capable and young people in mines, and to use more and more machines so can produce more in less time and money, so in most of the mines, the number of workers reduced to 40 % to 50%. In recent year the price of the marble has reduced but it doesn't affect the profit margin of the owner as they cut down labor and make them work more hours in same wages so their profit remained the same.
In this village, many people are migrating to other places in search of livelihood, as very few local people are getting a job in mines, and other options of livelihood have been destroyed by the mines like agriculture and livestock, so they are forced to migrate to other nearby cities or states. so the people of the village lost their land, as well as livelihood on his land forced to migrant to other places for work.
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