Labour
Epistemology is a precise attempt for discovering the realities and
hardships faced by mine workers in Rajasthan. The attempt is directed
towards locating the epistemic foundation of labour studies in the
context of mineworkers. Meanwhile, it is very crucial for this
epistemology to develop new knowledge forms which would be
emancipatory in nature. The scope of such emancipatory knowledge will
ultimately benefit the working class for developing policies and
enhancing governance framework. Since a majority (more than 80 per
cent) of mineworkers is constituted by the social categories of
Dalits and Tribes. In relation to the social categories engaged in
the mines, the role of perspectives or logic of inquiry becomes very
essential. Therefore the Perspective from Below and Perspective from
Within becomes has a greater role in generating the new knowledge
forms.
For
developing such an epistemology, it is very crucial to look over the
fundamental tenets and tools applied in the field. before going to
the field the field worker/ researcher should change its location of
viewpoints and try hard to apply the tenets of Dalit and Tribal
Social work. In which, the vision, mission and goal must have a
clarity in all senses. The standpoint of working ‘with’ has a
special role in this. This standpoint not only ‘empowers’ the
target community and people but also led a greater exploration of the
student/ researcher in the field. Although from the part of field
worker it is crucial to play the role of a mediator between the
disempowered and the authorities, rather than becoming ‘the voice’
of the population. Reflections made from the field should be critical
and exploratory in nature. along with this, the field worker should
take the responsibility of becoming an agent of change which not only
brings changes in themselves but also empower the community to bring
changes by themselves.
The
author was placed in Udaipur for the fieldwork with the objective of
carrying out case studies which were based on checking the
effectiveness of DMFT (District Mineral Foundation) District Mineral
Foundation (DMF) is a trust set up as a non-profit body, in those
districts affected by the mining works, to work for the interest and
benefit of persons and areas affected by mining-related operations.
It is funded through the contributions from mine owners – private
or government. In case of all mining leases executed before 12th
January 2015 (the date on which MMDR Amendment Act came into force),
miners will have to contribute an amount equal to 30% of the royalty
payable by them to the DMFs. Where mining leases are granted
after 12.01.2015, the rate of contribution would be 10% of the
royalty payable (Subsequent to the enactment of MMDR Amendment Act,
mining leases are given out after auctions; hence, a lower levy).
Exploring
the Impact of Mines on Mineworkers and Nearby Areas
In
its simplest version, mineworkers are those individuals who perform
their skills in mines for their livelihood and survival. Mineworkers
are supposed to work to excavate mineral and other resources from the
earth crust. In general, there are two types of mines one is open
mines and the second is closed/underground mines. The author has
engaged with the workers of marble mines which is open in nature.
There is always a danger to work in the mines but the degree of risks
or mishappening in open mines is very less than that of closed mines.
But on the other hand, the risks in open mines like that of marble
mines are very dangerous and a single small piece of a stone may act
as a bullet. Apart from it, mine workers have to work in depth of
more than 300 feet which sometimes creates casualties. The processing
of marbles is also one of the aspects of where the problems of
mineworkers are embedded. The processing involves blasting which not
only invites shaking of the crust but also produces a gas cloud which
is very polluted in nature. The gas coming out of mines due to
blasting not only inhaled by the workers but also by the people
residing in the nearby area which ultimately creates breathing
related disorder. after the process, the hill is cut into big blocks
which are further get divided into blocks. for making the blocks the
workers are required to drill the big blocks by marking. the process
of drilling also creates dust which is directly/indirectly inhaled by
the mineworkers. Sometimes the required equipment like masks, helmet,
gloves and gumboot are provided but the quality of that equipment is
somehow not good. Although in the case of a drier region like Jodhpur
the dust engulfs the region and people residing in the nearby area of
mines. In some cases, it was breathing related disorder was also
found with the people not going to mines like that of children and
women. In this, scenario diseases like silicosis become a ‘common’
injurious disease for the mine workers and that of people
directly/indirectly affected by the mines.
The
day to day life of the people in nearby areas has affected deeply.
Mines have affected people’s lives in terms of livelihood,
agriculture, water, environment, livestock, health, and education.
Agriculture in most of the affected area is either stopped or the
production has lowered due to changed and degraded soil quality.
Since most of the mines in rural areas a negative impact on
agriculture have costs loses in terms of livelihood and make harder
for the farmers to rear the livestock they were keeping from a longer
period of time.
Examining
the Issues of Mineworkers
When
it comes to deal with the issues of workers as a class, wage becomes
the central concept on which the major debate occurs. From minimum
wage to living wage thousands of study has been carried out on
dealing with this issue. With the arrival of private ownership in
mines, the wage has become a central point of discussion, along with
the job insecurity and unavailability of social security measures.
From the field experience, it was heavily noted that most of the
private enterprises are handing over their mines through tenders. By
distributing their mines to the tenders the real owners not only get
rid of regulations and handling the issues related to workers but
they started earning money without putting their effort. Under the
tender system, mineworkers are getting exploited heavily. They have
to work for 12 hours with the payable amount of minimum wage defined
by the state government, the working conditions and its regulatory
situation is not taken care off, in case of any injury or death no
fixed compensation is made (the case is more severe in case of
migrant workers), and there is delocalisation of labour. Apart from
it, alcohol consumption and domestic violence have become very common
for mine workers. In justification many mine workers have blamed the
workload for these things and said that ‘this (liquor) has become
part of life without it we can’t do anything’.
In
between that the mines under the tender system are not made to set up
labour unions and this is one of the most crucial factors which is
very much hindering the labour rights. In some cases, it was
complained by many of the mine workers that most of the leaders of
labour unions are under the pockets of mine owners, because whenever
any demand is raised the leaders get lured by money or other forms of
assets. Meanwhile, it was also observed that there was a clear
political-industrial nexus in the case of marble mines. In fact, many
of the mines were owned by local politicians. It was informed by a
number of mine workers that no government regulation is followed in
mines and whenever any checking occurs, the visiting officers are
bribed with lakhs of rupees.
Capturing
People’s Intentionality for Change (on Utilisation of DMFT amount)
It
was very interesting to see the aspects on which the people wanted to
change, the prospects of changes were not only limited to personal
benefits but also for the overall development of the community. Most
of the persons with whom the author got the opportunity to engage
demanded a sustainable mining with minimisation of harms. Along with
this, most of them demanded proper utilisation of DMFT money taking
the interests of villagers at the centre of drafting any project.
Along with this, there was a hugely demanding of localised labour use
in mining and the creation of alternative livelihoods for the people.
Meanwhile, there was a sense that was coming out in the form of ‘old
is gold’ which directly refers to the destruction and negative
impacts of mines over the Indigenous peoples. A positive upliftment
in the localised sense was the crux of major demands made by the
people.
Problematics
of Marble Mines: Reflecting from an Indigenous Epistemological Point
During
fieldwork, the author got an opportunity to work with the indigenous
peoples of Rishabhdev Block of Udaipur district which comes under the
Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) region. The tribal group among whom the
author got the opportunity to work with was Meena community. Mines
(embedded with the European modernity) in those areas impacted the
area in a broader way of socio-economic and cultural way of life as
well as destroyed their epistemological growth. Most of the people
with whom the authored interviewed were quite clear about their
history but the current practices were not very grounded. People were
quite aware of the value of forest, land but the connection with the
forest was missing. This point was linked with the absence of any
practices with was centred upon the forest and sacredness in their
life. In the era prior to 60s people were having common
(non-Brahmanical) festivals but as the process of Hinduisation
started with the glorification of Maharana Pratap they were made to
believe that they are Rajputs. Even their god (Keshariya Ji) was
cleverly theft/merged by the Gujarati upper caste Jains (who were
partners of the mine owners) and renamed as Rishabhdev (The first
Tirthankar of Jains). The story behind this theft was mainly based
upon the earnings of the temple. People were aware of their earlier
kingdoms but among the youths, this is somehow missing. The
geographical intervention done by marble mines have severely
destructed the forest, filled the grazing land with dumps, occupied
the common land and forest meanwhile the ‘leftover’ forests were
declared reserved by the state government. In this situation, people
were compelled to work in mines and as the technology enhances in the
mines people started moving to other places for the same jobs. The
phenomenon of migration has become common and the state education
system has limited the indigenous learning in the younger generation.
Although there is some kind of tribal assertion and their histories
is tried to be written by some organisation but on an epistemological
level, they are facing a huge pile of problems by coming under the
Brahmanical fold. Their epistemological condition was directly
realised by the author while home visits where many of houses were
painted with lion and tiger but none of the members of those houses
were able to explain the meaning of that and in justification, they
said it is part of our tradition.
Summing
Up
Mines
as a part of producing primary resources for industries have a
greater contribution to our economy, which not only provides a heavy
amount of revenue but also provide livelihood to lakhs of people. But
one should not generalise this only by looking the revenue/income
criteria that mines are benefitting people. The dilution in labour
laws along with the booming tender system in the mines has increased
the problems of the mine workers significantly. One should look over
the problems of workers engaged in it and not ignore the hardships
faced by the people residing around it. The issues and problems
should be dealt with deliberation and policymaking. In a similar
fashion, DMFT was an outcome of various struggles and movement by the
civil society, especially the labour centred organisation. The team
of social worker which was sent for conducting research was given the
objective of checking the effectiveness of DMFT on the ground and how
much things have changed in mines and the lives of people affected
directly or indirectly by the mines. By going through the data and
conversation one can easily trace the adverse impacts of mines on the
people and in a nutshell, DMFT has failed to provide a grounded
solution to people’s population. Although it will be a mistake to
judge a government policy after three years of its implementation the
working style of the trust is still questionable. Most of the members
of the trust are officers and there is least participation is
provided to the representative of people/ mine workers. In some
cases, representatives from labour unions are being provided to speak
up but at the end, things remain whatever the powerful members want.
I am saying this because very few people (none of the mineworkers)
were aware of this policy and those who know it had complained about
its shortcomings.
No comments:
Post a Comment