The Reality of Mining in India by Tom Pietrasik
“Beneath the lofty headline, ‘DEVELOPMENT KNOCKS ON BOKARO’S DOOR,’ was a list of planned local education and health initiatives. Upon closer inspection it was apparent that there was no substance to any of these projects. [...]
“When I mentioned the Hindustan Times article to Xavier Dias of BIRSA, an indigenous people’s group, a couple of days later, his rather bleak response was that, ‘The extraction of minerals is a guarantee that an area will never be developed.’ The tragedy is that Jharkhand desperately needs development. With only a quarter of indigenous Adivasi women able to read and an annual per capita income of just $330, there is every need for investment in local communities.
“For those that pull the strings of power however, talk of development is simply a means to an end. Health and education projects matter only to the extent that mentioning them helps placate the public. Development aspirations are a tool in much the same cynical way that the specter of a Maoist takeover can be used to justify the removal of obstinate communities from their land.”
“The Tata open cast coal mine at West Bokaro. Few of those employed at the mine are from the locally displaced Adivasi community.”
[photo and caption by Tom Pietrasik]
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