Mining in Rajasthan—a Quagmire for Policy, Practice and People

Abstract

AbstractPeople, practitioner and policy-makers share a tumultuous relationship fraught with expectations and frustrations. In this article, the author delves into her own experience of working with mineworkers, subaltern voices and the issue of mining in Rajasthan, India, and the role of civil society in the form of non-government organisation (NGO). The article traces the challenges of mobilising people for collective action, engaging with policy-makers and the constraints of a formal structure of an NGO. It focusses on the mineworkers engaged in minor mineral extraction and employed as informal labour. The article begins with familiarising readers with the situation of mineworkers and administration of minor mineral mining. In the next section, a brief overview on social work practice using the genesis of the NGO is provided where the author worked and engages with even today. The final section, explains the challenges in collective action for policy-making. The author has used the word organisations, NGO and social worker interchangeably, as also the words mineworkers, community and service users.