The Mineworkers Song
Mining in India's largest coalfield of Jharia has made coal central to the lives of communities that precariously depend on it. But what do we truly understand of the experiences and desires of the coal miners?
Drawn from social scientist Dhiraj Kumar Nite's research, we heard a song composed by mineworker and playwright Pillo Deshwal. Alongside a memorial to the martyrs of mineworking disasters, it offered us a glimpse into the laborious life of a coal miner. As you listened to the song, you could also read an essay by Nite which discussed the role of art in mining communities.
Medium: Sound installation, Mining tools
Year: 2023
Team
Dhiraj Kumar Nite
Social Scientist
Dhiraj Kumar Nite (Dr, PhD) is a social scientist at Ambedkar University Delhi, India and a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He specialises in the history of wellbeing, labour relations, and entrepreneurship. His PhD in Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, is titled ‘Work and Culture on the Mines: An Indian Coalfield (Jharia) 1895-1970’. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Linnaeus University, Sweden, and the University of Johannesburg.
Among his publications are ‘The Aspiration for a “Civilised”, “Human” and “Dignified” Life: An enquiry into sociability, sociality, and wellbeing of migrants in an Indian coalfield' (2021), ‘Employee Benefits, Migration and Social Movement: An Indian Coalfield, 1895-1970’(2019), ‘Negotiating the Mines: The Culture of Safety in the Indian Coalmines, 1895-1970’(2019).
Presently, he has been enquiring into the construction sector, skill development and wellbeing in nineteenth-century western India.
