Special Report: THE DIAMOND DOOM

Prayaag Akbar finds a trail of corruption and exploitation in the diamond mines of Panna

When Panda Rama [name changed on request] found a large glowing, diamond amidst the dirt in an uthali mine in Panna, he did what he had been instructed to do by his boss – he slipped it to him instead of handing it over to the mining havaldaar. Later that week his boss gave him one thousand rupees for finding the diamond. “Now I wish I hadn’t given it to him,” he says, “If I had given it to the havaldaar at least I would know how much it was actually worth. It was a big stone. I haven’t found anything since then and that was last season. How am I supposed to survive?”

Panna district in Madhya Pradesh, the oldest and largest diamond source in India and once a territory coveted by emperors and kings, is threatening to devolve into the hotbed of a serious humanitarian crisis due to Government inaction, pilferage by local strongmen and the exploitation of adivasi workers in the area. The Hollywood film Blood Diamond might have brought attention to the diamond trade in countries like Botswana, Congo and Angola, the largest producers of diamonds in the world, but the lucrative diamond trade in Panna, in the heart of Bundelkhand, is surrounded by its own tales of hardship and exploitation. The Bundelkhand region is consistently ranked amongst the lowest in India in indices of per capita income, human development, literacy and infant mortality.

Everywhere around are indications of a desperate, pervasive poverty. Yet we are told time and again by proud locals of the area that this land is of great worth. As we approach Panna, our taxi driver says, “The land might look arid and poor, but there are diamonds in the ground here – is zameen main heere hain.” There are three aspects to the recent debilitation of the region and the growth in illegal activity here. First, the Government-run Navratna company NMDC [National Mineral Development Corporation], the largest employer for adivasis working in the diamond trade here, was forced to shut down the only mechanised mine in the country by the Supreme Court for environmental violations. As a result, for the last two years all the diamond extraction has been manually done, in what are called uthali [shallow] mines. These uthali mines, running across the district of Panna, are usually in small standing fields where diamonds have been found in the past.

Many of the adivasis prospecting for diamonds in these mines work without any wage, believing they will be allowed to keep 70% of the value of any stones they find. In reality any stones found are the property of those local contractors who have purchased the lease from the Madhya Pradesh Government. In addition, because the chances of finding valuable stones so close to the surface are minimal, the adivasis working in these mines often toil for months on end without any form of income. In effect, some contractors trick a large number of adivasis into working for them for free. Then, if diamonds are found, a fraction of the value of the stone is passed on to the labourer, with the contractor keeping the bulk of the revenue.

The Rakshaya Mine is a half hour drive from the town of Panna, a long, dry patch of cracked earth that bakes the soles of your feet as you walk upon it. A scene reminiscent of the Californian Gold Rush of the 1850s plays out under the midday sun. There seem to be two levels of employees here; the adivasis who sift through the soil, working without a wage, and the labourers who are paid their mazdoori every day. In one corner a number of the daily-wage labourers, generally young, fit and male, break open the massive Deccan Plateau boulders with kulhaadis. Young women carry the crushed stone to a pool of water a few hundred yards away. Others submerge the rock to separate stone from gravel. Perhaps because of their superior earning potential, perhaps because they are not adivasis, these workers are paid their minuscule daily wages by the contractors. The stone is then dried on flat mud beds until it will be sifted through by the adivasis. Most are old men and women or very young boys and girls.

Bal Kishen is a sun-scarred, needle-thin 60-year-old adivasi from southern Madhya Pradesh who travelled with his family to the mines of Panna to search for diamonds. He has been working here under the belief that he will be allowed to keep a substantial portion of the value of any stones he finds. Rising to his feet with surprising energy, he tells Covert: “Yes, we don’t get paid any daily wages, but I think of it as doing my own dhandaa. Before leaving home I saved up enough money to come here for six months with my family. This area was blessed many hundreds of years ago. It is a very spiritual place. Mahamati Prannath blessed the land for the king, who was his disciple. He was the one who said that diamonds will always be found in the soil.”

Kishen has been sifting through gravel, sand, and soil in search of these shiny stones for four months now. He spends all day working here under the sun, his four young children and wife alongside him in their quest. But he does not seem overly discouraged by the fact that his search has been fruitless. His confidence is borne of both superstition and subtle misdirection from those with power and money. “We came here four months ago. We haven’t found any diamonds yet but I’m sure we’ll come across something before the money runs out. What if I find a diamond worth Rs 5 or 6 lakhs? With that much money I can go home to my village very happily.” Without the workers realising, the contractor will keep most of the money from the auction of the stone. It is also problematic because these uneducated workers are encouraged to believe that stones of that value are regularly found in the shallow mines in this area. However, J.K. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer stationed in Panna, says, “The average value of most of the stones found in the shallow mines is about Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.”

Another serious problem in the trade here is that there is a great deal of pilferage of diamonds that are found, causing a direct loss of revenue for the Madhya Pradesh Government. The MP Government is the owner of all the mines in the region and only gives businessmen one-year contracts to operate shallow mines. The licence to prospect for diamonds here is available for only Rs 200. Stones that are found in the shallow mines are supposed to be handed over to Government officials, who then auction the diamonds once every four months. Officials have placed Mining Havaldaars – complete with khaki uniform and laathi – who are required to walk around two or three of these shallow mines every day and take possession of any stones that have been found. Shiddhi Lal, who spends most days of the year walking between three mines in this area, explains: “I have to cover all three mines in the area so sometimes it does become difficult.

If a stone is found and I am not there in that mine who is to say that the person who finds it does not just give it to the contractor or whoever is in charge at the mine? But I don’t think it happens very often. For example, once I took in a 3 carat stone from one of these mines. I remember it was auctioned off for Rs 1.5 lakh.”

Others disagree. Sitaram Patwaria, the owner of a hotel on the outskirts of Panna and a well-known figure in the community, contends that at least one-third of the stones found in the shallow mines are not declared to the havaldaars and pass under the radar of mining officials. “It is bound to happen, because the method of monitoring the extraction is not very good. The businessmen who buy the licences from the Government sometimes don’t want to give even that 10% of the value of the stone, so they tell their workers not to declare some of the stones they find. Diamond traders are always coming to town to buy diamonds – and they can pick these ones up on the cheap because they have to be sold quietly.”

Every resident with knowledge of the diamond trade Covert spoke with agreed that 30-40% of the stones would go undeclared every year. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer of Panna, while unsure about the extent of the illegal trade, admitted that a number of stones are kept out of the official tracking process without his knowledge.

Away from the town of Panna, the standard form of shelter is tiny, decrepit mud huts that are seen sporadically in clusters along the road. It is clear the area is mired in poverty, yet successive State Governments have failed to provide the infrastructure and facilities that would allow this severely underdeveloped region to benefit from this business. Pradeep Pateria, a lifelong resident of Panna and a worker in the Congress Party here, tells Covert: “The Government has failed us because they don’t provide the facilities they should. Industries should be developed here for cutting, polishing, shorting, gridding; if they had built a Diamond Park in this area it would have provided so many jobs. Instead the stones that come from this region create wealth in Bombay and Gujarat, instead of helping one of the poorest places in India.”

The Supreme Court has just sanctioned the reopening of the huge NMDC mine, which should revitalise diamond production here and bring some employment and industry back to Panna. But, inevitably, things will get worse before they get better. As the world economy spirals into recession the demand for diamonds in the big markets like Dubai and the United States, the largest purchaser of diamonds, is declining sharply. Viral Chokshi, a diamond trader with Swastika International, explains, “Because of the recession, the diamond market has shut down in India right now. Over 200,000 people have been retrenched in Surat alone. If the American economy continues to struggle the prices they get at the auctions held in places like Panna will begin to fall as a consequence. Right now there is no demand.”

Some of those operating shallow mines in Panna are already engaged in highly dubious practices. With demand and prices falling, the temptation to cut corners and exploit those without the strength and education to fight back only increases. A new system is needed – one that protects people like Panda Rama and Bal Kishen, who spend their old age on their knees, in search of a sparkling object in the dirt that will transport them from a life spent in poverty

Special Report: THE DIAMOND DOOM

Prayaag Akbar finds a trail of corruption and exploitation in the diamond mines of Panna

When Panda Rama [name changed on request] found a large glowing, diamond amidst the dirt in an uthali mine in Panna, he did what he had been instructed to do by his boss – he slipped it to him instead of handing it over to the mining havaldaar. Later that week his boss gave him one thousand rupees for finding the diamond. “Now I wish I hadn’t given it to him,” he says, “If I had given it to the havaldaar at least I would know how much it was actually worth. It was a big stone. I haven’t found anything since then and that was last season. How am I supposed to survive?”

Panna district in Madhya Pradesh, the oldest and largest diamond source in India and once a territory coveted by emperors and kings, is threatening to devolve into the hotbed of a serious humanitarian crisis due to Government inaction, pilferage by local strongmen and the exploitation of adivasi workers in the area. The Hollywood film Blood Diamond might have brought attention to the diamond trade in countries like Botswana, Congo and Angola, the largest producers of diamonds in the world, but the lucrative diamond trade in Panna, in the heart of Bundelkhand, is surrounded by its own tales of hardship and exploitation. The Bundelkhand region is consistently ranked amongst the lowest in India in indices of per capita income, human development, literacy and infant mortality.

Everywhere around are indications of a desperate, pervasive poverty. Yet we are told time and again by proud locals of the area that this land is of great worth. As we approach Panna, our taxi driver says, “The land might look arid and poor, but there are diamonds in the ground here – is zameen main heere hain.” There are three aspects to the recent debilitation of the region and the growth in illegal activity here. First, the Government-run Navratna company NMDC [National Mineral Development Corporation], the largest employer for adivasis working in the diamond trade here, was forced to shut down the only mechanised mine in the country by the Supreme Court for environmental violations. As a result, for the last two years all the diamond extraction has been manually done, in what are called uthali [shallow] mines. These uthali mines, running across the district of Panna, are usually in small standing fields where diamonds have been found in the past.

Many of the adivasis prospecting for diamonds in these mines work without any wage, believing they will be allowed to keep 70% of the value of any stones they find. In reality any stones found are the property of those local contractors who have purchased the lease from the Madhya Pradesh Government. In addition, because the chances of finding valuable stones so close to the surface are minimal, the adivasis working in these mines often toil for months on end without any form of income. In effect, some contractors trick a large number of adivasis into working for them for free. Then, if diamonds are found, a fraction of the value of the stone is passed on to the labourer, with the contractor keeping the bulk of the revenue.

The Rakshaya Mine is a half hour drive from the town of Panna, a long, dry patch of cracked earth that bakes the soles of your feet as you walk upon it. A scene reminiscent of the Californian Gold Rush of the 1850s plays out under the midday sun. There seem to be two levels of employees here; the adivasis who sift through the soil, working without a wage, and the labourers who are paid their mazdoori every day. In one corner a number of the daily-wage labourers, generally young, fit and male, break open the massive Deccan Plateau boulders with kulhaadis. Young women carry the crushed stone to a pool of water a few hundred yards away. Others submerge the rock to separate stone from gravel. Perhaps because of their superior earning potential, perhaps because they are not adivasis, these workers are paid their minuscule daily wages by the contractors. The stone is then dried on flat mud beds until it will be sifted through by the adivasis. Most are old men and women or very young boys and girls.

Bal Kishen is a sun-scarred, needle-thin 60-year-old adivasi from southern Madhya Pradesh who travelled with his family to the mines of Panna to search for diamonds. He has been working here under the belief that he will be allowed to keep a substantial portion of the value of any stones he finds. Rising to his feet with surprising energy, he tells Covert: “Yes, we don’t get paid any daily wages, but I think of it as doing my own dhandaa. Before leaving home I saved up enough money to come here for six months with my family. This area was blessed many hundreds of years ago. It is a very spiritual place. Mahamati Prannath blessed the land for the king, who was his disciple. He was the one who said that diamonds will always be found in the soil.”

Kishen has been sifting through gravel, sand, and soil in search of these shiny stones for four months now. He spends all day working here under the sun, his four young children and wife alongside him in their quest. But he does not seem overly discouraged by the fact that his search has been fruitless. His confidence is borne of both superstition and subtle misdirection from those with power and money. “We came here four months ago. We haven’t found any diamonds yet but I’m sure we’ll come across something before the money runs out. What if I find a diamond worth Rs 5 or 6 lakhs? With that much money I can go home to my village very happily.” Without the workers realising, the contractor will keep most of the money from the auction of the stone. It is also problematic because these uneducated workers are encouraged to believe that stones of that value are regularly found in the shallow mines in this area. However, J.K. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer stationed in Panna, says, “The average value of most of the stones found in the shallow mines is about Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.”

Another serious problem in the trade here is that there is a great deal of pilferage of diamonds that are found, causing a direct loss of revenue for the Madhya Pradesh Government. The MP Government is the owner of all the mines in the region and only gives businessmen one-year contracts to operate shallow mines. The licence to prospect for diamonds here is available for only Rs 200. Stones that are found in the shallow mines are supposed to be handed over to Government officials, who then auction the diamonds once every four months. Officials have placed Mining Havaldaars – complete with khaki uniform and laathi – who are required to walk around two or three of these shallow mines every day and take possession of any stones that have been found. Shiddhi Lal, who spends most days of the year walking between three mines in this area, explains: “I have to cover all three mines in the area so sometimes it does become difficult.

If a stone is found and I am not there in that mine who is to say that the person who finds it does not just give it to the contractor or whoever is in charge at the mine? But I don’t think it happens very often. For example, once I took in a 3 carat stone from one of these mines. I remember it was auctioned off for Rs 1.5 lakh.”

Others disagree. Sitaram Patwaria, the owner of a hotel on the outskirts of Panna and a well-known figure in the community, contends that at least one-third of the stones found in the shallow mines are not declared to the havaldaars and pass under the radar of mining officials. “It is bound to happen, because the method of monitoring the extraction is not very good. The businessmen who buy the licences from the Government sometimes don’t want to give even that 10% of the value of the stone, so they tell their workers not to declare some of the stones they find. Diamond traders are always coming to town to buy diamonds – and they can pick these ones up on the cheap because they have to be sold quietly.”

Every resident with knowledge of the diamond trade Covert spoke with agreed that 30-40% of the stones would go undeclared every year. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer of Panna, while unsure about the extent of the illegal trade, admitted that a number of stones are kept out of the official tracking process without his knowledge.

Away from the town of Panna, the standard form of shelter is tiny, decrepit mud huts that are seen sporadically in clusters along the road. It is clear the area is mired in poverty, yet successive State Governments have failed to provide the infrastructure and facilities that would allow this severely underdeveloped region to benefit from this business. Pradeep Pateria, a lifelong resident of Panna and a worker in the Congress Party here, tells Covert: “The Government has failed us because they don’t provide the facilities they should. Industries should be developed here for cutting, polishing, shorting, gridding; if they had built a Diamond Park in this area it would have provided so many jobs. Instead the stones that come from this region create wealth in Bombay and Gujarat, instead of helping one of the poorest places in India.”

The Supreme Court has just sanctioned the reopening of the huge NMDC mine, which should revitalise diamond production here and bring some employment and industry back to Panna. But, inevitably, things will get worse before they get better. As the world economy spirals into recession the demand for diamonds in the big markets like Dubai and the United States, the largest purchaser of diamonds, is declining sharply. Viral Chokshi, a diamond trader with Swastika International, explains, “Because of the recession, the diamond market has shut down in India right now. Over 200,000 people have been retrenched in Surat alone. If the American economy continues to struggle the prices they get at the auctions held in places like Panna will begin to fall as a consequence. Right now there is no demand.”

Some of those operating shallow mines in Panna are already engaged in highly dubious practices. With demand and prices falling, the temptation to cut corners and exploit those without the strength and education to fight back only increases. A new system is needed – one that protects people like Panda Rama and Bal Kishen, who spend their old age on their knees, in search of a sparkling object in the dirt that will transport them from a life spent in poverty

Special Report: THE DIAMOND DOOM

Prayaag Akbar finds a trail of corruption and exploitation in the diamond mines of Panna

When Panda Rama [name changed on request] found a large glowing, diamond amidst the dirt in an uthali mine in Panna, he did what he had been instructed to do by his boss – he slipped it to him instead of handing it over to the mining havaldaar. Later that week his boss gave him one thousand rupees for finding the diamond. “Now I wish I hadn’t given it to him,” he says, “If I had given it to the havaldaar at least I would know how much it was actually worth. It was a big stone. I haven’t found anything since then and that was last season. How am I supposed to survive?”

Panna district in Madhya Pradesh, the oldest and largest diamond source in India and once a territory coveted by emperors and kings, is threatening to devolve into the hotbed of a serious humanitarian crisis due to Government inaction, pilferage by local strongmen and the exploitation of adivasi workers in the area. The Hollywood film Blood Diamond might have brought attention to the diamond trade in countries like Botswana, Congo and Angola, the largest producers of diamonds in the world, but the lucrative diamond trade in Panna, in the heart of Bundelkhand, is surrounded by its own tales of hardship and exploitation. The Bundelkhand region is consistently ranked amongst the lowest in India in indices of per capita income, human development, literacy and infant mortality.

Everywhere around are indications of a desperate, pervasive poverty. Yet we are told time and again by proud locals of the area that this land is of great worth. As we approach Panna, our taxi driver says, “The land might look arid and poor, but there are diamonds in the ground here – is zameen main heere hain.” There are three aspects to the recent debilitation of the region and the growth in illegal activity here. First, the Government-run Navratna company NMDC [National Mineral Development Corporation], the largest employer for adivasis working in the diamond trade here, was forced to shut down the only mechanised mine in the country by the Supreme Court for environmental violations. As a result, for the last two years all the diamond extraction has been manually done, in what are called uthali [shallow] mines. These uthali mines, running across the district of Panna, are usually in small standing fields where diamonds have been found in the past.

Many of the adivasis prospecting for diamonds in these mines work without any wage, believing they will be allowed to keep 70% of the value of any stones they find. In reality any stones found are the property of those local contractors who have purchased the lease from the Madhya Pradesh Government. In addition, because the chances of finding valuable stones so close to the surface are minimal, the adivasis working in these mines often toil for months on end without any form of income. In effect, some contractors trick a large number of adivasis into working for them for free. Then, if diamonds are found, a fraction of the value of the stone is passed on to the labourer, with the contractor keeping the bulk of the revenue.

The Rakshaya Mine is a half hour drive from the town of Panna, a long, dry patch of cracked earth that bakes the soles of your feet as you walk upon it. A scene reminiscent of the Californian Gold Rush of the 1850s plays out under the midday sun. There seem to be two levels of employees here; the adivasis who sift through the soil, working without a wage, and the labourers who are paid their mazdoori every day. In one corner a number of the daily-wage labourers, generally young, fit and male, break open the massive Deccan Plateau boulders with kulhaadis. Young women carry the crushed stone to a pool of water a few hundred yards away. Others submerge the rock to separate stone from gravel. Perhaps because of their superior earning potential, perhaps because they are not adivasis, these workers are paid their minuscule daily wages by the contractors. The stone is then dried on flat mud beds until it will be sifted through by the adivasis. Most are old men and women or very young boys and girls.

Bal Kishen is a sun-scarred, needle-thin 60-year-old adivasi from southern Madhya Pradesh who travelled with his family to the mines of Panna to search for diamonds. He has been working here under the belief that he will be allowed to keep a substantial portion of the value of any stones he finds. Rising to his feet with surprising energy, he tells Covert: “Yes, we don’t get paid any daily wages, but I think of it as doing my own dhandaa. Before leaving home I saved up enough money to come here for six months with my family. This area was blessed many hundreds of years ago. It is a very spiritual place. Mahamati Prannath blessed the land for the king, who was his disciple. He was the one who said that diamonds will always be found in the soil.”

Kishen has been sifting through gravel, sand, and soil in search of these shiny stones for four months now. He spends all day working here under the sun, his four young children and wife alongside him in their quest. But he does not seem overly discouraged by the fact that his search has been fruitless. His confidence is borne of both superstition and subtle misdirection from those with power and money. “We came here four months ago. We haven’t found any diamonds yet but I’m sure we’ll come across something before the money runs out. What if I find a diamond worth Rs 5 or 6 lakhs? With that much money I can go home to my village very happily.” Without the workers realising, the contractor will keep most of the money from the auction of the stone. It is also problematic because these uneducated workers are encouraged to believe that stones of that value are regularly found in the shallow mines in this area. However, J.K. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer stationed in Panna, says, “The average value of most of the stones found in the shallow mines is about Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.”

Another serious problem in the trade here is that there is a great deal of pilferage of diamonds that are found, causing a direct loss of revenue for the Madhya Pradesh Government. The MP Government is the owner of all the mines in the region and only gives businessmen one-year contracts to operate shallow mines. The licence to prospect for diamonds here is available for only Rs 200. Stones that are found in the shallow mines are supposed to be handed over to Government officials, who then auction the diamonds once every four months. Officials have placed Mining Havaldaars – complete with khaki uniform and laathi – who are required to walk around two or three of these shallow mines every day and take possession of any stones that have been found. Shiddhi Lal, who spends most days of the year walking between three mines in this area, explains: “I have to cover all three mines in the area so sometimes it does become difficult.

If a stone is found and I am not there in that mine who is to say that the person who finds it does not just give it to the contractor or whoever is in charge at the mine? But I don’t think it happens very often. For example, once I took in a 3 carat stone from one of these mines. I remember it was auctioned off for Rs 1.5 lakh.”

Others disagree. Sitaram Patwaria, the owner of a hotel on the outskirts of Panna and a well-known figure in the community, contends that at least one-third of the stones found in the shallow mines are not declared to the havaldaars and pass under the radar of mining officials. “It is bound to happen, because the method of monitoring the extraction is not very good. The businessmen who buy the licences from the Government sometimes don’t want to give even that 10% of the value of the stone, so they tell their workers not to declare some of the stones they find. Diamond traders are always coming to town to buy diamonds – and they can pick these ones up on the cheap because they have to be sold quietly.”

Every resident with knowledge of the diamond trade Covert spoke with agreed that 30-40% of the stones would go undeclared every year. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer of Panna, while unsure about the extent of the illegal trade, admitted that a number of stones are kept out of the official tracking process without his knowledge.

Away from the town of Panna, the standard form of shelter is tiny, decrepit mud huts that are seen sporadically in clusters along the road. It is clear the area is mired in poverty, yet successive State Governments have failed to provide the infrastructure and facilities that would allow this severely underdeveloped region to benefit from this business. Pradeep Pateria, a lifelong resident of Panna and a worker in the Congress Party here, tells Covert: “The Government has failed us because they don’t provide the facilities they should. Industries should be developed here for cutting, polishing, shorting, gridding; if they had built a Diamond Park in this area it would have provided so many jobs. Instead the stones that come from this region create wealth in Bombay and Gujarat, instead of helping one of the poorest places in India.”

The Supreme Court has just sanctioned the reopening of the huge NMDC mine, which should revitalise diamond production here and bring some employment and industry back to Panna. But, inevitably, things will get worse before they get better. As the world economy spirals into recession the demand for diamonds in the big markets like Dubai and the United States, the largest purchaser of diamonds, is declining sharply. Viral Chokshi, a diamond trader with Swastika International, explains, “Because of the recession, the diamond market has shut down in India right now. Over 200,000 people have been retrenched in Surat alone. If the American economy continues to struggle the prices they get at the auctions held in places like Panna will begin to fall as a consequence. Right now there is no demand.”

Some of those operating shallow mines in Panna are already engaged in highly dubious practices. With demand and prices falling, the temptation to cut corners and exploit those without the strength and education to fight back only increases. A new system is needed – one that protects people like Panda Rama and Bal Kishen, who spend their old age on their knees, in search of a sparkling object in the dirt that will transport them from a life spent in poverty

Special Report: THE DIAMOND DOOM

Prayaag Akbar finds a trail of corruption and exploitation in the diamond mines of Panna

When Panda Rama [name changed on request] found a large glowing, diamond amidst the dirt in an uthali mine in Panna, he did what he had been instructed to do by his boss – he slipped it to him instead of handing it over to the mining havaldaar. Later that week his boss gave him one thousand rupees for finding the diamond. “Now I wish I hadn’t given it to him,” he says, “If I had given it to the havaldaar at least I would know how much it was actually worth. It was a big stone. I haven’t found anything since then and that was last season. How am I supposed to survive?”

Panna district in Madhya Pradesh, the oldest and largest diamond source in India and once a territory coveted by emperors and kings, is threatening to devolve into the hotbed of a serious humanitarian crisis due to Government inaction, pilferage by local strongmen and the exploitation of adivasi workers in the area. The Hollywood film Blood Diamond might have brought attention to the diamond trade in countries like Botswana, Congo and Angola, the largest producers of diamonds in the world, but the lucrative diamond trade in Panna, in the heart of Bundelkhand, is surrounded by its own tales of hardship and exploitation. The Bundelkhand region is consistently ranked amongst the lowest in India in indices of per capita income, human development, literacy and infant mortality.

Everywhere around are indications of a desperate, pervasive poverty. Yet we are told time and again by proud locals of the area that this land is of great worth. As we approach Panna, our taxi driver says, “The land might look arid and poor, but there are diamonds in the ground here – is zameen main heere hain.” There are three aspects to the recent debilitation of the region and the growth in illegal activity here. First, the Government-run Navratna company NMDC [National Mineral Development Corporation], the largest employer for adivasis working in the diamond trade here, was forced to shut down the only mechanised mine in the country by the Supreme Court for environmental violations. As a result, for the last two years all the diamond extraction has been manually done, in what are called uthali [shallow] mines. These uthali mines, running across the district of Panna, are usually in small standing fields where diamonds have been found in the past.

Many of the adivasis prospecting for diamonds in these mines work without any wage, believing they will be allowed to keep 70% of the value of any stones they find. In reality any stones found are the property of those local contractors who have purchased the lease from the Madhya Pradesh Government. In addition, because the chances of finding valuable stones so close to the surface are minimal, the adivasis working in these mines often toil for months on end without any form of income. In effect, some contractors trick a large number of adivasis into working for them for free. Then, if diamonds are found, a fraction of the value of the stone is passed on to the labourer, with the contractor keeping the bulk of the revenue.

The Rakshaya Mine is a half hour drive from the town of Panna, a long, dry patch of cracked earth that bakes the soles of your feet as you walk upon it. A scene reminiscent of the Californian Gold Rush of the 1850s plays out under the midday sun. There seem to be two levels of employees here; the adivasis who sift through the soil, working without a wage, and the labourers who are paid their mazdoori every day. In one corner a number of the daily-wage labourers, generally young, fit and male, break open the massive Deccan Plateau boulders with kulhaadis. Young women carry the crushed stone to a pool of water a few hundred yards away. Others submerge the rock to separate stone from gravel. Perhaps because of their superior earning potential, perhaps because they are not adivasis, these workers are paid their minuscule daily wages by the contractors. The stone is then dried on flat mud beds until it will be sifted through by the adivasis. Most are old men and women or very young boys and girls.

Bal Kishen is a sun-scarred, needle-thin 60-year-old adivasi from southern Madhya Pradesh who travelled with his family to the mines of Panna to search for diamonds. He has been working here under the belief that he will be allowed to keep a substantial portion of the value of any stones he finds. Rising to his feet with surprising energy, he tells Covert: “Yes, we don’t get paid any daily wages, but I think of it as doing my own dhandaa. Before leaving home I saved up enough money to come here for six months with my family. This area was blessed many hundreds of years ago. It is a very spiritual place. Mahamati Prannath blessed the land for the king, who was his disciple. He was the one who said that diamonds will always be found in the soil.”

Kishen has been sifting through gravel, sand, and soil in search of these shiny stones for four months now. He spends all day working here under the sun, his four young children and wife alongside him in their quest. But he does not seem overly discouraged by the fact that his search has been fruitless. His confidence is borne of both superstition and subtle misdirection from those with power and money. “We came here four months ago. We haven’t found any diamonds yet but I’m sure we’ll come across something before the money runs out. What if I find a diamond worth Rs 5 or 6 lakhs? With that much money I can go home to my village very happily.” Without the workers realising, the contractor will keep most of the money from the auction of the stone. It is also problematic because these uneducated workers are encouraged to believe that stones of that value are regularly found in the shallow mines in this area. However, J.K. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer stationed in Panna, says, “The average value of most of the stones found in the shallow mines is about Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.”

Another serious problem in the trade here is that there is a great deal of pilferage of diamonds that are found, causing a direct loss of revenue for the Madhya Pradesh Government. The MP Government is the owner of all the mines in the region and only gives businessmen one-year contracts to operate shallow mines. The licence to prospect for diamonds here is available for only Rs 200. Stones that are found in the shallow mines are supposed to be handed over to Government officials, who then auction the diamonds once every four months. Officials have placed Mining Havaldaars – complete with khaki uniform and laathi – who are required to walk around two or three of these shallow mines every day and take possession of any stones that have been found. Shiddhi Lal, who spends most days of the year walking between three mines in this area, explains: “I have to cover all three mines in the area so sometimes it does become difficult.

If a stone is found and I am not there in that mine who is to say that the person who finds it does not just give it to the contractor or whoever is in charge at the mine? But I don’t think it happens very often. For example, once I took in a 3 carat stone from one of these mines. I remember it was auctioned off for Rs 1.5 lakh.”

Others disagree. Sitaram Patwaria, the owner of a hotel on the outskirts of Panna and a well-known figure in the community, contends that at least one-third of the stones found in the shallow mines are not declared to the havaldaars and pass under the radar of mining officials. “It is bound to happen, because the method of monitoring the extraction is not very good. The businessmen who buy the licences from the Government sometimes don’t want to give even that 10% of the value of the stone, so they tell their workers not to declare some of the stones they find. Diamond traders are always coming to town to buy diamonds – and they can pick these ones up on the cheap because they have to be sold quietly.”

Every resident with knowledge of the diamond trade Covert spoke with agreed that 30-40% of the stones would go undeclared every year. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer of Panna, while unsure about the extent of the illegal trade, admitted that a number of stones are kept out of the official tracking process without his knowledge.

Away from the town of Panna, the standard form of shelter is tiny, decrepit mud huts that are seen sporadically in clusters along the road. It is clear the area is mired in poverty, yet successive State Governments have failed to provide the infrastructure and facilities that would allow this severely underdeveloped region to benefit from this business. Pradeep Pateria, a lifelong resident of Panna and a worker in the Congress Party here, tells Covert: “The Government has failed us because they don’t provide the facilities they should. Industries should be developed here for cutting, polishing, shorting, gridding; if they had built a Diamond Park in this area it would have provided so many jobs. Instead the stones that come from this region create wealth in Bombay and Gujarat, instead of helping one of the poorest places in India.”

The Supreme Court has just sanctioned the reopening of the huge NMDC mine, which should revitalise diamond production here and bring some employment and industry back to Panna. But, inevitably, things will get worse before they get better. As the world economy spirals into recession the demand for diamonds in the big markets like Dubai and the United States, the largest purchaser of diamonds, is declining sharply. Viral Chokshi, a diamond trader with Swastika International, explains, “Because of the recession, the diamond market has shut down in India right now. Over 200,000 people have been retrenched in Surat alone. If the American economy continues to struggle the prices they get at the auctions held in places like Panna will begin to fall as a consequence. Right now there is no demand.”

Some of those operating shallow mines in Panna are already engaged in highly dubious practices. With demand and prices falling, the temptation to cut corners and exploit those without the strength and education to fight back only increases. A new system is needed – one that protects people like Panda Rama and Bal Kishen, who spend their old age on their knees, in search of a sparkling object in the dirt that will transport them from a life spent in poverty

Special Report: THE DIAMOND DOOM

Prayaag Akbar finds a trail of corruption and exploitation in the diamond mines of Panna

When Panda Rama [name changed on request] found a large glowing, diamond amidst the dirt in an uthali mine in Panna, he did what he had been instructed to do by his boss – he slipped it to him instead of handing it over to the mining havaldaar. Later that week his boss gave him one thousand rupees for finding the diamond. “Now I wish I hadn’t given it to him,” he says, “If I had given it to the havaldaar at least I would know how much it was actually worth. It was a big stone. I haven’t found anything since then and that was last season. How am I supposed to survive?”

Panna district in Madhya Pradesh, the oldest and largest diamond source in India and once a territory coveted by emperors and kings, is threatening to devolve into the hotbed of a serious humanitarian crisis due to Government inaction, pilferage by local strongmen and the exploitation of adivasi workers in the area. The Hollywood film Blood Diamond might have brought attention to the diamond trade in countries like Botswana, Congo and Angola, the largest producers of diamonds in the world, but the lucrative diamond trade in Panna, in the heart of Bundelkhand, is surrounded by its own tales of hardship and exploitation. The Bundelkhand region is consistently ranked amongst the lowest in India in indices of per capita income, human development, literacy and infant mortality.

Everywhere around are indications of a desperate, pervasive poverty. Yet we are told time and again by proud locals of the area that this land is of great worth. As we approach Panna, our taxi driver says, “The land might look arid and poor, but there are diamonds in the ground here – is zameen main heere hain.” There are three aspects to the recent debilitation of the region and the growth in illegal activity here. First, the Government-run Navratna company NMDC [National Mineral Development Corporation], the largest employer for adivasis working in the diamond trade here, was forced to shut down the only mechanised mine in the country by the Supreme Court for environmental violations. As a result, for the last two years all the diamond extraction has been manually done, in what are called uthali [shallow] mines. These uthali mines, running across the district of Panna, are usually in small standing fields where diamonds have been found in the past.

Many of the adivasis prospecting for diamonds in these mines work without any wage, believing they will be allowed to keep 70% of the value of any stones they find. In reality any stones found are the property of those local contractors who have purchased the lease from the Madhya Pradesh Government. In addition, because the chances of finding valuable stones so close to the surface are minimal, the adivasis working in these mines often toil for months on end without any form of income. In effect, some contractors trick a large number of adivasis into working for them for free. Then, if diamonds are found, a fraction of the value of the stone is passed on to the labourer, with the contractor keeping the bulk of the revenue.

The Rakshaya Mine is a half hour drive from the town of Panna, a long, dry patch of cracked earth that bakes the soles of your feet as you walk upon it. A scene reminiscent of the Californian Gold Rush of the 1850s plays out under the midday sun. There seem to be two levels of employees here; the adivasis who sift through the soil, working without a wage, and the labourers who are paid their mazdoori every day. In one corner a number of the daily-wage labourers, generally young, fit and male, break open the massive Deccan Plateau boulders with kulhaadis. Young women carry the crushed stone to a pool of water a few hundred yards away. Others submerge the rock to separate stone from gravel. Perhaps because of their superior earning potential, perhaps because they are not adivasis, these workers are paid their minuscule daily wages by the contractors. The stone is then dried on flat mud beds until it will be sifted through by the adivasis. Most are old men and women or very young boys and girls.

Bal Kishen is a sun-scarred, needle-thin 60-year-old adivasi from southern Madhya Pradesh who travelled with his family to the mines of Panna to search for diamonds. He has been working here under the belief that he will be allowed to keep a substantial portion of the value of any stones he finds. Rising to his feet with surprising energy, he tells Covert: “Yes, we don’t get paid any daily wages, but I think of it as doing my own dhandaa. Before leaving home I saved up enough money to come here for six months with my family. This area was blessed many hundreds of years ago. It is a very spiritual place. Mahamati Prannath blessed the land for the king, who was his disciple. He was the one who said that diamonds will always be found in the soil.”

Kishen has been sifting through gravel, sand, and soil in search of these shiny stones for four months now. He spends all day working here under the sun, his four young children and wife alongside him in their quest. But he does not seem overly discouraged by the fact that his search has been fruitless. His confidence is borne of both superstition and subtle misdirection from those with power and money. “We came here four months ago. We haven’t found any diamonds yet but I’m sure we’ll come across something before the money runs out. What if I find a diamond worth Rs 5 or 6 lakhs? With that much money I can go home to my village very happily.” Without the workers realising, the contractor will keep most of the money from the auction of the stone. It is also problematic because these uneducated workers are encouraged to believe that stones of that value are regularly found in the shallow mines in this area. However, J.K. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer stationed in Panna, says, “The average value of most of the stones found in the shallow mines is about Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.”

Another serious problem in the trade here is that there is a great deal of pilferage of diamonds that are found, causing a direct loss of revenue for the Madhya Pradesh Government. The MP Government is the owner of all the mines in the region and only gives businessmen one-year contracts to operate shallow mines. The licence to prospect for diamonds here is available for only Rs 200. Stones that are found in the shallow mines are supposed to be handed over to Government officials, who then auction the diamonds once every four months. Officials have placed Mining Havaldaars – complete with khaki uniform and laathi – who are required to walk around two or three of these shallow mines every day and take possession of any stones that have been found. Shiddhi Lal, who spends most days of the year walking between three mines in this area, explains: “I have to cover all three mines in the area so sometimes it does become difficult.

If a stone is found and I am not there in that mine who is to say that the person who finds it does not just give it to the contractor or whoever is in charge at the mine? But I don’t think it happens very often. For example, once I took in a 3 carat stone from one of these mines. I remember it was auctioned off for Rs 1.5 lakh.”

Others disagree. Sitaram Patwaria, the owner of a hotel on the outskirts of Panna and a well-known figure in the community, contends that at least one-third of the stones found in the shallow mines are not declared to the havaldaars and pass under the radar of mining officials. “It is bound to happen, because the method of monitoring the extraction is not very good. The businessmen who buy the licences from the Government sometimes don’t want to give even that 10% of the value of the stone, so they tell their workers not to declare some of the stones they find. Diamond traders are always coming to town to buy diamonds – and they can pick these ones up on the cheap because they have to be sold quietly.”

Every resident with knowledge of the diamond trade Covert spoke with agreed that 30-40% of the stones would go undeclared every year. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer of Panna, while unsure about the extent of the illegal trade, admitted that a number of stones are kept out of the official tracking process without his knowledge.

Away from the town of Panna, the standard form of shelter is tiny, decrepit mud huts that are seen sporadically in clusters along the road. It is clear the area is mired in poverty, yet successive State Governments have failed to provide the infrastructure and facilities that would allow this severely underdeveloped region to benefit from this business. Pradeep Pateria, a lifelong resident of Panna and a worker in the Congress Party here, tells Covert: “The Government has failed us because they don’t provide the facilities they should. Industries should be developed here for cutting, polishing, shorting, gridding; if they had built a Diamond Park in this area it would have provided so many jobs. Instead the stones that come from this region create wealth in Bombay and Gujarat, instead of helping one of the poorest places in India.”

The Supreme Court has just sanctioned the reopening of the huge NMDC mine, which should revitalise diamond production here and bring some employment and industry back to Panna. But, inevitably, things will get worse before they get better. As the world economy spirals into recession the demand for diamonds in the big markets like Dubai and the United States, the largest purchaser of diamonds, is declining sharply. Viral Chokshi, a diamond trader with Swastika International, explains, “Because of the recession, the diamond market has shut down in India right now. Over 200,000 people have been retrenched in Surat alone. If the American economy continues to struggle the prices they get at the auctions held in places like Panna will begin to fall as a consequence. Right now there is no demand.”

Some of those operating shallow mines in Panna are already engaged in highly dubious practices. With demand and prices falling, the temptation to cut corners and exploit those without the strength and education to fight back only increases. A new system is needed – one that protects people like Panda Rama and Bal Kishen, who spend their old age on their knees, in search of a sparkling object in the dirt that will transport them from a life spent in poverty

Special Report: THE DIAMOND DOOM

Prayaag Akbar finds a trail of corruption and exploitation in the diamond mines of Panna

When Panda Rama [name changed on request] found a large glowing, diamond amidst the dirt in an uthali mine in Panna, he did what he had been instructed to do by his boss – he slipped it to him instead of handing it over to the mining havaldaar. Later that week his boss gave him one thousand rupees for finding the diamond. “Now I wish I hadn’t given it to him,” he says, “If I had given it to the havaldaar at least I would know how much it was actually worth. It was a big stone. I haven’t found anything since then and that was last season. How am I supposed to survive?”

Panna district in Madhya Pradesh, the oldest and largest diamond source in India and once a territory coveted by emperors and kings, is threatening to devolve into the hotbed of a serious humanitarian crisis due to Government inaction, pilferage by local strongmen and the exploitation of adivasi workers in the area. The Hollywood film Blood Diamond might have brought attention to the diamond trade in countries like Botswana, Congo and Angola, the largest producers of diamonds in the world, but the lucrative diamond trade in Panna, in the heart of Bundelkhand, is surrounded by its own tales of hardship and exploitation. The Bundelkhand region is consistently ranked amongst the lowest in India in indices of per capita income, human development, literacy and infant mortality.

Everywhere around are indications of a desperate, pervasive poverty. Yet we are told time and again by proud locals of the area that this land is of great worth. As we approach Panna, our taxi driver says, “The land might look arid and poor, but there are diamonds in the ground here – is zameen main heere hain.” There are three aspects to the recent debilitation of the region and the growth in illegal activity here. First, the Government-run Navratna company NMDC [National Mineral Development Corporation], the largest employer for adivasis working in the diamond trade here, was forced to shut down the only mechanised mine in the country by the Supreme Court for environmental violations. As a result, for the last two years all the diamond extraction has been manually done, in what are called uthali [shallow] mines. These uthali mines, running across the district of Panna, are usually in small standing fields where diamonds have been found in the past.

Many of the adivasis prospecting for diamonds in these mines work without any wage, believing they will be allowed to keep 70% of the value of any stones they find. In reality any stones found are the property of those local contractors who have purchased the lease from the Madhya Pradesh Government. In addition, because the chances of finding valuable stones so close to the surface are minimal, the adivasis working in these mines often toil for months on end without any form of income. In effect, some contractors trick a large number of adivasis into working for them for free. Then, if diamonds are found, a fraction of the value of the stone is passed on to the labourer, with the contractor keeping the bulk of the revenue.

The Rakshaya Mine is a half hour drive from the town of Panna, a long, dry patch of cracked earth that bakes the soles of your feet as you walk upon it. A scene reminiscent of the Californian Gold Rush of the 1850s plays out under the midday sun. There seem to be two levels of employees here; the adivasis who sift through the soil, working without a wage, and the labourers who are paid their mazdoori every day. In one corner a number of the daily-wage labourers, generally young, fit and male, break open the massive Deccan Plateau boulders with kulhaadis. Young women carry the crushed stone to a pool of water a few hundred yards away. Others submerge the rock to separate stone from gravel. Perhaps because of their superior earning potential, perhaps because they are not adivasis, these workers are paid their minuscule daily wages by the contractors. The stone is then dried on flat mud beds until it will be sifted through by the adivasis. Most are old men and women or very young boys and girls.

Bal Kishen is a sun-scarred, needle-thin 60-year-old adivasi from southern Madhya Pradesh who travelled with his family to the mines of Panna to search for diamonds. He has been working here under the belief that he will be allowed to keep a substantial portion of the value of any stones he finds. Rising to his feet with surprising energy, he tells Covert: “Yes, we don’t get paid any daily wages, but I think of it as doing my own dhandaa. Before leaving home I saved up enough money to come here for six months with my family. This area was blessed many hundreds of years ago. It is a very spiritual place. Mahamati Prannath blessed the land for the king, who was his disciple. He was the one who said that diamonds will always be found in the soil.”

Kishen has been sifting through gravel, sand, and soil in search of these shiny stones for four months now. He spends all day working here under the sun, his four young children and wife alongside him in their quest. But he does not seem overly discouraged by the fact that his search has been fruitless. His confidence is borne of both superstition and subtle misdirection from those with power and money. “We came here four months ago. We haven’t found any diamonds yet but I’m sure we’ll come across something before the money runs out. What if I find a diamond worth Rs 5 or 6 lakhs? With that much money I can go home to my village very happily.” Without the workers realising, the contractor will keep most of the money from the auction of the stone. It is also problematic because these uneducated workers are encouraged to believe that stones of that value are regularly found in the shallow mines in this area. However, J.K. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer stationed in Panna, says, “The average value of most of the stones found in the shallow mines is about Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.”

Another serious problem in the trade here is that there is a great deal of pilferage of diamonds that are found, causing a direct loss of revenue for the Madhya Pradesh Government. The MP Government is the owner of all the mines in the region and only gives businessmen one-year contracts to operate shallow mines. The licence to prospect for diamonds here is available for only Rs 200. Stones that are found in the shallow mines are supposed to be handed over to Government officials, who then auction the diamonds once every four months. Officials have placed Mining Havaldaars – complete with khaki uniform and laathi – who are required to walk around two or three of these shallow mines every day and take possession of any stones that have been found. Shiddhi Lal, who spends most days of the year walking between three mines in this area, explains: “I have to cover all three mines in the area so sometimes it does become difficult.

If a stone is found and I am not there in that mine who is to say that the person who finds it does not just give it to the contractor or whoever is in charge at the mine? But I don’t think it happens very often. For example, once I took in a 3 carat stone from one of these mines. I remember it was auctioned off for Rs 1.5 lakh.”

Others disagree. Sitaram Patwaria, the owner of a hotel on the outskirts of Panna and a well-known figure in the community, contends that at least one-third of the stones found in the shallow mines are not declared to the havaldaars and pass under the radar of mining officials. “It is bound to happen, because the method of monitoring the extraction is not very good. The businessmen who buy the licences from the Government sometimes don’t want to give even that 10% of the value of the stone, so they tell their workers not to declare some of the stones they find. Diamond traders are always coming to town to buy diamonds – and they can pick these ones up on the cheap because they have to be sold quietly.”

Every resident with knowledge of the diamond trade Covert spoke with agreed that 30-40% of the stones would go undeclared every year. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer of Panna, while unsure about the extent of the illegal trade, admitted that a number of stones are kept out of the official tracking process without his knowledge.

Away from the town of Panna, the standard form of shelter is tiny, decrepit mud huts that are seen sporadically in clusters along the road. It is clear the area is mired in poverty, yet successive State Governments have failed to provide the infrastructure and facilities that would allow this severely underdeveloped region to benefit from this business. Pradeep Pateria, a lifelong resident of Panna and a worker in the Congress Party here, tells Covert: “The Government has failed us because they don’t provide the facilities they should. Industries should be developed here for cutting, polishing, shorting, gridding; if they had built a Diamond Park in this area it would have provided so many jobs. Instead the stones that come from this region create wealth in Bombay and Gujarat, instead of helping one of the poorest places in India.”

The Supreme Court has just sanctioned the reopening of the huge NMDC mine, which should revitalise diamond production here and bring some employment and industry back to Panna. But, inevitably, things will get worse before they get better. As the world economy spirals into recession the demand for diamonds in the big markets like Dubai and the United States, the largest purchaser of diamonds, is declining sharply. Viral Chokshi, a diamond trader with Swastika International, explains, “Because of the recession, the diamond market has shut down in India right now. Over 200,000 people have been retrenched in Surat alone. If the American economy continues to struggle the prices they get at the auctions held in places like Panna will begin to fall as a consequence. Right now there is no demand.”

Some of those operating shallow mines in Panna are already engaged in highly dubious practices. With demand and prices falling, the temptation to cut corners and exploit those without the strength and education to fight back only increases. A new system is needed – one that protects people like Panda Rama and Bal Kishen, who spend their old age on their knees, in search of a sparkling object in the dirt that will transport them from a life spent in poverty

Special Report: THE DIAMOND DOOM

Prayaag Akbar finds a trail of corruption and exploitation in the diamond mines of Panna

When Panda Rama [name changed on request] found a large glowing, diamond amidst the dirt in an uthali mine in Panna, he did what he had been instructed to do by his boss – he slipped it to him instead of handing it over to the mining havaldaar. Later that week his boss gave him one thousand rupees for finding the diamond. “Now I wish I hadn’t given it to him,” he says, “If I had given it to the havaldaar at least I would know how much it was actually worth. It was a big stone. I haven’t found anything since then and that was last season. How am I supposed to survive?”

Panna district in Madhya Pradesh, the oldest and largest diamond source in India and once a territory coveted by emperors and kings, is threatening to devolve into the hotbed of a serious humanitarian crisis due to Government inaction, pilferage by local strongmen and the exploitation of adivasi workers in the area. The Hollywood film Blood Diamond might have brought attention to the diamond trade in countries like Botswana, Congo and Angola, the largest producers of diamonds in the world, but the lucrative diamond trade in Panna, in the heart of Bundelkhand, is surrounded by its own tales of hardship and exploitation. The Bundelkhand region is consistently ranked amongst the lowest in India in indices of per capita income, human development, literacy and infant mortality.

Everywhere around are indications of a desperate, pervasive poverty. Yet we are told time and again by proud locals of the area that this land is of great worth. As we approach Panna, our taxi driver says, “The land might look arid and poor, but there are diamonds in the ground here – is zameen main heere hain.” There are three aspects to the recent debilitation of the region and the growth in illegal activity here. First, the Government-run Navratna company NMDC [National Mineral Development Corporation], the largest employer for adivasis working in the diamond trade here, was forced to shut down the only mechanised mine in the country by the Supreme Court for environmental violations. As a result, for the last two years all the diamond extraction has been manually done, in what are called uthali [shallow] mines. These uthali mines, running across the district of Panna, are usually in small standing fields where diamonds have been found in the past.

Many of the adivasis prospecting for diamonds in these mines work without any wage, believing they will be allowed to keep 70% of the value of any stones they find. In reality any stones found are the property of those local contractors who have purchased the lease from the Madhya Pradesh Government. In addition, because the chances of finding valuable stones so close to the surface are minimal, the adivasis working in these mines often toil for months on end without any form of income. In effect, some contractors trick a large number of adivasis into working for them for free. Then, if diamonds are found, a fraction of the value of the stone is passed on to the labourer, with the contractor keeping the bulk of the revenue.

The Rakshaya Mine is a half hour drive from the town of Panna, a long, dry patch of cracked earth that bakes the soles of your feet as you walk upon it. A scene reminiscent of the Californian Gold Rush of the 1850s plays out under the midday sun. There seem to be two levels of employees here; the adivasis who sift through the soil, working without a wage, and the labourers who are paid their mazdoori every day. In one corner a number of the daily-wage labourers, generally young, fit and male, break open the massive Deccan Plateau boulders with kulhaadis. Young women carry the crushed stone to a pool of water a few hundred yards away. Others submerge the rock to separate stone from gravel. Perhaps because of their superior earning potential, perhaps because they are not adivasis, these workers are paid their minuscule daily wages by the contractors. The stone is then dried on flat mud beds until it will be sifted through by the adivasis. Most are old men and women or very young boys and girls.

Bal Kishen is a sun-scarred, needle-thin 60-year-old adivasi from southern Madhya Pradesh who travelled with his family to the mines of Panna to search for diamonds. He has been working here under the belief that he will be allowed to keep a substantial portion of the value of any stones he finds. Rising to his feet with surprising energy, he tells Covert: “Yes, we don’t get paid any daily wages, but I think of it as doing my own dhandaa. Before leaving home I saved up enough money to come here for six months with my family. This area was blessed many hundreds of years ago. It is a very spiritual place. Mahamati Prannath blessed the land for the king, who was his disciple. He was the one who said that diamonds will always be found in the soil.”

Kishen has been sifting through gravel, sand, and soil in search of these shiny stones for four months now. He spends all day working here under the sun, his four young children and wife alongside him in their quest. But he does not seem overly discouraged by the fact that his search has been fruitless. His confidence is borne of both superstition and subtle misdirection from those with power and money. “We came here four months ago. We haven’t found any diamonds yet but I’m sure we’ll come across something before the money runs out. What if I find a diamond worth Rs 5 or 6 lakhs? With that much money I can go home to my village very happily.” Without the workers realising, the contractor will keep most of the money from the auction of the stone. It is also problematic because these uneducated workers are encouraged to believe that stones of that value are regularly found in the shallow mines in this area. However, J.K. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer stationed in Panna, says, “The average value of most of the stones found in the shallow mines is about Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.”

Another serious problem in the trade here is that there is a great deal of pilferage of diamonds that are found, causing a direct loss of revenue for the Madhya Pradesh Government. The MP Government is the owner of all the mines in the region and only gives businessmen one-year contracts to operate shallow mines. The licence to prospect for diamonds here is available for only Rs 200. Stones that are found in the shallow mines are supposed to be handed over to Government officials, who then auction the diamonds once every four months. Officials have placed Mining Havaldaars – complete with khaki uniform and laathi – who are required to walk around two or three of these shallow mines every day and take possession of any stones that have been found. Shiddhi Lal, who spends most days of the year walking between three mines in this area, explains: “I have to cover all three mines in the area so sometimes it does become difficult.

If a stone is found and I am not there in that mine who is to say that the person who finds it does not just give it to the contractor or whoever is in charge at the mine? But I don’t think it happens very often. For example, once I took in a 3 carat stone from one of these mines. I remember it was auctioned off for Rs 1.5 lakh.”

Others disagree. Sitaram Patwaria, the owner of a hotel on the outskirts of Panna and a well-known figure in the community, contends that at least one-third of the stones found in the shallow mines are not declared to the havaldaars and pass under the radar of mining officials. “It is bound to happen, because the method of monitoring the extraction is not very good. The businessmen who buy the licences from the Government sometimes don’t want to give even that 10% of the value of the stone, so they tell their workers not to declare some of the stones they find. Diamond traders are always coming to town to buy diamonds – and they can pick these ones up on the cheap because they have to be sold quietly.”

Every resident with knowledge of the diamond trade Covert spoke with agreed that 30-40% of the stones would go undeclared every year. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer of Panna, while unsure about the extent of the illegal trade, admitted that a number of stones are kept out of the official tracking process without his knowledge.

Away from the town of Panna, the standard form of shelter is tiny, decrepit mud huts that are seen sporadically in clusters along the road. It is clear the area is mired in poverty, yet successive State Governments have failed to provide the infrastructure and facilities that would allow this severely underdeveloped region to benefit from this business. Pradeep Pateria, a lifelong resident of Panna and a worker in the Congress Party here, tells Covert: “The Government has failed us because they don’t provide the facilities they should. Industries should be developed here for cutting, polishing, shorting, gridding; if they had built a Diamond Park in this area it would have provided so many jobs. Instead the stones that come from this region create wealth in Bombay and Gujarat, instead of helping one of the poorest places in India.”

The Supreme Court has just sanctioned the reopening of the huge NMDC mine, which should revitalise diamond production here and bring some employment and industry back to Panna. But, inevitably, things will get worse before they get better. As the world economy spirals into recession the demand for diamonds in the big markets like Dubai and the United States, the largest purchaser of diamonds, is declining sharply. Viral Chokshi, a diamond trader with Swastika International, explains, “Because of the recession, the diamond market has shut down in India right now. Over 200,000 people have been retrenched in Surat alone. If the American economy continues to struggle the prices they get at the auctions held in places like Panna will begin to fall as a consequence. Right now there is no demand.”

Some of those operating shallow mines in Panna are already engaged in highly dubious practices. With demand and prices falling, the temptation to cut corners and exploit those without the strength and education to fight back only increases. A new system is needed – one that protects people like Panda Rama and Bal Kishen, who spend their old age on their knees, in search of a sparkling object in the dirt that will transport them from a life spent in poverty

Special Report: THE DIAMOND DOOM

Prayaag Akbar finds a trail of corruption and exploitation in the diamond mines of Panna

When Panda Rama [name changed on request] found a large glowing, diamond amidst the dirt in an uthali mine in Panna, he did what he had been instructed to do by his boss – he slipped it to him instead of handing it over to the mining havaldaar. Later that week his boss gave him one thousand rupees for finding the diamond. “Now I wish I hadn’t given it to him,” he says, “If I had given it to the havaldaar at least I would know how much it was actually worth. It was a big stone. I haven’t found anything since then and that was last season. How am I supposed to survive?”

Panna district in Madhya Pradesh, the oldest and largest diamond source in India and once a territory coveted by emperors and kings, is threatening to devolve into the hotbed of a serious humanitarian crisis due to Government inaction, pilferage by local strongmen and the exploitation of adivasi workers in the area. The Hollywood film Blood Diamond might have brought attention to the diamond trade in countries like Botswana, Congo and Angola, the largest producers of diamonds in the world, but the lucrative diamond trade in Panna, in the heart of Bundelkhand, is surrounded by its own tales of hardship and exploitation. The Bundelkhand region is consistently ranked amongst the lowest in India in indices of per capita income, human development, literacy and infant mortality.

Everywhere around are indications of a desperate, pervasive poverty. Yet we are told time and again by proud locals of the area that this land is of great worth. As we approach Panna, our taxi driver says, “The land might look arid and poor, but there are diamonds in the ground here – is zameen main heere hain.” There are three aspects to the recent debilitation of the region and the growth in illegal activity here. First, the Government-run Navratna company NMDC [National Mineral Development Corporation], the largest employer for adivasis working in the diamond trade here, was forced to shut down the only mechanised mine in the country by the Supreme Court for environmental violations. As a result, for the last two years all the diamond extraction has been manually done, in what are called uthali [shallow] mines. These uthali mines, running across the district of Panna, are usually in small standing fields where diamonds have been found in the past.

Many of the adivasis prospecting for diamonds in these mines work without any wage, believing they will be allowed to keep 70% of the value of any stones they find. In reality any stones found are the property of those local contractors who have purchased the lease from the Madhya Pradesh Government. In addition, because the chances of finding valuable stones so close to the surface are minimal, the adivasis working in these mines often toil for months on end without any form of income. In effect, some contractors trick a large number of adivasis into working for them for free. Then, if diamonds are found, a fraction of the value of the stone is passed on to the labourer, with the contractor keeping the bulk of the revenue.

The Rakshaya Mine is a half hour drive from the town of Panna, a long, dry patch of cracked earth that bakes the soles of your feet as you walk upon it. A scene reminiscent of the Californian Gold Rush of the 1850s plays out under the midday sun. There seem to be two levels of employees here; the adivasis who sift through the soil, working without a wage, and the labourers who are paid their mazdoori every day. In one corner a number of the daily-wage labourers, generally young, fit and male, break open the massive Deccan Plateau boulders with kulhaadis. Young women carry the crushed stone to a pool of water a few hundred yards away. Others submerge the rock to separate stone from gravel. Perhaps because of their superior earning potential, perhaps because they are not adivasis, these workers are paid their minuscule daily wages by the contractors. The stone is then dried on flat mud beds until it will be sifted through by the adivasis. Most are old men and women or very young boys and girls.

Bal Kishen is a sun-scarred, needle-thin 60-year-old adivasi from southern Madhya Pradesh who travelled with his family to the mines of Panna to search for diamonds. He has been working here under the belief that he will be allowed to keep a substantial portion of the value of any stones he finds. Rising to his feet with surprising energy, he tells Covert: “Yes, we don’t get paid any daily wages, but I think of it as doing my own dhandaa. Before leaving home I saved up enough money to come here for six months with my family. This area was blessed many hundreds of years ago. It is a very spiritual place. Mahamati Prannath blessed the land for the king, who was his disciple. He was the one who said that diamonds will always be found in the soil.”

Kishen has been sifting through gravel, sand, and soil in search of these shiny stones for four months now. He spends all day working here under the sun, his four young children and wife alongside him in their quest. But he does not seem overly discouraged by the fact that his search has been fruitless. His confidence is borne of both superstition and subtle misdirection from those with power and money. “We came here four months ago. We haven’t found any diamonds yet but I’m sure we’ll come across something before the money runs out. What if I find a diamond worth Rs 5 or 6 lakhs? With that much money I can go home to my village very happily.” Without the workers realising, the contractor will keep most of the money from the auction of the stone. It is also problematic because these uneducated workers are encouraged to believe that stones of that value are regularly found in the shallow mines in this area. However, J.K. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer stationed in Panna, says, “The average value of most of the stones found in the shallow mines is about Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.”

Another serious problem in the trade here is that there is a great deal of pilferage of diamonds that are found, causing a direct loss of revenue for the Madhya Pradesh Government. The MP Government is the owner of all the mines in the region and only gives businessmen one-year contracts to operate shallow mines. The licence to prospect for diamonds here is available for only Rs 200. Stones that are found in the shallow mines are supposed to be handed over to Government officials, who then auction the diamonds once every four months. Officials have placed Mining Havaldaars – complete with khaki uniform and laathi – who are required to walk around two or three of these shallow mines every day and take possession of any stones that have been found. Shiddhi Lal, who spends most days of the year walking between three mines in this area, explains: “I have to cover all three mines in the area so sometimes it does become difficult.

If a stone is found and I am not there in that mine who is to say that the person who finds it does not just give it to the contractor or whoever is in charge at the mine? But I don’t think it happens very often. For example, once I took in a 3 carat stone from one of these mines. I remember it was auctioned off for Rs 1.5 lakh.”

Others disagree. Sitaram Patwaria, the owner of a hotel on the outskirts of Panna and a well-known figure in the community, contends that at least one-third of the stones found in the shallow mines are not declared to the havaldaars and pass under the radar of mining officials. “It is bound to happen, because the method of monitoring the extraction is not very good. The businessmen who buy the licences from the Government sometimes don’t want to give even that 10% of the value of the stone, so they tell their workers not to declare some of the stones they find. Diamond traders are always coming to town to buy diamonds – and they can pick these ones up on the cheap because they have to be sold quietly.”

Every resident with knowledge of the diamond trade Covert spoke with agreed that 30-40% of the stones would go undeclared every year. Solanki, the Mining and Diamond Officer of Panna, while unsure about the extent of the illegal trade, admitted that a number of stones are kept out of the official tracking process without his knowledge.

Away from the town of Panna, the standard form of shelter is tiny, decrepit mud huts that are seen sporadically in clusters along the road. It is clear the area is mired in poverty, yet successive State Governments have failed to provide the infrastructure and facilities that would allow this severely underdeveloped region to benefit from this business. Pradeep Pateria, a lifelong resident of Panna and a worker in the Congress Party here, tells Covert: “The Government has failed us because they don’t provide the facilities they should. Industries should be developed here for cutting, polishing, shorting, gridding; if they had built a Diamond Park in this area it would have provided so many jobs. Instead the stones that come from this region create wealth in Bombay and Gujarat, instead of helping one of the poorest places in India.”

The Supreme Court has just sanctioned the reopening of the huge NMDC mine, which should revitalise diamond production here and bring some employment and industry back to Panna. But, inevitably, things will get worse before they get better. As the world economy spirals into recession the demand for diamonds in the big markets like Dubai and the United States, the largest purchaser of diamonds, is declining sharply. Viral Chokshi, a diamond trader with Swastika International, explains, “Because of the recession, the diamond market has shut down in India right now. Over 200,000 people have been retrenched in Surat alone. If the American economy continues to struggle the prices they get at the auctions held in places like Panna will begin to fall as a consequence. Right now there is no demand.”

Some of those operating shallow mines in Panna are already engaged in highly dubious practices. With demand and prices falling, the temptation to cut corners and exploit those without the strength and education to fight back only increases. A new system is needed – one that protects people like Panda Rama and Bal Kishen, who spend their old age on their knees, in search of a sparkling object in the dirt that will transport them from a life spent in poverty

Poll Analysis: The 'Master Politics' Of 'Clear Governance'

By M H Ahssan | INN Live

Something big has happened this past week. While the focus of most political analysts is on individuals, there is a need to read the bigger message behind the results of the elections in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The clear winner here is “governance”.

People in Delhi and Rajasthan voted overwhelmingly against the lack of governance and transparency, while those in MP and Chhattisgarh continued their belief in the governance provided by the incumbent governments. Let's look at each state and how governance, or the lack of it, affected voting.

Over 16,600 farmer suicides in 2007

The broad trends of the past decade seem unshaken. Farmer suicides in the country since 1997 now total 182,936, but the real causes behind this devastation remain unaddressed, reports P Sainath.

Suicides by farmers of Maharashtra crossed the 4000 mark in 2007, for the third time in four years, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). As many as 4238 farmers of the State took their lives that year, the latest for which data are available, accounting for a fourth of 16,632 farmer suicides in the country.

The national total represents a slight fall, from 17,060 in 2006, but the broad trends of the past decade seem unshaken. Farmer suicides in the country since 1997 now total 1,82,936.

Yet again, the five worst-affected States - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh - account for two-thirds of all such suicides in the country. Together, they saw 11,026 in 2007. Of these, Maharashtra alone accounted for over 38 per cent. Of the "Big five," Andhra Pradesh saw a decline of 810 suicides against its 2006 total. Karnataka saw a rise of 415 over the same period. Madhya Pradesh (1,375) posted a decline of 112. But Chhattisgarh's 1593 means an increase of 110 over 2006.

Maharashtra registered a fall of 215. But Karnataka (2,135) and Andhra Pradesh (1,797) - the next two worst-hit States - together account for less than Maharashtra's 4000-plus. A one-year dip of 221 occurred in 2005 in the western State only to be followed by an all-time high of 4,453 suicides in 2006. This trend shows no turn-around and remains dismal.

Maharashtra's 2007 figure of 4238 follows one-and-half years of farm 'relief packages' worth around Rs.5000 crores and a prime ministerial visit in mid-2006 to the distressed Vidharbha region. Between 2005 and 2007, the State also saw a plethora of official reports, studies, and commissions of inquiry aimed at tackling the problem.

However, the 12,617 farmer suicides of these years are the worst-ever for any three-year period since the State began recording such data in 1995. Indeed, farmer suicides in Maharashtra since that year crossed the 40,000-mark. The structural causes of that crisis seem untouched.

Nationally, farmer suicides during 2002-2007 were worse than for the years 1997-2001. NCRB data are available for the whole country for 1997-2007. In the five years till 2001, there were 15,747 farmer suicides a year on average. For the six years from 2002, that annual average has risen to 17,366. The increase is distressingly higher in the main crisis States.

Is Most Wanted Don 'Dawood Ibrahim' Is Behind The 4,000 Cr Lottery Scam Backed By Pak Based Crime Syndicate?

As confidence tricks go, this one is not novel. But the sheer amount of money involved and the trail leading to Pakistan - possibly to a certain Dawood Ibrahim - make it a thriller. 

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has alerted the government about fraudulent lottery schemes run across India by an organised syndicate in Pakistan, which employs Indian agents to suck huge amounts of money from the gullible.

Women Sarpanchs: 'Fighting Against All Odds' In MP

By Shirish Khare / Bhopal

Panchayats of Madhya Pradesh provide reservation of up to 50 per cent for women, but the participation of women in governance has gone beyond such new roles. INN Live reports on how women leaders are transforming the very traditions and symbols of grassroots politics. 

It does not take much time to form stereotypes, especially if these are negative and related to women.

Caste politics come full circle in India

By Sudha Ramachandran

Upper-caste Brahmins, whose relevance in the electoral arena dwindled over the past few decades thanks to their relatively small numbers, are wielding significant influence in the general elections scheduled for next month. In fact, the master strategists and spin doctors of the main political parties in the poll fray are Brahmin.

"Most of the country's political strategists and backroom boys - those running the country's political war rooms, advising party leaders, drawing up electoral battle plans, negotiating tricky alliances, crunching numbers or just working on slogans and spin - are from among the 'twice-born' [Brahmins]," said Smita Gupta in an article in the newsmagazine Outlook.

Jairam Ramesh, the election coordinator of Congress - the lead party in the ruling coalition - and author of several of its policy documents, is Brahmin. As is the chief election strategist of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Arun Jaitley. Orissa chief minister and president of the Bharatiya Janata Dal Navin Patnaik's chief advisor is Pyarimohan Mohapatra, a Brahmin. So is the spokesperson of the Janata Dal-Secular, Y S V Dutta. Even the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a party of low-caste Dalits (the former "untouchables"), has a Brahmin, Satish Chandra Mishra, as its chief strategist.

What is more, the Brahmin vote is being assiduously courted by the BSP in the electorally crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. The party has given a fifth of the seats it is contesting in Uttar Pradesh to Brahmin candidates. Of the 80 seats up for grabs in Uttar Pradesh, 20 have been given to Brahmins as against 17 for Dalits. In the 2004 general election, the BSP fielded just eight Brahmin candidates.

Traditionally employed as priests, scholars and teachers, Brahmins are at the top of India's caste hierarchy. But constituting roughly 5% of the population - in several states especially in southern India they account for a mere 1-3% of the population - their electoral clout has been limited. This has been further circumscribed by the assertion of the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in the country's politics.

Many will argue that Brahmin influence in the power structure never diminished. Indeed, despite reservations for Dalits and OBCs, India's bureaucracy is significantly Brahmin. Many Brahmins figure among advisors to ministers and top officials in various departments. According to the Backward Classes Commission, Brahmins account for 37% of the bureaucracy.

While their presence in the bureaucracy is significant, Brahmins had become near non-entities in the electoral arena. Although several prime ministers were of Brahmin origin, the number of Brahmins in parliament declined steadily over the decades. The present Lok Sabha (Lower House of parliament), for instance, has only 50 Brahmin MPs - 9.17% of the total strength of the house, down from 19.91% in 1984.

While a head count of Brahmin voters, candidates or MPs would not amount to much, their numbers among the party strategists and spin doctors is significant. And several parties are eyeing the Brahmin vote in what is likely to be a close election and are fashioning their strategies with that in mind.

Take the BSP for instance. Its leader, Mayawati, who is the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, was once notorious for spewing venom on Brahmins and other upper castes. Her rallying cry was "Tilak, Tarazu aur Talwar, inko maaro joote chaar" (Thrash the Brahmin, the Bania and the Rajput with shoes). But in recent years she has been aggressively wooing Brahmins. And Mishra, her Brahmin advisor-cum-strategist is at the forefront of this courting of the community.

In the 2007 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP joined hands with the Brahmins. The Dalit-Brahmin alliance propelled the BSP to power.

While this was not the first time that the BSP formed a government or the first time a Dalit woman had become chief minister, the BSP's 2007 victory was historic as it was able to form a government on its own. And that had become possible because of the crucial support it received from Brahmins in the elections.

What prompted Mayawati to reach out to Brahmins? Caste arithmetic. The BSP has the support of the Dalits in Uttar Pradesh - it is sure of 21% of the vote in the state. But this meant only 100 seats or a fourth of the 403-seat assembly. It needed to draw in support from other castes and communities to come to power. With the OBCs unlikely to vote for Dalits - it is the OBCs that are the main oppressors of Dalits today and are in daily contact and conflict with them - Mayawati looked to the Brahmins.

As for the Brahmins, lacking a party to support - the BJP, which has traditionally attracted their votes, is in disarray in Uttar Pradesh - they accepted the BSP's hand.

With the Dalit-Brahmin alliance proving to be rewarding in the 2007 Uttar Pradesh assembly election, Mayawati is now replicating that strategy for the general elections. And it is not just in Uttar Pradesh that she is reaching out to Brahmins. Brahmins figure among her party's candidates in other states such as Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra as well.

The party that is the most agitated by the BSP's wooing of Brahmins is the BJP, which has traditionally drawn the Brahmin vote. But BJP sources say that outside Uttar Pradesh, Brahmins will continue to vote for its candidates. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Hindu organization that provides the BJP with its ideological moorings, is overwhelmingly Brahmin and its cadres are fanning out across the country to win support for the BJP.

While the Brahmin vote is being assiduously courted in Uttar Pradesh, this is not the case in south India where the Brahmins are numerically insignificant and politically marginal. But even here, a Brahmin woman, Jayalalithaa, has dominated one of the leading parties in Tamil Nadu and even became its chief minister.

For centuries, kings derived their legitimacy from the ritual investiture of their Brahmin priests. Brahmins played the role of advisors to kings. While the kings were hardly puppets in the hands of the Brahmins, the latter did wield immense influence and power.

Things changed in Independent India after 1947. The numerically insignificant Brahmin became politically irrelevant. But their influence in the electoral arena is growing again. Their vote in the larger states matters. Today political parties are looking to Brahmins to plot and strategize their victory in the polls.

The Brahmins, it seems, are back in the political game.

Special Report: How A 8-Month-Old Abhilasha Sent To Jail In Madhya Pradesh's 'Anti-Conversion' Case?

Recent cases in the state show how the anti-conversion law is being used as a political instrument to target Christians.

With the Bharatiya Janata Party pushing for a national anti-conversion law, it might be instructive to see how existing state laws are used (or not). Last week, INNLIVE reported on a ghar wapsi event in Gujarat’s Valsad district where Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists announced to the media that they had converted 400-500 Christian tribals to Hinduism. Under Gujarat's law, those holding or participating in religious conversion ceremonies must seek permission from the district authorities. No permission was sought by the VHP and yet the policemen present at the event felt no need to act against the organisers.