CHAPTER II

VILLAGERS AND CCLLIERS : THE FEOPLE OF

BHOWRA,12Q0-1920

2.1 Once upon a time ••••••

Once upon a time1 the villages af Bhowra must have

looked beautiful. There was Purnadih, on the banks of the

River Damodar, Persiabad, and Bandh Penda Bustee next to

the Bali Bamh. 2 Apart fran ±hese few villages, the land

was used for crops or remained as jungle. It is said that

'lang ago' there were huge forests. There \\6S so much

jungle south of Bhowra, at Mohul.bani, that one was soared

to cross it during the day, let alone at night.3

The River Damodar provided the villages with ample,

- clean water for drinking. It is said that the water was

so sweet and tasty that wanen fran Persiabad would carry it

in earthen pots on their heads to their homes.4 For washing

or bathing the few ban:ihs and streams sufficed. Wishing

clothes, 'in those days' was much easier, the air was so

clean that soap was not needed, and the villagers' clothing

was scant in any case.5

The people in the past, •many days ago' were simple

and honest. The original inhabitants of Bhowra, the Santals

and Nahatos, lived together amicably, almost like members

of the same family.6

In the past,women were partners, they were assets.

Dowry was almost unhoa.rd of, and the Santals actuallv can-

-44-

pensated the brides p:1rents by giving a brideprice. How

could they give dowry, for they did not have money either.7

The past is still living in the memories of the ori­

ginal inhabitants of Bhowra. It is not a p3.st •as it was',

but conditioned by the present. Santal women, who used many

prcrlucts from the jungle, now find themselves surrounded

by a landscape almost denuded of vegetation, and yet still

they go to the 'jungle' and bring back a few twig.s or

pieces of wood. The Santal men, who went huntipg in the

dense forests of I>iohulbani, still go an their annual hunt.

They usually return empty handed, or with a couple of

rabbits perhaps.8

The fields which provided the villagers with all the

basic necessities of life are swallowed up by quarries, pits

and inclinh. Now the villagers have to buy all their pro­

vis ions from the weal thy traders in the ba zar. Fish in

the bandhS can no longer survive in the polluted water.

The sweet water of the Damodar is rendered unfit for

dr:inking. After flowing through the whole length of the

coalfield, the polluted, filthy, black river, finally

reaches Bhowra. For drinking purposes_, tapped water has

been provided. Aluminium pots are al\'13-ys stacked high

around these taps or holes in the pipes, and women wait

anxiously in summer, hoping that today the \t.Elter w~ll come.

Women trek fran 7 Number Bustee to the Taxi Stand, and from

4 Number Bustee to Hospital More, to fill up their pots.

- 45-

The coal dust, which envelopes the landscape, is

both lived and breathed in Ehowra. En:iless bars of soap

are needed to get rid of the grime, from one's self and

one's clothing. 9 The dust that is inhaled, it is belie­

ved, needs ~ or alcohol to flush it out. Irmically

people love to sport sparkling white clothing, in sh:Lrp

contrast to their grey surroundings.

The corruption and dishonesty of government officials,

the ha.rrassment by the police, the exhorbi tant prices in

the bazar force villagers to recall a past free of such

elements. Santals and .t-1ahatos of Bhowra are indeed like

members of the same family When surrounded by a population

hailing from far away districts and states of India.

Mahatos have good reason to recall a past free from

dowry. For a daughter's marriage in Bhowra, television

set , motor-bike and a substantial cash payment nay be

demanded. Individual t.fahato men admire the absence of

dowry amongst the Santals, and lament that they too, did

not make such demands 'long ago•.10

The mixing up of "the past and present is inevitable,

they are inseparable. Stories fran the older generation

get pissed on, and remembered only if they have meaning

in today's existence. They usually remind the people of

how filthy, difficult and inhumane, life in the villages

of Bhowra has become.

Building on these memories, and romanticised notions

- 46 -

o:f the :past, I shall also begin to re-create. I however,

have other sources to tap, the records of those Government

of:ficials, reports, censuses and gazetteers and other writ­

ten material. I too, do not attempt to build up a pic"b.lre

o:f the p3.st 'as it \',B.S 1 , but a pa.st which survives in the

consciousness of the villagers and early inhabitants af

Bhowra.

2.2 Jungles and Agriculture

'Once upon a time 1 the land was actually covered with

jungle. Long ago, in the 15th and 16th centuries it is

reported that the whole of Chotanagpur ~s an impenetrable 11 forest of ~ and other trees. Even during the first

quarter of this century 44 per cent of the land was covered

by jungle.12 This jungle provided many products for the

sparce population the land supported, wood for fuel arrl

building, plants and roots for food, and the mahua flower

for brewing liquor. Tigers, leopards, bears, wolves,

hyenas and wild dogs ,~re •tolerably numerous' and various

kinds of deer abounded 1 fn the Hanbhum 14 district in the

1870's.

Still, Ma.nbhum was the least impenetrable district

of the Chota Nagpur division, being the eastern-most of

the plateau, bordering \vest Bengal. Jungle was fast dimi­

nishing, even be:fore the advent of the coalmines. By the

1870's the timber trade was in the hands o:f the contractors

- 47 -

of the ma.hajans, 15 and large numbers of ~ trees were

being cut down to use as railway sleepers as well as for

ordinary building purposes •16 It was also noted that in

the Da.modar Valley, and where the Jharia coalfield is loca­

ted, there existed only stunted jungle, since trees were

not allowed to grow to full height.17

Bhowra, at the southern end of the coalfield, \'wElS

probably spared some of it's jungle until the end of the

19th century due to it's inaccessibility. It was not well

connected until the railway line \'wElS extended to nearby

Pa.therdih in 1895.18 The River Damodar separates Bhowra

from the flat, fairly open land of Chandankiar1. Through

Chandankiari ran the old Pur! Pilgrim Road, from Gaya, Chas

and on through Bankura. 19 The main artery of the old dis­

trict, however, was the Grand Trunk Road, north of Bhowra.

The Damodar's waters were unpredictable, rendering naviga-

t . d . ''f . lt 20 ~on ~1 ~cu •

The dense forest at Mohulbani (the name itself means

'forest of mohul' or ma.hua.),perhaps did exist at the turn

of the century. One anthropologist has noted that the Santals

in Bhowra migrated fran Chanda:nkiari in search of land,

which indicated there \~S a greater abundance of jungle.

Even south of Nobal, 'widespread jungles' existed during

the early part of this century.21 Villages in Bhowra and

across the river were still emerging, and jungle land being

brought under cultivation at the turn of the century.

-48-

The receding jungle of Bhowra, and Ma.nbhum in general,

did have grave implications for a population which had

great use for its products. In the 1870's William Hunter

noted that because of these edible jungle products, the

'wild tribes of Manbhum' could survive during famine. 22 By

the last decade of the 19th century food shortages were

experienced in 1891, 1892, 1895 and 1896, perhaps due to

the expansion, and more intensive form, of cultivation than

was known earlier.23

By the time the settlement survey was done in M:l.nbhum

in 1918-25 it was noted that the extension of rice cultiva­

tion had reached its limit.24 The amount of rice cultiva-

tion increased during the latter half of the 19th century

but other crops such as sugarcane and cotton declined, and

indigo and jute disappeared by the 1920 1s.25 In Bhow.ra,

however, the cultivation of sugarcane did continue until

a few years ago, by the Santals of 4B Bus tee. Che festival, /

balad khuta, 26 was traditionally post-paned in this bustee

until their own jaggery was ready to make sweets. 27 Other

than rice, Bhowra's villagers grew mustard, pulses, maize,

vegetables and other grains. 28

Therewere observable differences in land use in Bhowra,

and across the River ]):lmodar. It is useful to examine these

differences since it may partly explain why local people

claim that the early mining labourers hailed fran Chandan­

kiari rather than Bhowra's villagers. 29

•

- 49 -

From the Settlement Report it is possible to canpare

Chandankiari with Jharia thana -whiCh included Bhowra. In

Jharia the amount of uncultivable land was higher (59%) than

in Charrlankiari (46%), the percentage of rice land was lower

too (23% and 33% respecti vely)~0 The land in Jharia was

much less productive than south of the Damodar. In crop

cutting experiments carried out during the course of the

Settlement Survey, in the thanas of Chas and Jharia, it was

found that in every category of land the amount of rice per

acre was much higher in the former than the latter.31 Land

rents too, were higher in Chas than in Jharia, for every

category of land.32

The amount of land Which was irrigated also greatly

differed. The lam irrigated by bandhs, in Jharia \\S.S only

11 per cent of cultivated land, whilst in Chandankiari it

was 32 per cent.33

From these figures it seems that 'across the river'

the land was more intensively cultivated, more productive,

better irrigated and having higher rents than this side,

in Bhowra. Perhaps the quality of land differed, but it

also reflected the differences of the people, of zamindars

and tenants on either side of the River •

2.3 Zamindars and Tenants

The land this side of the River. including Bhowra.

•

- 49 -

From the Settlement Report it is possible to canpare

Chandankiari with Jharia thana -which included Bhowra. In

Jharia the amount of tmcult·ivable land was higher (59)6) than

in Char:rlankiari (46%), the percentage of rice land -was lower

too (23% and 33% respectively)~0 The land in Jharia was

much less productive than south of the Damodar. In crop

cutting experiments carried out during the course of the

Settlement Survey, in the thanas of Chas and Jharia, it was

found that in every category of land the e.mount of rice per

acre was much higher in the former than the latter.31 land

rents too, were higher in Chas than in Jharia, for every

category of land.32

'Ihe amount of land which was irrigated also greatly

differed. The land irrigated by bandhs, in Jharia \\S.S only

11 per cent of cultivated land, whilst in Chandankiari it

was 32 per cent.33

From these figures it seems that 'across the river'

the land was more intensively cultivated, more productive,

better irrigated and having higher rents than this side,

in Bhowra. Perhaps the quality of larrl differed, but it

also reflected the differences of the people, of zamindars

and tenants on either side of the River •

2.3 Zamindars and Tenants

The land this side of the River, including Bhowra,

and beyom Jharia, v.as owned by the zamindar, the Raja of

,/

-50-

Jharia. The Jharia Estate was part of the Panchet Estate

which had twelve .frontier zamindars, more or less semi­

independent chiefs, who naninally acknowledged the suze­

rainty of Panchet, and would help in fighting. The Jharia

Raja was one of these t~lve zamindars, given land in lieu

of services, and moot probably of tribal extraction origi­

nally.34

In Manbhum, as a whole, Gokbale noted the lack of

antagonism be tween landlord and tenant, finding a relative

absence of rakuma.ts (landlord's exactions) and begari

(forced labour). He attributes this to the intellectual

developnent of the district, the tribal tenants who would

fight rather than submit, and because the landloros were

often of the same stack as their tenants. 3 5 The rents in

Manbhum for example were much lower than those in neighbour­

ing Palamau and Hazaribagh districts, 36 and bonded labour

almost completely absent.37 The majority of tenants were

relatively independent, in stark contrast to neighbouring

districts, and particularly in contrast to the conditions

fol.md in many other regions in India at that time •38

In Bhowra too, there is no history of open antago­

/ nism between the zamindar and tenant. The tenants of

Bhowra were originally the Santals, followed by Maha.to.s.

There were also a few potters, giving rise to a bustee

named Kumharpara, and drummers, known as Turis. Bhow.ra

did not have any large landholder, or intermediary tenure

- 51 -

holders. The tenants paid their rents directly to t:te

Raja •s agent.39 Given the general observation that the

greater the number of intermediaries in the hierarchy bet­

ween the raja and the peasant, the greater the burden on -the latter, Bh~a •s villagers were in a much better situa­

tion than the peasants across the river.

In Chandankiari the hierarchy between the raja am

the tenant was far more canplex. The Fa.nchet Raja deputed

upper caste Hindus such as Brahmins, Rajputs and Kayasths

to settle in Chandankiari.40 Southern :Manbhun \\S.S mare

accessible than north of the Damodar, the land already

settled and cultivated. In Moha.l am Am~abad the local

/ zamindars were Rajputs, balling fran Rajasthan probably

more than two htmdred years ago.41

This canplex hierarchy across the river has led to

a more tmequal distribution of land, with large areas being

owned by :families with titles such as Ojha, Mahatta, Singh

as well as the Shek.ha.r family of Mohal. Conversely, the

number of lawless \\G.S also greater, with canmunities such

/ as Bouris, Haris, Chamars and r<loslems owning very little

1and.42 The relationship between these larxilords and the

., peasants was more antagonistic, and local villagers did

at times fight against the zamindars •43

In 1920 when villagers were displaced due to construc­

tion of a raU-v.ay siding at Aml.abad, most of the land belon­

ged to the Shek.ha.r family, sane belonged to the Rajwar

J

--'

-52-

community, and the rest to a mixture of Bauris, Santals, 44 Kunhars, and one Bengali Brahmin, Chakrabarty. The pre-

sence of higher and lower castes, large landholders a:rxi

landless, was predominant in Chandankiari as a whole, where­

as in Bhowra it was nat.

The easier accessibility of Chandankiari meant that

the impact of migration was felt here much earlier than in

Bhowra. Ma.nbhun as a whole was more accessible than atrer

districts of Chota Nagpur, the impact of this can be seen in

the large number of land transfers. Seventy-five per cent

of transactions of sale of ryoti (peasant) lam in Chota

Nagpur from 1883 to 1903 were in Manbhum. 'lhe amount of

land mortgaged in Manbhum ,as found to be more than double

any other district in the division of Chota Nagpur. Alie­

nation of this land was usually through the debt mechanism~5 Inde bted.ne ss was rampant in Manbhun in the 1 9th cen­

tury, one study showed 65 per cent of peasantsand artisans

were indebted.46 Hunter found most of the poorer cultiva­

tors in the 1870's were indebted to the mahajan or village

rice-merchant. 4 7 . Chandankiari villagers remember being

continually indebted to the mahajan,and every harvest ~lf

of their crops would be sent to him.48 Hunter reckoned

about a qtarter of the entire population of I>Bnbhun had

little or no land. 49 Most of these landless within Han bhtm

would, ~s· seems logical to assume, be found in the areas

more accessible, like C.handankiari, Chas and south of the

River Damodar.

-53 -

2.4 Hindu Hierarchy and Migration

The changing land relations in I'1anbhum in the 19th

cen"b.lry was not the only imp3.ct of migration fran the plains

of Bengal and Bihar. The migrants also brought with them

Hindu concepts of society, the caste hierarchy. The caste

system, alien to tribal society, began to establish itself

:'in the formerly jungle tract. It has been noted that even

by the 18th cen"b.lry, "Hindus had already succeeded in

superimposing their own social and economic structure," in

f-1anbhum and other northern districts of Palamau and H3.zari­

bagh.50 In fact unequal distribution of land and the caste

hierarchy are two sides of the same coin.

It is interest.ing to note here the Raja of Jharia • s

ancestral origins, according to himself. He claims that

they are Rajputs, and they hail fran Reva district of Madhya

Pradesh. During the time of the Mogul. Empire, when lots of

fighting was going on, fleeing frcm Reva, they arrived in

M:lnbhum, which was ruled by Dan chieftains. 51 Tigers

roamed around in the jungles, and these Rajputs killed many

wlld beasts.

One day, soon after arriving in Manbhum, they were

resting under a mango tree, when they saw the ripe .fruit

above their heads. They requested the local peasants to

lend them their plough, which they threw into the tree,

and the mangoes fell down. 'Ihe peasants, impressed and

-54-

a£raid by such strong people, organised themselves to rid

the area o£ the Rajputs. Despite their £ewer numbers, the

superiority o£ the Rajputs over the low caste Dams was

established, the latter were finally de£eated at Danghar,

near Sindri.52

His .story however is indicative o£ the Raja o£ Jharia' s

claim to Rajput status, and has been handed down £or seve­

ral generations. That their ancestors hailed £rom Midhya

Pradesh, and their physical prowess established their

right to rule, are part o£ this aspiration £or recognition.

Unfortunately, however, the Raja's claim is largely un­

accepted by local villagers. 'Tikait' is the title given

to the £irst san in these Rajput £amilies, giving rise to

a local saying, "I£ they are poor they are called Ghatwars,

and il they are rich they call themselves Tikai trr •53 The

Rajput £amily o£ Mobal, claiming to hail £rom Rajasthan ·

himseli, does not recognise the Raja's claim either. All

the villagers seem to accept him as a Gbatwar, and point

out that he is actually a Harijan.

His claim to higher status in the caste hierarchy

was a common phencmena throughout Chota Nagpur. Schwerin

notes that tribal chie£s assumed the role o£ 'Raja •, adop­

ted all the trappings o£ Hindu royalty, and then invited

Hindus £rem the plains to settle, in return £or their ser-

vices and merchandise.54 The Raja of Jharia boasts that

it \'.6S his ancestors who brought the higher castes to

....

- 55 -

settle here. They gave big plots of land to Brahmins, and

also gave land to barbers, washermen and other service

castes •55

The caste hierarchy, however, did not leave the re­

maining population unaffected. It is probable that most

of Manbhum •s lower castes, were once tribals. The Ba.uris,

Mallicks, :t-Iahul.is and Turis, it is conjectured, are all

converted abariginals.56

Sane of the Ma.hato community of Bhowra also claim

to hail fran far afield. They have heard that they origi­

nally came from Gaya district. One of their wanen -was

demanded by the Moslem Raja, so, to keep their 'honour' in

tact, they decided to flee. They came to Chota Nagpur,

pursued by the lwloslems. The f>.lahatos took refuge with the

.- Santals, who then dominated the whole area. In the Santal

households they were fed pork, the Moslems on seeing this

feasting were repulsed, and they returned to Gaya. Since

then the Santals and Iolabatos have been friends. 57

There are probably other such tales, but most scholars

now accept that the Mahatos of Manbhurn, ethnically, are of

aboriginal stock.58 Their conversion to Hinduism, however,

stems back long before the present century. As a peasant

community they managed to retain their land in the face of

/ migration, and could claim 'superior' status far themselves

even at the beginning of the 20th cenillry.59

others were far less successful. in retaining their

- 56 -

land, and in claiming higher status.for themselves, in the

19th century. The landless were not only Hinduized, but

at the lowest rung of the caste hierarchy. The Haris,

became known as sweepers, !Buris as palanquin-bearers, Dans

as scavengers, Turis as drummers and so on. Such commu-

nities did not reside in Bhowra at the beginning of this

century, Bouris and Haris in particular claim to bail fran

Chandankiari or Chas, across the river. Not only did

southern Na.nbhum have larger number of lower caste Hindus

than in Bhowra., but had larger numbers of the higher

castes, such as Bra.hnins. 60

The Santals, however, did not bee ane a part of the

;· H.indu hierarchy, and have retained their tribal identity.

Even today they speak their own, completely different,

language, unlike other ccmmunities of Dhanba.d who speak

dialects similar to Hindi and Bengali. With the onslaught

of migration the response of the Santal peasant has been,

historically,to leave and go elsewb.ere.61 So long as land

existed elsewhere the Santa.ls would go and clear the jungle

and settle there. other communi ties would follow later.

This happened in BhQ\'tt'a 's case too, first the Santa.ls came,

cleared the jungle, then the Male.tos came. 62 The Mi~tos were, apparently, good cultivators, but not good at clear­

ing jungle land.

It seems likely that Bhowra. was settled much later

than across the river, in Chanda.nkiari, hence fewer higher

-57-

, and lower castes. Until 1901 the Jharia tham not onJ.y

had a greater proportion of .sa.ntals, but most of them were

enumerated as 'animists', whereas in Chas thana much few

'animists' were found.63 Not only were the Santals being

pushed off the land in Chas and Chandankiari, sane of them

finding their way to Bhowra, but those who remained were

more vulnerable to the onslaught of the Hindu settlers.

The effect of these developments in the 18th an:l 19th

century produced a local population, in Bhowra, Chandan­

kiari and in Manbhum district generally by the tur'n of the

century, which displayed enormous differences. Differences

in terms of their relationship to the land, and in the

Hindu caste hierarchy. Such differences also manifested

,; itself in the lifestyle of the villagers, and their atti­

tudes towards women.

wanen and Village Life in Bhowra and Ch.andankiari

The Santals, the original settlers of Bhowra, are

more numerous in jtmgle tracts, where arable land is less,

such as in Tunii, the northern part of Dha.nba.d district. 64

Their ability to clear the jungle for cultivation, and to

live off many of the products of the jungle, differentiates

them fran other agricul ture.l castes. It is the Santals of

~ Bhowra who lament the fast disappearing jungle, for both .

men and wanen utilized it, for hunting, and for i t 1s edi-

-58-

ble and medicinal products. 65

Santal settlements are not found alongside higher

caste households. They would not take food cooked by Brah­

mins either, even if they were starving.66 It seems that

they have maintained their tribal identity more successfully

by avoiding close contact, as far as possible, with the

higher castes. They have a deep, and well-founded, dis-

trust of outsiders, who are called dikus. Diku does not -simply denote 'outsider' but implies 'looter', •trouble­

maker', 'deceiver', •exploiter', etc.67 Since these dikus

would try to harrass and exploit them, 68 segregation from

them is understandable.

This distance from the Hindus has also left many of

their tribal traditions and lifestyle intact. Their houses,

for example, :have always been easily distinguished from

other communi ties • Their villages were "exemplarily

clean", not crowded and dirty like many villages in Bihar,

it was noted in 1911.69 Even in the 1960's the Gazetteer

notes th:lt the Santals h:lve "a sense of cleanliness and

beauty which is in contrast with the low class Hindus. vle

scarcely find a Santal village where dirt will be found."70

The ability to survive on jungle products, and the

beautifully decorated houses of the Santals, owes much to

the wcmen of that community. Gathering jungle products was

the \AfOrk of women, 71 and it was their contribution that

help:d them survive famine conditions. 0'I1alley noted that

-59-

they "manage to subsist under conditions which would result

in .famine among the cultivators o.f the plains. n72

\'Iemen 's contribution to the household econany w:ts

valued, Santals had a system o.f brideprice, given to the

bride's .family to compensate the loss o.f their daughter

during marriage. The Santal saying, "the le.ft hand (woman)

is equally powerful as the right one (man)",sums up Santal

attitudes towards wcmen. 73

The depletion o.f the jungle has obviously upset the

Santals' division o.f labour. Men too, .for they could no

· longer hunt game either. The alternative o.f abandoning

land and shifting elsewhere was no longer possible by the

beginning o.f this century. In Tundi, therefore, when the

zamindar attempted to restrict the Santals' .forest rights

in 1869, the ensuing discontent .forced the zamindar to run

a,~yto Katras. Pushed to the limits o.f exploitation ·by

landlords increasing the rent, and their land being gradual­

ly alienated, the Santals rose in opposition. ~spite o.f

protective legislation, the dikus .found other ways of

alienating 1and.74

This alienation o.f their land has also to be seen in

the context o.f other characteristics o.f the Santals. They

have been praised in many sources for their 'special

genius •at .cl.earing jungles, .for being 'gocd temnts' and

gocd, hard workers. 75 They worked hard, both men ani wo:nen,

but they also knew how to enjoy themselves, and ~re known

.for their improvidence, drinking ani dancing. 76

- 60 -

The Maha.tos, however, have been far more successful

in retaining their land. They gained supremacy over the

Santals, as cultivators, in the 19th century, and Inlton

notes tile possibility of struggle with them. 77 By the 19th

century the Nahatoo were Hinduised to a great extent. 78

They do predominate in areas where agricultural larrl is

better, such as in Chandankiari and nat in 'fundi.

In Bhowra, and elsewhere, M3.ha.tos lived alongside

Santals, but their houses, lifestyle and attitudes towards

women do differ significantly. Their houses, for example,

can easily be distinguished from Santal house-holds. They

are less artistically decorated, with the floors and walls

unevenly levelled.

Maha tos -were not only less skilled at cleaning the

jungle, but were not known to use jungle prcxiucts as the

Santals did. 79 The r-1ahatos' •success' as cultivators

meant the demise of hunting and gathering, and shifting

cultivation which were still evident amongst the Santals.

The form of cultivation mirrored that of the plains of

Bengal and Bihar. The process of their Hinduization, there­

fore, seems to have gone hand-in-hand with settled culti-

vatian.

For "WOmen, the •success' at cultivation, maant the

devaluation of her labour, and the strengthening of the

rule of the patriarch.80 Though probably during the 19th

century this did not lead to restrictions on women's move-

/

- 61 -

ments, she did not go to the jtmgle as Santal wanen did.

Drinking and dancing amongst Mahato women is not even re­

called by the oldest members of this community.

Across the river, the Bauri canmunity are found in

large numbers. Their houses are often found squashed in

amongst the higher castes, and had, by the turn of the

century been thoroughly impoverished by them. They were

probably of tribal origin, and had owned land in the past,

but by this century these were largely eroded. They be­

came known as palanquin bearers, but by the 1 900 1 s they

survived mainly as agricultural labourers. 81 The higher

castes that the Raja of Panchet had invited, the Shekhars,

Brahmins such as Ojhas, Ti\\8ris, Chakravarty, and Bhumih.ars

too, needed agricultural labourers to farm their land.

The liberal attitudes tov;ards women, prevalent among

all tribal communities, led to many Bauri women becoming

the concubines of these higher caste men. 82 In the process

of their degradation as a community, these men took advan­

tage of the freedom of movement amongst Bouri women and

exploited their economic impoverishment. Whilst women of

their own family, however, were kept well hidden, and

suffered many restrictions.83 Within the Bouri community

however, they did not look down upon wanen that became

concubines.

The Santals, Naha.tos and Bouris were the three most

numerous canmunities at the beginning of this century in

- I

- 62 -

the Jharia area.84 In terms of their position within the

caste hierarchy, their economic position and attit~des to­

wards women,there existed differences which would determine

their response to the coal mines. The mines affected,

fundamentally, all these communities, but in different

ways.

2.6 Early f'Iining Con:li tions in Bhowra

Eastern Cool Company, owned by one Lord Inchce.pe of

Scotland, mamged by Messrs Mackinnon and Hackenzie and

Company Limited, acquired some 7362 bighas of land from

Raja Shree Durga Prasad Singh of Jharia in 1900. They

paid Rs. 93,000 as a salami and agreed to pay 3i annas per

ton of all coal despatched. For the land, they ];aid rent

of Rs. 2 per bigha for wasteland, and Rs. 5 for good cul tiva­

ted land.85

The mine was opened up following the extension of

the railway line from Jharia to Patherdih in 1895. In 1901

the first coal was extracted from Bhowra, some 6010 tons

were raised. 86

The colliery was steam powered indicating the mine

was technologically advanced,even from the very beginning. ~

Bhowra colliery be came kno\'m as one of the better managed

and progressive collieries. Since the mine was British-

o,-med it v.as favoured by the administration. For example

during the First \vorld \\tlr Ihowra colliery was allowed to

t

- 63 -

produce an unres1ricted amount of coal unlike the smaller

Indian owned mines whose production was restricted.87

Generally the British mines were bigger, more mecha­

nised and prcxiuced higher quality coal than Indian-owned

mines. Bhowra•s coal was certainly high grade, and it \\B.s

also a 1 captive 1 colliery. The managing agents of Bhowra,

were also the agents for the British India Steam Navigation

Company (BISNCo.). BISNCo.needed an assured supply of

~ steam coal, and Bhowra colliery fulfilled this need until

the Second World War, when steam navigation began to go

out of vogue.88 Since Bhowra 1s mines had an assured mar-

ket the company could invest in machinery, ani expand pro­

duction steadily, unlike most coal mines which had to

suffer enormous boans and slumps in coa.l demand until the

1920's.

In spite of this, these early years of coalmining in

Bhov1ra did not witness extensive mechanisation. The mines

were still very shallow. Most coal ,...as extracted via in­

clines, and \~S dug out by picks and shovels, and loaded

by baskets. When increased production was needed in the

First world War quarries were opened since the sinking of

pits was expensive, and needs more technology.

The sinking of deep pits would have also needed a

more stable workforce than existed in Bhowra in the first

two decades. Miners preferred shallow mines, ar.rl even

higher \\Elges could not tempt them to work in deeper pits. B9

- 64 -

Only in the second decade was an element of new technolo­

gy introduced in Bh~a.90

In spite of thelimited m.achinery, and the management

by qualified mining engineers, the early mines were cer­

tainly unsafe. At Bhowra the coal seams were thick, and

the galleries driven were so high that the sides could not

be secured. The 34 feet high \~lls were discovered after

a rock fell am killed two miners in 1910. Such heights

are both unsafe and unscientific. 91

The coal is extracted from below ground by making

galleries, and then driving galleries from this main one,

at right angles, leaving pillars of coal to support the

roof of the mine. For safety these pillars should be wide,

but to extract the maximum amount of coal, as cheaply as

possible, these pillars were invariably reduced. 'Pillar

robbing' by the miners was common, and a frequent cause

of death. Such practices were often done with the conni­

vance, or orders, of the mining sirdar. Everyone in the

mines, from raising contractor to the actual miners, were

piece-rated, which facilitated this practice further.

In Bhowra, roof .falls killed Tethor Bhuiya, Dukhu

Rajwar,Mukteswar Nahato, Nago Bhuiya and Jittoo Gorai bet­

ween 1911 to 1918.92

Above ground too, no-one was safe from the 'pillar­

robbing' going on below ground. In February 1916, in the

middle of the night, suddenly the earth opened up, and a

- 65 -

whole row of dhO\-trahs fell into it. There ,.,ere three rows,

one remained, one subsided intact, and the third, trag;i

cally fell sidewa.ys. Of the forty-five people 1iving there,

twenty-four died. They were all locals, probably from

Chandankiari,Bouris .and Raj".e.rs, and included men, women

and children. Whole families had been living there.

Below ground the manager had been 'experimenting'

with 1;,e.ys to extract more coal, at little extra cost, by

splitting the pillars into several smaller ones. And even

these pillars had been robbed. The management calculated

the cost, Rs. 3000 worth of tubs, and. Rs. 2000 worth of rail.

Compensation for the miners• families was not mentioned,

since, presumably, it was not given. 93

Other dangers, hidden dangers, also existed, such as

fire damp. Miners took naked lights into the mines, such

as Tiku Singh in 1912. Accord:ing to the sirdar the fan

turned onto the gas and caused the explosion which killed

him. His two brothers, who used to work with him, ran a\4iy

from the mine canpletely. 94

Haulage accidents too, -were common. Tubs -were used

to bring the coal to the surface, on rail tracks laid be­

low ground. In 1911 Fagu Koiri and Kartik Singh were killed

when the ropes gave way, and the tubs ran wild.99 Such

accidents with tubs below gr-otmd, and wagons at the railway

sidinms,occurred.

These accidents show that whatever machinery existed

-. '

,;_ 66 -

in Bhowra, also had their dangers. Although the colliery

was better mana.ged than many others, fa tal accidents ~re

not infrequent. The number of accidents increased in the

second decade of this century, after the mine had establi­

shed itself.

In the field of health, the second decade of Bhowra's

history, also witnessed nany epidemics. Migration to the

coalfield had brought about a population explosion, 96 and

the bosses and the district administration ~re unable,

incapable ani unwilling to address themselves to public

health problems which would, and did, occur. Until 191 o,

only one serious outbreak of cholera took place, in 1908.

Yet the following decade witnessed epidemics of cholera

almost every year from 1913 to 1919 and many died due to

influenza in 1918 and 1919. 97

The mining settlements ~re not only hit by epide­

mics, but were generally unhealthy, dirty and totally

devoid. of amenities. In 1917 one Government camnittee

noted the lack of any facilities. The company-built

dhowrahs afforded no privacy, ~re ugly ani unhealthy, the

only 'facility• being the liquor shop. The worker, the

report notes, had no inducement to stay 1 a minute longer

than necessary• at the colliery. 98

2.7 Migration to the Mines

After the coalmines were opened in the Jharia coal-

. !

- 67 -

field the scale of migration increased rapidly.99 ''lhe mig­

ration that Manbhum had witnessed in the 19th century

vastly differed from that which took place in the 2oth.

The 20th century migrants did not come in search of

land to cultivate, but came to work in, or make money fran,

the coalmines north of the River Da.mcxiar. In Bhowra, and

in other collieries, the greatest number of migrants were

those who came to work in the mines. By 1921 the number

of miners in Bhowra had risen to 1436. Of these over half

came from Hanbl:rum and Bankura, around 300 from Monghyr,

200 from Gaya, 70 from Hazaribagh and 50 from the Central

Provinces •100

It is useful to examine the backgrou.rrl of these mig­

rants, the sorts of districts they hailed from, to under­

stand why they came, who they were and what sort of atti­

tudes they brought along with them. From Bankura, in west

Bengal m:lny of them would have been Bouri by caste •1 01 In

the Ranigunj coalfield they had also been found in large

numbers since it's inception in the 18601s.102

The largest migrant groups found in Bhowra otherwise,

hailed from Gaya and Honghyr. The sort of c ond it ions which

prevailed in these districts in the 19th century forced

many of the landless to the coo.l:field this century. In

Gaya, Hunter noted in the 1870's, conditions v~re so bad

that no one vJOuld migrate to that district, slavery was

knovm to exist and bonded labour .....,as common. For most of

- 68 -

the agricultural labourers one meal a day was norma1.103

In Ivionghyr too, most of the population 1 barely get food and

clothing' •1 04

It ,vas not simply the lack of \'Jeal th per se. Of

Honghyr,Hunter writes, "whatever '"ealth there is, is in the

hands of a few landlords, middlemen, merchants and shop-105 keepers." He also noted that agriculturally, the land

was a1s o much better than the Chota Na.gpur plateau, referr­

ing to the 'rich plains 1 of Gaya and I•1onghyr •106 There were

few tr'ibals left in these districts by 1870's but there were

L many 'semi-hinduised abariginals' enumerated.107

By 1 921 Monghyr sent out more migrants than Gaya to

the coalfield, although the latter distr-ict \\8S nearer. The

largest caste groups were Bhuiyas, Jolahas and many Musa­

hars 108 - who became known as Bhuiyas in the coalfield.

At the beginning of this century 01 Malley noted the

desperate situation of Ivlonghyr 1 s poor, particularly af these

Musabars, 'ltlhO were often bonded labourers there •1 09 The

.,. Huslim 'lt.Eavers, obviously impoverished too by the 20th cen­

tury, made their \'IJ.y to the coalfield. Most of these mig­

rants migrated as a family, indicating the absence of any

land in their villages. Amongst the Bpuiyas, Ifusahars and

Jolahas almost equal numbers of males and females can be

found.110

Gaya' s poor also made their \\8y to the coalfield in

large numbers. 'Ih.e Bhuiya population, predaninantly land-

I

- 69-

less and impoverished as they were in Honghyr, migrated

to Jharia also. There were, however, less women amongst

Gaya's migrants.111 Even amongst the Bhuiyas a larger

number of men can be observed. Perhaps i t•s nearness to

the coalfield, or the less desperate population, led many

of Gaya's migrants to maintain their village ties.

A similar phenanena can be observed in the case of

Hazp.ribagh's migrants too. Rurming adjacent to the r-1a.n­bhum district, Hazaribagh sent out the greatest number of

migrants to the Jbaria coalfield. The condition of the

village poor in Hazp.ribagh was probably less acute, how­

ever, than Gaya or Manghyr. In fact migration from these

two districts to Hazaribagh, had been going on for nany

years already, and led to the alienation of land from the

tribals, and forced many of them to leave their villages.

These Bihari migrants, nwith spurious pretensions to Brah­

min or Rajput blood", acquired land, and sub-let 2 or 3

villages to 1 thikadars 1 (small farmers) who also hailed

fran Bihar. 112

However, although the number of migrants v.ere large,

there were much fewer women amongst them. Amongst the

Bhuiya and Turi communities, large numbers of females can

also be found, but many of the other castes were overwhel­

mingly male. Goalas, for example, rarely migrated as a

family. Even amongst Santals, males were twice as numerous

than the females. Jolams from Ha.zaribagh, unlike those

- 70 -

that bailed .from Monghyr, -were mainly males •113

From the Central Provinces, the overwhelming ID.llllber

o.f migrants hailed .from Bilaspur and Raipur districts. They

were also overwhelmingly Chamars by caste. 114 It is poin­

ted out that migration .from these districts began .from the

time the Bengal-Nagpur Railv.ay v.as built. They had been

employed as construction workers, and had stayed on in the

coalfield to work in the mines.11 5

These migrants .from Bilaspur and Raipur probably had

little or no land in their villages, and almost eqLal

numbers o.f males and .females can be .found in the Jharia

coalfield. It was not their caste, as Cbamars, which led

to the large number o.f .female migrants, but probably their

lack of village ties. Chamars from Hazaribagh, 11onghyr and

Ga ya were pred aninantly male.

In fact for all these canmunities, their economic

situation in the village determined migration patterns.

As .far as women were concerned, they are predominant amongst

those communities who are completely impoverished and land­

less. The Chamars of Bilaspur, and the Jolahas of I•Ionghyr

migrated as families, whereas the Chamars o.f Monghyr and

the Jolahas of Hazaribagh did not.

The other migrants to the coalfield, those who hailed

.from .further afield, and the higher castes .from nearby

districts, were much fewer in number, and overwhelmingly

male. They came not only to work in the mines, but as

- 71 -

traders, moneylenders and contractors too. The Pathans,

for example, had become a 'notable feature of the popula­

tion 1 by 1921, came as petty contractors and were not

'altogether welcane in the ·collieries 1•116 The opening

of the Jharia coalfield also paved the ~y for criminal

activity in Hanbhum, the grandfather of Dhanbad's 'mafia­

ism 1 today.

2.8 Crimes and Criminals

No early history of Hanbhum and the Jharia coalfield

would be complete \·d thout referring to criminal activities

of the past, since it is popularly believed that crime,

corruption and coal were born at the same time.

Hunter notes that, "In former years Ivanbhum was in­

famous for gang robbery arrl lawlessness." In the 1866

famine, which affected the population living in the flat,

fertile southern part of Manbhum, the landless Bourjs were

forced to indulge in grain robbery. In fact many deaths

occurred in the south-eastern part of the district.11 7

Dacoities, famine, impoverishment and landlessness seem to

go hand-in-harrl with intensive cultivation and Hindu civi-

lisation.

This observation can be supported by Hunter's canments

abcut crime in Hazaribagh. Quoting Ialton•s statement, it

was observed that all, or almost all, the dacoits hailed 118 from Gaya. In Gaya itself it was noted that although

- 72-

the 11lower caste Dosadhs, Rajwars and H.1sabars actual ccmmi t

the dacoi ties, the leaders are generally Rajputs or Ba.bh3.ns u!1 9

( Bhumibars ) •

lvlanbhum, by 1901, had the worst crime position in the

whole of Chota Nagpur Division. Even so, it was much better

than in the nearby districts of Gaya, Monghyr and Patna..120

By 1905, however, this situation had changed rapidly. The

number of dacoities in Jvianbhum were the largest of au the

districts of the Bengal Presidency. The Government belie­

ved they were the work of 'coolies' employed in the mines,

and blames the contractors for recruiting up-country labou-

rers, many of whan were criminals or associates of criminals.

These contractors resented police interference since they

wanted their work to be done as cheap am quickly as pos­

sible. They even founi a colliery manager protecting a

gang of 'Peshawar is •, known • bad characters 1 , fran the

police •121

vl.hat the police report does not acknowledge is that

such •bad characters' were rarely 'coolies' themselves.

'Ihese 'Peshawaris' cited above were probably the colliery

owners' private •securi ty force 1 , or goondas as they were

popularly known as, to keep the labourers un:ler control.

It is interesting tmt dacoits were not founi to be o:f

local origin, but were up-country labourers.

By 1915, Hanbhum's crime position was clear. It had

the largest number of murders, dacoities and burglaries in

-73-

all o:f Bihar and Orissa. Again the administration blamed

the large number o:f dacoities in the Dbanbad sub-division

on the influx o:f up-country and Pun.jabi 'coolies 1 , am the

slackening o:f the coal trade. Dhanbad \\El.S already establi­

shed as a 'theatre o:f crime' by the Administraticn.122

Like the 1 Peshawaris 1 in 1 ~5, the 'Punjabis 1 in 1915

were also probably employed as goo:r:rlas by the collieries.

In the 1940's in Bhowra the management employed 1Punjabis 1

to h9.rrass the workers. Local villagers of' Chandankiari

also noted that the dacoits were ustally non-locals, and

were often up per caste, Brahmin, Rajput or Bh umihar. More

recently, in 1958, it l\Eis :found that 75 per cent o:f the

criminals sent up were :found to be outsiders. These out­

siders hailed :from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and

within Bihar, :from Gaya, Fa tna, Shaha. bad and Nonghyr. 123

Crimes and criminals were not born o:f coal per se •

Dacoities were common in 19th century Bihar, without coal.

Rather, the opening of' the coal:field brought the people

and li:fes tyle o:f the plains to H1nbhum in a much bigger

way, and crime v-.as a part o1· that li:fe. No doubt the

colliery owners and managers used this to their advantage,

and thrived upon the lawlessness which existed. The 'ma:fia 1

does have its antecedents it seems.

2.9 Caste, Land and Colliery Labour

Host up-country labourers were not dacoits or crimi-

- 74 -

nals, but landless labourers, or with uneconanic holdings

who came to the caaliield to work in the mines. These

Bhuiyas ani Julabas of I".longhyr and Gaya, Chamars of Bilas­

pur and Paipur, joined the local Bouris and Santals in the

collieries at the beginning of this century. Econcmic

circumstances detennimd, largely, who migrated to the

coalfield, and how many women came along. In BhOW'!'a too,

economic circumstances helped determine which communities

would take up mining, and influenced the sort of jobs they

v~ld take up in the mines.

In Bhowra, the I1ahatos, along with the Santals -were

the original inhabitants \'/hen the mine v.as opened. In .Nan­

b:hum the i•lahato community were the largest, 124 yet only

around 3000 took up mining by 1921 • 125 They were it seems,

'averse to the mining profession•.126 They could afford

to be 'averse' too, for they -were a solid peasant caste,

and kn0\'41. to be good cultivators. Those that did take up

f mining, were less likely to be found working below ground

than the Santals.

The Santals, however, were fotmd in large numbers in

the coalmines at this time.127 The bosses initially favou­

red the Santal miner • In 1911 Coupland wrote tba t "cons i­

derable trouble is taken by mine managers to attract and

retain them.n128 In Bhowra also, the colliery nana.gement

tried to secure the services of tile Santals across the

river, in l•1ohal. They appointed the zamindar of Nahal as

- 75 -

a labour recruiter, to ensure the attendance of the Santal

tenants. The arrangement was not very success.ful, so the

z.amindar of Tetulia, also nearby, was also approached. The

coal canpany purcb:l.sed z.amindary rights and inf armed the

Santal cultivators to till the l.and rent-free, and devote

part of their time to mining in Bhowra. 129

It has been noted that the pressure on the land at

this time was not sufficient to push the Santals out of

their village c anple tely •130 They needed work only inter­

mittently, not throughout the year, since agricultural work

was necessary during certain months of the year.

The Santals -were not prepared to stay in the dhowrahs

of the company, 'having an a version to living in a line

of attached huts•.131 They would not live amongst other

canmunities either, so the bosses who wanted Santal miners

to settle at their colliery found it necessary to allot

pl.ots of land to them to build their own houses, which were,

on their own admission, much cleaner than the dhowrahs.132

MOst collieries in the Jharia coalfield could not .find

land su.fficient to induce Santals to settle, 133 many cazoo

to work in the mines for a few days together, and then

re"b.lrn to their village. 134 The whole family would come

to the colliery, and work as a gang. As a result of these

factors the Santals became, and remained, 'miners 1 arxl

'coolies' in the coalmines. 135 Even when other jobs were

created, they did not take them up. Such jobs would have

; .

- 76 -

disturbed their agricultural connections, their gang sys­

tem and their family unit of work.

The Bouris, however, did begin to take up such work

gradually. Having less land than the santals, and to sane

extent degraded socially as well as economically, their

village connections were looser. They began to occupy the

company's dhow.r-ahs, 136 they had no such hang-ups as the

Santals had. In the villages too, we h9.ve seen, their huts

are found squashed between and alongside higher caste

households. They also had no problem working amongst, in­

between and for other communities.137

By 1921, although most (67%) Bouris skill worked as

'miners 1 and 'coolies' it was much less than the Santals

(93%). The fonner had begun to take up other jobs, sane

became contractors, masons, mechanics, and trolleymen.138

They had, after all, been working in the mines for several

decades by 1921. Back in 19)2 the Chief Inspector of Mines

noted that many even considered 1 coal-cutting' their 03-ste

occupation, in the Ranigunj Iield.139

In spite of the Bouris' weaker village ties than the

Santals! being predominantly local, they too frequently

absented themselves fran work in the mines.140 Given the

general condition of life ani work at the collieries, their

hanes in the villages did provide both Sa.ntals and Bouris

l., with a valuable refuge. The Chief Inspector of mines in

1906 wrote, "The Indian miner earns good \\S.ges, but to him

- 77 -

money is not everything. He is sensible enough to consi-

der comfort, and this is one reason vmidh draws him back to

his old hane where he can take his ease in congenial surround-

·n s n141 ~ g • Of course such a system benefitted the colliery

O\vners too - in spite of their continual complaints of

labour shortage.142 A stable,settled workforce would have

necessitated sane expenditure on accommoiated, ar:rl other

basic amenities, which the colliery owners tried to avoid.

The communities which migrated to the coalfield were

more desperate than local villagers in s orne ways. Poverty

in r.1onghyr, Gaya and Hazariba.gh was much worse than in ran­

bhum in the last century. The contr'actors brought them to

the mines, where many of them settled, many had nothing

left in tl.1.eir villages to return to. These labourers for­

med the steady, core workforce at Bh~~a, needed as they

were for a minimum steady production. Bhuiyas and Chamars

became •trolleymenJ, 'hookers an•, even 'enginemen, fire-

men •, though numerically they were predcminantly 'miners •

and 'coolies •. Jolahas were less likely to be employed in

the latter, many became masons, 'enginemen and firemen;

sirdars, contractors, 'pit carpenters and proppers1

and me­

chanics and fitters. 143

The level of mechanisation was very low throughout

the first two decades of this century in the Jharia coal­

field, even in Bhowra. By 1921 it was estimated that 75

per cent of the mining population in Jharia was migratory,

~-

'

- 78 -

only 15 per cent stayed near the miiEs permanently and 10

per cent coming from nearby villages •144 The chaotic condi­

tions in the mines were corrlucive for the predominance of

local miners, especially the Santals. The local village

labour, with coercion or persuasion, provided the bulk of

the collieries' workforce, at minimum cost to the owners.

2.10 wcmen•s Work in the Early Years of Coal mining

The coalmines, until the 1920's, with their simple

techniques of production, not only employed large numbers

of Santal and Bouri miners, but many women too. Until the

early 19201 s more than 35 per cent of the total workforce

in the mines of Jharia coalfield were women.145

Neither Santal nor Bauri canmunities placed restric­

tions on wcmen's outdoor work, and often the whole family

would go to the mines for employment. Because of this they

developed a division of labour, most probably determined

by pre-existent patterns of work in their villages. There

is little to indicate that the bosses were interested in

the allocation of work along gender lines, within the

family gangs that ~re employed. At the end o:f the 19th

century, it was noted that, nas most of the work done

underground is paid by the piece, the manager does not

trouble himself as to the number, and description o:f the

hands engaged upon it.n146

- 79 -

Below ground the families divided the work along

gender lines, the man wruld cut the coal, and the women

would load it. 'lhe onJ..y instruments initially needed were

-~ a pick and a basket. Loading coal v.e.s considered 'wanen 1 s

work 1 in these early years of mining, but that should not

be taken to mean tba t it was lighter than men 1 s work. In

1 9:>5 the Chief Inspector of 11ines notes that the men were

actually poor workers, 'neither the bone .or muscle' of an

Englishman, but praises the women workers. In one colliery

in the Jharia coo.lfield he observed women carrying coal to

~ the surface, up a roadway 750 feet long, with a 1 in 10

inclination. During the day she Willed over 5 miles, and

for half of that distance carrying a load of 80 lbs. on her

head. 11This is a remarkably good day's work for a woman",

he added. 14 7

Since the bosses employed the family to cut and load

the coal below gronnd, the family received p:tyment for the

amotmt of work done. They did not concern themselves with

individual wage payments. So, left to their own devices,

workers themselves divided the wages, with men and wanen 148 receiving equal amounts.

Not all jobs in the mines -were piece rated, and nat

all workers formed family gangs. Other jobs in the collie­

ries, where the family was not employed, did not have such

large numbers of wanen. Above ground, for example, much

fewer women were employed than men, as can be seen in the

- 80 -

.following table:

Employment in the Jharia Coal.field

Bel ow g£ ound Above ground No. of persons No. or No. o.f persons No. o.f

Year women wan en :tten \I/ an en per 10 Hen \·Tan en per 10

men men

1906 15461 10915 7.1 8177 4o68 5.0

1911 19J74 14374 7.5 12623 6049 4.8

1916 24598 199J1 8.1 17774 7577 4.3

1921 27725 21083 7.6 24142 13830 5.7

Source . Chie.f Inspector o.f f·Unes Annual Reports. •

The .family gangs did not predominate on the sur.face

as they did below ground, the individual was employed. This

had a disastrous impact on wage rates .for wanen. Whereas

men could earn between 3 and 4 annas per day .for sur.face

work in 1902, women \vere paid only 1 i annas. Even women

employed individually below ground on time-rated jobs were

only paid 2 annas per day. 149

The predominance o.f .family g'dngs .for cutting ani load­

ing below ground, .facilitated the employment o.f those commu­

nities that placed .few restrictions on women's outdoor work

and those who migrated, as a .family to the coal.field. The

Bhuiyas o.f Gaya ani Nonghyr, Chamars o.f Bilaspur as ~11

as local Bouris ani Santals. I.f the women did not work in

the mines, it \¥3-S unlikely that she would migrate to the ,

I

- 81 -

coalfield. Over 6o per cent of the females of the Bouri,

Bhuiya, Santal, Kunni (i.e. Mahato) and Ch:imar castes in

Jharia, were working in the coo.lmine s in 1 921 • Forty per

cent of the Chamar, Bhuiya ani Musahar workers in the mines

were women.150

Fewer women of the Moslem J olaba community were found

to be working in the coalmines - only twenty per cent of

their workforce.151 The men of this community took up

other jobs in the collieries which allo\',ed them to work

\vi thout their wanen. other communities which were over-

whelmingly male migrants, such as Dosadh, Goala, Kahar,

Koiri, Pasi, etc., did not predaninate in the colliery

workforce pre -1 920 's. One colliery manager in 1913 noted

that those up-cotmtry labo'UI"ers could not find women to

load the cool they had cut. -Sane, he claims, were forced

to bring their wives to work in the mines because of this !52

So well established was this sexual division of labour,

that those comrm.mi ties that imposed restrictions on wanen 's

outdoor worlt, or if the men came to the collieries un­

accompanied by 'WOmen, could not take up pick-mining easily.

The Census Report of 1921 observes tba t \'1anen that were

employed in the mines were 'valuable econanic assets • •153

The chaotic production Pltterns, particularly in

small collieries sui ted, in many ways, the employment of

large numbers of wcmen and local villagers. One Chief

Hining Engineer noted that the absence of strikes prior to

- 82 -

1920 \\S.S "because miners and their families are allo-v.ed

to work when they please, and to come up and down as they

choose • u154

In Bhowra, in spite of the introduction of a limited

amount of machinery, still had chaotic working p:1tterns by

the mid 1920's. James Mickie stated that compulsory shifts

cannot be introduced, since most miners were not settled,

commuting daily from distant villages.155 Conditions that

prevaUed in the Jharia coalfield, were much the same in

Bhowra too, it seems.

The Santals, who remained overwhelmingly employed as

'miners' and 'coolies' also sho-v1 the highest proportion of

women workers - 43 per cent of Santal miners were women

according to the 1921 Census. Even arcund a thousarxi San-

tal women were enumerated as coal-cutters, an otherwise

predominantly men's job.156 Amongst all workers, the

family unit of production amongst the Santals was the

strongest.

Amongst the Bouris, probably their existing economic

and social position within the village weakened family co­

hesion within the workforce. Bouri women could be fotmd

loading coal for up-cotmtry miners, or other communities.

Santals lived apart, maintained their tribal identity, and

"'orked apart from others in the mines. Bouris, used to

living amongst higher castes, and working as agricultural

labourers on their land, were less likely to work as a

family unit, and hence women prepared to load other men's

coa1.157

The undisciplined work pattern suited women workers

in one way. As loaders, both below and above ground, women

could combine productive and reproductive work, as in pre­

colliery days. 'rhe early colliery ..,.,orkers took up employ­

ment \'Jhich did not undennine their agricultural connections~

in the case of the Santals, or as reproducers of the next

generation, in the case of women. Most frequently, as we

have seen, women ... ~re oi'te:n agriculturists too.

As loaders, the women were relatively free to cane

-' and go, v1ork as long as they wished, or not at all. For

confinement, women workers could return to their villages,

particularly since most early miners were locals. Santal

women interviewed in the late 1920's revealed that they

often absented themselves for six months or a year at the

time of childbirth.158 After this they could return to the

coalmines, and take up employment again.

i'Jhen nev1 jobs emerged in the coalmines, which needed

c antinuous employment, the women could not take it up. The

mines did not provide maternity benefits, creches or hos­

pitals. Reproduction - child-rearing as well as child­

bearing -was the responsibility of the miners' family

alone. In this cvntext the sexual division of labour emer­

ged which suited the Santals and other communi ties who

migr-ated, as a family, to the coa.lmines. \'lomen became

- 84 -

concentrated in certain jobs, like loading, because it

suited them and their £amilies, under the prevailing con­

ditions.

Such divisions suited, and were exploited, by the

bosses. Had they employed women as skilled operatm-s, £or

example, they would have been £orced to address themselves

to the reproduction of their colliery labour. They would

not want them absenting themselves for six to twelve

months during confinement. Nor would they provide infra­

structural facilities to enable women to \'IOrk, produce and

reproduce. Most of the family units which migrated to the

coalfield would not include the elderly, who bad taken care

of ohildren in the village.

The bosses used this contradiction to justify lower

wages to women wherever possible. Where capital decided

\\El.ge rates, women's work was valued much lower than men's,

and where labour decided - as was the case in the family

gangs - they were paid equally. It was not a relic fran

the past which under-valued women's work, rather it "~s

introduced alongside developing capitalist relations, when

the family unit broke down within the industry.

'lhe sexual division of labour was the result of

colliery owners trying to maximise profits and minimise

expen:iiture on their workforce, and the workers themselves

adjusting with this as best they could. So long as the

family \\El.S employed, and methcxis of mining were simple,

- 85 -

this adjustment disguised the ways that this division be­

came, in later years, increasingly oppressive for women.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Footnotes

Chapter II

I find this an appropriate opening statement due to the frequency that the distant past is referred to as 'many days before' by Bhowra•s original inhabitants.

Ban:ih is a pond or small lake, usually constructed by villagers. Information about the original villages of Bhowra -was provided by Bishu Hahato, an original inhabitant of Bhowra.

Narrated by residents of New Persiabad Bustee.

Ibid. -:Fersiabad is around one kilometre from the river Dam odar •

Bishu Nahato.

Bishu Hahato says that the Santals were like brothers. Asha Hembrom, our hostess in New Persiabad Bustee told us that in Old Persiabad both Santals ancl I-tl.:ha.tos live harmoniously together. ·r,Iost of the original in­habitants of Bhowra lament that people in the past were sir.1pler, and the dikus (outsiders) have spoilt the place and the people •

Santals of Ne\'1 Persiabad Bustee am I>aha.tos of the Taxi Stand Bustee. Both these bus tees emerged after Old PersiabS.d Bustee subsided in the 1970's.

Such as Ram Lal Hajhi of Chamrabad village in Chandan­kiari, when he went on the annual hunt of the Santals in 1986.

Che old \'loman of 19 Number Bustee complained that a bar of soap, when she was yotmg, used to last a whole month, now it only lasts one week.

Bishu Ha.ba to, Lakhi Ha.hato, and other Hs.hato inhabi­tants of Bhowra.

P.c. Roy Chaudhury, Bihar District Gazetteers : Dban­bad, Patna, 1964, p. 2.

D. Schwerin, 'The Control of Land and Labour in Chota Nagpur, 1 858-1 SX)8 1 in Zamindars, !•lines and Peasants, D. Rothermund and 0.c. Wadhwa (eds.), New Delhi, 1978, p. 23.

1:1.\'l. Hunter, A Statistical Account of Bengal, Vol. XVII, 1877 (Reprinted 1976), pp. 264-265.

'Ihe Dhanbad district v.as created in 1956 v1hen the Biba r - \1 est Bengal border was re-organised. The

15

16

17

18

,;1 9

20

21

22

23

24

25

26 w ;~

27

28

- 87 -

former r.anbhum district v.as divided, most of it, how­ever, fell within the boundaries of Dhanbad district,

Noneylenders,

Vi.W. Hunter, op.cit., Vol. XVII, pp. 254-255.

Ibid,, PP• 260-261.

J. Houlton, Bihar: The Heart of India, Calcutta, 1949, p. 182.

B.K. Gokhale, Final Report of the Survey and settle­ment 0 erations in the District of f·Ianbhum 1 18-1 2 , r'atna, 1928, p. ,

\1 ;rl, Hunter, op,cit,, Vol, XVII, p. 259.

s. Bannerjee, op,cit., pp, 56, 93,

w.w. Hunter, op.cit., Vol, XVII, p. 265,

Argued by P ,P. Hohapatra, 'Coolies and Colliers: A Study of the Agrarian Context of labour Higration from Chotanagpur, 1880-1920', in Studies in History, 1, 2, n,s,, 1985.

B,K. Gokhale, op,cit., p. 77.

Ibid., p, 79.

A festival Where the bullock (balad) is tied to a pole (khuta) and teased,

Revealed by residents of 4B Bustee, Nowadays sugar cane , or anything else, cannot be grown due to the expansion of the nearby open cast project,

29 Several ~~ato and Santal residents said that few of their villagers worked in the mines initially, most came from •across the river', that is, Chandankiari.

30 B.K. Gokhale, op.cit., Appendix E,,pp, 154-165.

31 Ibid,, Appendix H(i), p. 182.

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

- 88 -

Ibid., p, 95.

Ibid., P• 83.

Ibid., p, 109, The Nanbhum Estate, being open to attack on three sides, so there were a large number

•. of Ghatwars here. I1any were of local origin, such as,' allegedly, the Zarnindar of Jbaria, who later assumed the title Raja too. See, P,C. Roy Chaudhury, op.cit., p. 114,

B.K. Gokhale, op.cit., p. 67.

Ibid., p. 86.

Ibid., Appendix pp. 1-2.

The maximum number of middlemen between the peasant and the raja in Chota Nagpur was five, v1hich comp3.red favourably with other regions of India. See D. Sch­werin, op.cit,, pp, 37-38.

Residents of New Persiabad Bustee who used to J:aY rent to the Raja of Jharia before the abolition of zamindary.

s. Bannerjee, op.cit., p. 56.

Noted by Uday Shekhar, a descendent of this family, and a resident of Mohal village,

This was noted during discussions, and observations, in the villages of Chandankiari,

At the end of the 19th century police had to be depu­ted to keep the peace between .rvrookteswar Ojha and his tenants in Chandankiari. From GOI, Home Dept., Police. B. Proceedings. Nos. 80-82, September 1895, p. 15. Communist Party leader, Chinmoy Nukherjee also infor­med us that the villagers of Hoha.l had at times fought against their landlords, the Shekhar family. Inter­view, Dhanba.d, 9.2.1986.

GOB, Revenue Dept. Land Revenue Dept., B. Proceedings, Nos. 174-178, September, 1920.

P ,1:-'. Hohapatra, op. cit., pp. 286-287.

Quoted by Schwerin, op.cit., p. 31.

,.[,\·l. Hunter, op.cit., Vol. XVII, p. 307.

Recalled by the village elders of Cha.mrabad, Cl18.ndan­kiari, during fieldv1ork.

- 89 -

49 w.w. Hunter, op.cit., Vol. XVII, p. 307.

50 D. Sch\'rerin, op.ci t., p. 31.

51 Doms are nowadays knovvn as scavengers, basket-makers as well as drummers. The erstwhile Raja referred to them as drummers.

52 Kali Prasad Singh, interview, Jbaria, 16.1.1988.

53 A rough translation of 11 Gbatle Ghatwar, bhadle Thikait" l a saying in the khotta. dialect of Nanbhum.

54 D. Schwerin, op.cit., p. 37.

55 K.P. Singh, interview.

56 P .c. Roy Chaud.hury, .2E.!,£!.b,, pp. 112-117 •

.. 57 Bishu Nahato, interviev1.

58 For a discussion on this see P.c •• i.oy Chaudhury, op.cit., pp. 107-112.

59 ._,/

61

62

63

64

K.S. 3ingh and P.P. Hahato, ''!'he l-19.hato-Kurmi Haha­sabha l1ovement in Chotanagpur ', in Tribal Hovements in India, Vol. II, K.S. Singh (ed.), New Delhi, 1983, p. 111.

In 19::>1 11 per cent of the population of Cbas thana, and only 3 per cent of the Jharia thana ,.,ere found to be Brahmins. See I·E.nbhum District Gazetteer, Statis­tics~ 1901-G2, op.cit., Table v. Caste, Tribe or Race pp. -7.

J. Houlton, op.cit., pp. 78-79.

S. Banner jee noted that the Santals first settled in Bhowra and then 'invited' the J.Jahatos. Op.cit., p. 93.

In Jbaria thana 10.6 per cent of the population ,.,ere enumerated as 1animists', only 3.6 per cent in Chas thana. The total Santal population for the two areas was 10,658 and 6204 respectively. In r'Bnbhum District Gazetteer, Statistics, 1901-02, op.cit

5, Table IV

Religion and Education in 1 561, pp. 4- , and Table V Caste Tribe or Race, pp. 6-7.

P.C. Roy Chaudhury, op.cit., p. 101.

65 Based on canments made by the Santal residents of New Persia bad ,Bustee. Also L.S .s. 0 1f1:llley, Part I, Report, Vol. V, Bengal:f: Biha~ Orissa and Sikkim, Census of India* Cal~u t~- 1 1_ n_ ~-

66

67 w

68

69

70

71

72

.74

75

76

77

78

79

80,/ •.• r

81

- 90 -

w.w. Hunter, op.cit., p. 344.

s.c. Sinha, J. Sen and s. Panchbai, 'The Concept of Diku Amongst the Tribes of Chota.nagpur' in i'IJan in India, Vol. 49, No. 2, 1969, p. 127.

J. Haul ton, op.cit,., pp. 78-79.

L.s.s. O'Malley, op.cit., p. 44.

P .c. Roy Chaudhury, op. cit., p. 101.

Based on own fieldwork.

L.S .s. 0'f1alley, op .cit., p. 3.

P.c. Hembram, 'Status of Wanen in Santal Society', in Tribal women in India, Indian Anthropological Society, Calcutta, 1978, p. 122.

R.N. I~laharaj and K.G. Iyer, 'Agrarian ~Iovement in Dhanbad • in Fourth World Dynamics: Jharkhand • , N. Sengupta (ed.), Delhi, 1982; pp. 171-173.

H. Coupland, Bengal District Gazetteers: Nanbhum, Calcutta, 1911, p. 76.

R.c. Roy Chaudhury, op.cit., p. 103.

In ibid., p. 107.

Ibid., p. 109.

The !1a.hatos vJere 'not expert in clearing jungles' as the Santals were, but were 'much better and prudent cultivators', ibid., p. 110.

S. Lewenbak argues that with the spread of rice and plough cul ti vat ion, "women became much more, s orne times entirely, subject to men". Women and Work, Glasgow, 1980, p. 78.

P .c. Roy Chaudhury notes that the Ba.uris did hold · Ghatwali tenures, indicating they did have some influence in the past. Op.cit., p. 112. By 1911, however, their main occupation v.as agricultural labour. L.s • .s. Q'halley, op.cit.

N. Sengupta found in his study of the Bouri community in Chas that tribal liberalism v~s later transformed into the feudal luxury of keeping concubines, be came prostitution in the present day. In Destitu~es and Development: A 3tudy of the Bauri Comounity in the

8,3

84

85

86

87

88

• 89

-~

- 91 -

Bokaro Region, New Delhi, 1979, p. 102.

The rajas of tribal origin began to put restrictions on wcmen of their family, "in consonance with the practice of all zamindars of higher descent ad opted the pardah system and kept their women in seclusion." R.c. Roy Chau:ihury, op.cit., pp. 114-115.

There were 5297 (7%) Bouris, 1 C658 (14%) Santals, and 14122 (1g>;6) Ivlahatos in 1~1 in the Jharia tmna. Manbhum District Gazetteer Statistics 1 01-02,

le V, Cas e, ~be or Race, pp.

J. Hackie, op. cit. , p. 11 •

CIMAR, 1901, p. 44.

GOI, Coal Controller, Nos. 69-89, Filed, December, 1918.

GOI, Coal Branch, October 20 - Filed, pp. 22-24.

J. Hackie notes the installation of an aerial rope­way in 1918, hydraulic stowing in 1919, of..scit., p. 16. Also surmised by the sort of acciden that begin to occur after 1911. CIMARs, 1911-1920.

91 CIMAR, 1910.

92 CII•lARs, 1911-1918.

93 CI:rv~R, 1916.

94 CIMAR, 1912.

95 CIMAR, 1 911 •

96 .Manbhum' s population increased by 12.6 per cent in .. the decade 1881-1891, 25.1 per cent in 1891-1901,

38.6 per cent in 1901-1911 and 18.2 per cent in 1911-1921. P.c. Roy Chaudhury, op.cit., p. 383.

97 Ibid.

~98 C.P. Simmons, op.cit., p. 371.

99. To the Jharia thana migration increased rapidly. Population increased by 75 per cent fran 1891 to 1 ~1

100

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

1.09 ......

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

119

~20'

- 92 -

and again by 75 per cent f'rom 1901 to 1911. P.C. Roy Chaudhury, op.cit., p. 283.

~. Vol. rl, p. 5.

P.C. Tallents, Part II, '!ables, Vol. VII, Bih:ir am Oriss~ Census of' India, Patna, 1921, Table XII, PP• 298-3 •

CIMAR, 1~2.

w.w. Hunter, op.cit., Vol. XII, pp. 35, 73-74.

Ibid., Vol. XV, pp. 80-81.

Ibid,

Ibid., Vol. XVII, p. 59.

Ibid., Vols. XII and XV.

P.C. Tallents, op.cit., Part II, Table XI, p. 86.

L.s.s. O'I13.lley, Be~al District Gazetteers: Mongh,yr, Calcutta, 1~9. p. 3.

P.c. Tallents, op.cit., Part II, Table XII, pp. 298-301.

Ibid.

~rl.\'l. Hunter, op.cit., Vol. XVI, p. 59.

P.c. Tallents, op.cit., Bart II, Table XII, pp. 298-301.

Ibid.

Ibid ., Part I , Report, p. 275.

Ibid.

W.W. Hunter, op.cit., Vol. XVII, p. 354.

Ibid., Vol. XVI, p. 181.

Ibid., Vol. XII, p. 129.

GOI, Home Dept. Police. B. Proceedings, 10 December, 1~2.

121

.)22

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131 f ...... .,.·

132

133

134

135

136

137

138

139

140

- 93 -

GOI, Home Dept,, Police, B. Proceedings, 1906,

GOI, Heme Dept., Police, B. Proceedings, 113, M3.rch, 1915.

P.C. Roy Chaudhury, op.cit., p. 123.

There were 241 ,oo6 Nahatos in 1901 in I-1anbhum dist­rict. Ivtanbhum District Gazetteer I statistics, 1901-Qg, op.cit., Table V, pp, 6-7. P,C. Tallents, op.cit,, Part II, Table XII, p, 298.

P.c. Roy Cbaudhury, op.cit., p. 111.

P ,C. Tallents, op,ci t., Part II, Table XII, p, 298.

H, Coupland, op.cit,, p. 77.

S, Bannerjee, op.cit,, p, 32.

Ibid,, P• 34.

J,H, Evans, 'Housing of Labour and Sanitation at Nines in India", in Transactions of the I.rining, Geolo~ical Hetallurgical Institute of India, (hereafter TH VIII), Vol. XII, 1918, p. 81,

Ibid,, pp. 84-85.

C,P, Si~mans, op.cit,, p. 193.

H, Coupland, op,cit., p. 77.

P,C. Tallents, op.cit,, Part II, Table XII, pp, 298-301,

As can be seen by the inhabitants of the subsidence accident in 1916 in Bhowra.

One cce.l mine owner, E.C. Agabeg, wrote tha.t the Santals will not work alongside other communities, but the Bouris do not mind, In, 'Labour in Bengal Coal Hines 1 , in THGNII, Vol, VIII, 1913, p, 29,

P,C, Tallents, op.cit., Bart II, Table XII, pp. 298-301,

C D1AR, 19)2.

H,C. \'lilliams, Report of the Labour Enquiry Ccmrnis­sion, calcutta, 1896, p, 10.

- 94 -

141 CIMAR, 1906.

142 '

C .P. Simmons concludes that labour scarcity \'.EiS, "no more than a series of short term inelastic! ties ass o­ciated with favourable harvests", op,cit., p, 221. The colliery owners, he argues, never attempted to build up a stable workforce •

143 P,C. Tallents, op.cit,, Bart II, Table XII, pp. 298-301,

144 P,C, T.allents, op.cit., Bart I, p. 277.

145 Calculated fran CIMARs 1900-1925 • ./ 146 This was with other reports fran 1 ocal governments

'·

j-47

148

149

150

151

152

153

154 ' 11.',...

155

156

157

~: /158

who were asked for their opinion regarding the employ­ment of women ani children below ground in the mines of India. In Correspondence Relating to East India, H.C. Parliamentary Bapers, 1893-94, Vol. 65, p. 44.

Cir>t\R, 1905, p. 2. In CIMAR, 1903 it ~s noted that the women work as hard as the men at most mines, p, 5.

"... among the gangs of c cal hewers, women divide the earnings equally with men," CIMAR, 1902, p. 2.

Ibid,

P .c. Tallents, op.ci t., Part II, pp. 298-301.

Ibid,

E,C. Agabeg, op.cit,, p. 29.

P.C. Tallents, op.cit., Bart I, p. 273.

B. Foley, Report of the Coalfields Committee, Govern­ment of India, calcutta, 1920, p. 97.

!££, p. 145.

P.C. Tallents, op.cit., Bart II, pp. 298-300.

H,C. Williams, op.cit., p. 16, and E.C. Agabeg, ~ cit,, p. 27.

See replies of Laki JvJajin, I1aku l1ajin, Sabodhi and Lilmani, in~' Vol. IV, pp, 120-169.