[Reader-list] next posting/family and work

[dknite nite]

tWork and Time: The Everyday Lives of the Jharia Coalfield Mazdoors, 
1890s-1970s.
[A study of the work-time regimes and the strategies of adaptation of the 
mining communities.]

A large proportion of the labouring masses in the Jharia coalfield  invested 
their gruelling labour ‘time in ensuring the memorable achievements, sinking 
pits, digging quarries and securing a huge number of coal raisings . The 
industry was from the beginning ‘labour intensive’ (more than sixty percent 
of the cost of production was on labour) .
The labour force was composed of diverse social groups like, small tenants, 
dwarf landholders, landless labourers, bonded labourers as well as 
craftsmen. Most of them came from neighbouring bastis in the Manbhum 
district and nearby districts such as, Hazaribagh, Bankura, Bardhwan and 
Santhal Pargana in the early phase of the colliery working . There were 
some, who came from Raniganj coalfield or were in some ways linked to the 
Raniganj colliers. Some miners were service tenants of mine owners cum 
zamindars. A sizeable section of labouring poor hailed from distant areas 
such as, the districts of Gaya, Monghyr, Patna, Sahabad, Gorakhpur, 
Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Mirzapur, Naurangi, Raipur and Bilaspur (CP); while 
some others came from the ‘regions’ of Punjab, Orissa, Madras (Andhra 
Pradesh) and Bengal (Mednipore). By the 1950s the long distant migrants 
clearly outnumbered workers from neighbouring regions. A number of second 
generation collieries Mazdoors began mining work from the 1940s and the 
1950s  .
Most workers (more than 60%) had to work underground in inclines and shaft 
mines, popularly known as Sirmuha and Khadan. The rest of the Mazdoors 
worked in quarries and at surface work as, wagon loader, sale-picker, 
earthcutters boilers, chanuk-drivers, construction workers, electricians, 
etc.
The miners had to adjust to the painstaking working and living conditions 
prevailing in the coalfield. They made innovative and enduring efforts to 
adapt to the mining time regime.
In this chapter I intend to investigate the pattern of adaptation of the 
colliery Mazdoors to the working regime during the period of the 
1890s-1970s. What was the form of work-time routine, and how was it imposed? 
How did the majdoors experience the work routine? What was their conception 
of work time, which mediated their strategies of organising work? How did 
they respond to the work time regime? What kind of patterns emerged through 
those attempts at adaptation between the 1890s and the 1970s?
               According to the employers and their representatives the 
labouring people–who were predominantly agriculturist associated with 
non-mining natural inclination and habits–could not fully synchronise with 
the mining tempo. This posed problems to the growth of the mining industry.
The critical literature on this matter usually discusses the different ways 
in which working masses made adjustment to work regimes.  E.P Thompson in 
his essay suggested that if the industrial society has to mature, it would 
have to change the habits of labourers . The question that has not been 
raised is the following: if the working classes have to survive with dignity 
and comfort, they will have to resolve the structural contradiction. And the 
issue of adjusting to the institution of work time routine is also linked to 
the workers’ responses to the authority commanding the organisation of 
economy. I will attempt to study the adaptation process by linking it to 
these concerns/questions. If the responses of the majdoors happened to be of 
more than one kind, ‘What’ was the nature of the tie-in between them ?
I have tentatively divided the period of my investigation into three 
sections. One, from the 1890s to the 1920s; the second from the 1920s to the 
1940s; and the third from the 1940s to the early years of the 1970s.
                                                                     II, 
1890s- 1920s
The labouring poor got themselves employed at a large number of mines. Their 
number fluctuated between 200around 1910, to 424 in 1944/45 and 327 in 1971 
.
               The miners faced multiple working time routines. These varied 
between mines especially big and small mines and were also seasonally 
differentiated. There was a notable unlikeness between its ostensible and 
‘implementational forms’. The labouring classes could ostensibly go to work 
at the time they wished in the morning, and could leave at any time . The 
usual working day at a majority of mines happened to be the entire day. One 
chief Engineer in Bhowra colliery noted:
“The absence of strikes prior to the 1920 was because miners and their 
families were allowed to work when they please, and to come up & down as 
they chose”.
            Nevertheless, in practice they faced the structure of working 
time routine, set by the ‘exacting mechanism’ of employers. The mines 
happened to lower their working pace during the rainy season.   During 
normal season, employers expected from miners the maximum utilisation of 
their labour time. The ‘coercive socio-physical and economic’ mechanism for 
extraction of labour-time was installed, like tea gardens in Assam.
The labour contractors received commission (around 8-14%) on each coal-tub 
cut by miners under them. That’s why, they used to drive their miners as 
long as possible in a day and week and season that miners happened to be in 
the coalfield.
The employers-mine owners and contractors deployed lathaith/pehalwan for 
this purpose.  Some of them were also local zamindars such as zamindars of 
Mahalbuni, Tetulia etc who provided labouring people to Bhowra colliery. The 
use of ‘coercion’ began to be practised more frequently, when night-work was 
started at some big collieries in the decade of the 1910s and when working 
of some big shaft mines expanded.
The mining classes responded to it in more than one way. The piece-rated 
miners usually “worked (in boisterous & fitful ways) between 12-16 hours or 
18 hours in a day and sometimes some of them were found working more than 
one or two whole days at underground work places” . Some of them used to 
work regularly for 12-16 hours in a day for six-seven, eight or ten days, 
then returned back to their rural home for a few days . The Chief Inspector 
of mines Annual report noted in 1904:
“…Even in normal time the Dehatis would not work regularly. Some of them 
worked for six or seven days at a stretch and then returned to their home 
for a week and rest. And others who came from nearby village stayed for a 
day in which they spent eighteen hours working underground.”
              The proportion of this type  of miners, to total of workers 
was however declining towards the 1920s . The sedentary  working population 
also tended to, frequently, refrain from working on weekly payday, and rest 
& celebrate ‘work free-time’ on the day. Some of them extended this free 
time for one or two days further following the payday.
Everyday the miners, especially those who worked on ‘piece rated’, worked at 
a stretch of workday that they felt gratifying for extraction of their 
“sense of enough coal”, or/and they felt physically and mentally exhausted. 
The length of “workday” was however also influenced by some technical 
factors  and the ‘mining work’ was inherently ‘fitful’ in its characters. 
The colliers, notwithstanding, cut and loaded an amount of coal, seemingly 
adequate for their “everyday sustenance”. One miner reported to the RCL in 
1930: “Unless he works 12 hours plus in a day, he could not fetch the cash 
earning required for his daily need”.
They contrived breaks at the working sites for several activities such as 
lunch, chabbena, water, smoking biri, tambaco, natural calls etc. for 
relieving and relaxing themselves. They conversed /joked, sang/ hummed/ 
played the pipe among themselves even in course of coal cutting and loading. 
L Barnes in her fieldwork noted: “The women workers often narrated with joy 
‘the work they did below ground, the people they worked with, the members of 
their gangs and how they used to sing and work’.  The Kamins  and children, 
as loaders, were relatively uninhibited and worked as long they wished, or 
not at all, in the family gangs.  The Kamins carried their breast-sucking 
babies below ground, and created a ‘temporal-space’ for taking care of them.
The mining classes had to develop a tacit understanding with sirdars for 
securing the above forms of working pattern. When this relationship of 
“despotic patronage” did not yield, and if it broke down, the mazdoor moved 
to other colliery. That is why this period witnessed a high rate of movement 
of miners from one colliery to another, and finally to villages.
               The ‘seasonal arrangement of work pattern’ as well as 
‘socio-cultural temporality of lives’ dominated the working practice for a 
sizeable workforce.  Workers returned to the villages during the seasons of 
transplantation & harvesting work on their small piece of land or other’s 
land. Indian coalfield committees’ reports of 1920/1925 bemoaned against the 
persistence of “primary agriculturist status ” of Indian miners. The 
arrangement of work-time-pieces of the sedentary colliers was greatly 
conditioned by the “industrial temporality”. They used to visit during the 
months of March, April and May, which were periods of harvesting as well as 
of festivals & others socio-familial occasions (such as marriage, etc.).
Some majdoors visited their villages for some socio-cultural & familial 
obligations. For instances, the Santhalis on the occasions of ‘Sohrai’ (in 
January or Magh month) for about whole month or twenty days, the workers 
(the Rajwars, the Turis, the Ghatwals, the Mahtos etc.) of adjacent areas on 
Tilasakarat/Makarsakranti/Jal/Nadi/Machhali Puja  and a large number of 
up-country single male workers on Holi (sometimes for a whole month) , 
Dashahra, etc. Those who stayed in the coalfield, on the other hand, used to 
celebrate festivals such as, Kali-Puja, Durga-Puja, Cake-Puja, Holi, etc.
The Kamins used to return to their villages for the period of child bearing 
and rearing. Santhal women loaders interviewed in 1930 revealed: “they often 
absented themselves for 6 months or one year at the time of childbirth. 
After this, they could return to the mines &take up employment again”.
Thus, the practice of working time of the majdoors was characterized by the 
orientation of function/production-task, sense of necessity of cash money 
and, socio-cultural obligations. The mental & physical capacity and “scope 
of its utilization” conditioned the ‘orientation’. It could also be 
transcribed an orientation of sense of ‘concrete-time’ in M Postan’s words.
	The time rated Mazdoors & service tenant-miners workdays were seemingly 
guided by the sense of worktime. They were at most vulnerable to the 
‘violent animalistic’ exacting mechanism of employers. They had to work for 
a (longer) length of time usually longer than the “common sensual workday 
corresponding” sunlight period.
	This period saw a dynamism in adaptive methods. As the proportion of 
sedentary and regular miners had been rising, the social strength behind the 
particularistic practices & ways changed. Miners’ assertiveness on the one 
hand and the patron-client nexus formation on the other became a usual 
strategy of survival and obtaining destinations. I will explore these 
aspects in the next section, since these became more apparent there.
                                                             III, 1920s- 
1940s
In this period the mining community saw the ‘stipulation’ of some 
legislative provisions streamlining and relatively shortening the time 
regime.  They had to confront with the ‘implemented form’ of time regime 
designed like the previous period, by the exacting mechanism of employers 
demanding a particular level of coal raising. It was a multifarious and a 
little varying in its characters. The working people were practically asked 
by employers for utilization of labour time at most [and definitely longer 
then those permitted under the laws]. Deshpande committee observed:
“In the case of the contract labour, it was noticed that the hours of work 
was definitely longer than those permitted under the laws. It is not unusual 
to see sirdars and the Overman of contractors driving the labourers, 
particularly women workers almost the whole of the time that they are 
there”.  The contract system of organization of labour had remained 
conspicuously widespread during this period.
The element of coercion and rigidity of regime had been becoming more 
taxing. The BLEC observed:
“The lathaiths of one labour contractor or colliery owner had beaten up the 
miners in Bhadrachack colliery, when the miners did not turn up at the work, 
and remained resting/leisuring in their Dhowrahs on Monday”.
Some mechanical and technical developments  though at rather very low level  
took place in this period. This influenced the work-routine and ways of its 
imposition that resulted in the intensification of work for some miners. The 
extension of electricity made mining work possible even in the night and 
therefore on shift system. The big and medium sized collieries gradually 
moved towards it. The RCL observed in the 1930, ‘a few big mines worked even 
on three shifts’, and the number further rose till the decade of the 1940s.  
The colliers of one shift could no longer remain working for a longer period 
in a large number even if shifts overlapped because, the miners of next 
shift contested for the working-faces and tubs.
              The majdoors witnessed and experienced the increasing demand 
from their employers for ‘greater regularity’ at work and greater attention 
towards it. Colliery owners wanted a quick and a greater return for their 
investment in technological upgradation. Therefore, they wanted the miners 
to put those machines and organization of production to maximum utilisation. 
They, towards the late 1920s, began to bemoan vociferously against the 
ostensible ‘irregular, irrational and non-disciplined/non-efficient working 
pattern’ of Indian miners. The chief inspector of mines (D.P.Denman), 
European and Indian big-colliery owners from 1925 onwards agreed-in contrast 
to their position in previous years, “…that women at present keep cost up by 
hampering the work. They are very largely in the way and prevent speeding 
up. They lead to difficulties about discipline and that sort of thing 
reduces output”.
            Nevertheless, the dominant anatomy of the time regime exalted 
the continuity in its functioning from the ‘pre age of legislation’. The 
rigid time discipline [only in terms of lower limit] was its characteristics 
. Deshpande noted,
“In most of mines the general impression gathered that there was no rules 
and regularity (?) as to when underground workers should go down and come up 
except in the case of Haziri worker. Nor was any system noticed of sounding 
a warning such as a bell or siren to notify the change of shifts. In the 
case of underground miners there are no regular intervals and the men rest 
as and when they like.”
While Haziri workers had to work even on Sundays and for longer hours in 
general.
How did the mining community cope up with the situation? Some leaders of 
working classes and the labour trade unions such as, Indian Colliery 
Employees Association (1920) and Indian Trade Union Congress (1920) started 
demanding for shortening the length of work-time in the 1920s. They argued 
“the work in mines is more strenuous and arduous than in factory”.  I need 
to investigate the relation between the politics of colliers for shortening 
the work hour and the making of legislation in this respect. 
Notwithstanding, the implemented form of the ‘time-routine’, mineworkers had 
to endure.
They, mostly, worked ‘longer hours’ i.e. more than nine hours in a day.  The 
technical factors, by and large, continually rendered to lengthening the 
working hours . But, their production activities at the same time were 
largely motivated by and oriented towards raising enough coal for their 
basic sustenance. Deshpande makes an observation,
“As a matter of fact in several mines workers who were supposed to go down 
at 7 O’clock in the morning do not do so till 10 or 10.30 a.m., and do not 
come out until they feel that they have had enough production for the day. 
…the workers do not have watches to know as to when a shift begins or ends”.
The Majdoors had, yet, to create a space and time for securing their ends 
within the constraints of working-time . This led the evolution of some new 
working practices. The nexus of bribing for empty tubs developed between the 
Munshis (tub distributors) and the miners. The 
caste/territoriality/community ties also served the formation of such nexus. 
They contrived to ‘appropriate’ some time and create moments at the work 
itself imbuing ‘arduous’ and onerous work with some joy/humour, breaks for 
lunch, calls of nature in addition to, the breaks for relaxing and for 
recouping physical mental capacity. They smoked and took tobacco in between 
apart from the usual sharing of jokes and singing of songs. Similarly, the 
family gangs & Kamins in particular struggled to maintain a balance between 
the production work and their reproductive obligations. But, they had to 
confront with the ‘repression’ and the ‘marginalisation’ on this front in 
this period. The acts of Kamins carrying babies to workplaces was considered 
repugnant and declared an uncivilised practice by the respective employers. 
Kamins now hid their children in mines, when white men visited, and leaving 
‘older’ in the care of family members or other retired/old Kamins in 
Dhowrahs . Some Kamins could, yet, not successfully fight the gradual 
marginalisation.
The practice of working time by the Haziri-majdoors seems to have remained 
tenacious during this period. They were compelled to work for longer hours 
and the fatigue led to occasional accidents.
Among the surface workers, the wagon loaders, who were predominantly 
piece-rated, now faced ‘erratic’ work routine. The fear, of a period without 
work, led them to work as long as they found themselves to be physically and 
mentally capable when wagons were available . A majority of them tried to 
recuperate themselves by resting for a while, but some of them actually 
suffered from the lack of work rather than entertaining a time for rest.
	The colliers had to enforce their rest day at the weekend. They saw the 
conversion of legal rest on Sundays into paydays. Whether those colliers 
opposed or protested against such exaction? They experienced it in terms of 
“deprivation” of time. It reflected in their absence at the workplace on 
Mondays and sometimes even on Tuesdays by extending their ‘work free-time’.  
Some of the colliery owners reported to the B.L.E.C. that they kept their 
mines closed on Monday, because, the turnover of miners used to remain very 
low.
The proportion of colliers, organising work time in accordance to the 
agricultural temporality, was gradually diminishing.  They happened to get 
off from work even on certain occasions suiting their socio-cultural 
obligations. Colliery owners, however, did not officially recognise these as 
holidays. But, the colliery generally began to remain closed on festive-days 
like, Holi, Dashahra, Kalipuja and Cake-Puja . The different sections of the 
labouring masses began to hold some new festivals like Jhanda/ Ramnavmi, and 
Muharram processions in particular at relatively noteworthy level.
The mining community adopted multiple methods for pursuing the above forms 
of organisation of time. Some of them used to ‘inform’ mining sardars or 
ticcadars under whom they were employed for breaks. The sedentary labourers 
in fact involved sirdars in festive ceremonies such as, Dashahra, Holi, 
Kali-puja etc. This was, perhaps, one of the reasons that practically 
colliery started to remain closed on those occasions . Some employers began 
to distribute some ‘gifts’ to their employees on the occasions such 
as-Dashahra, Kalipuja and/or Cake-Puja . The latter was probably practised 
at colliery run by Europeans such as, Bhowra, Amlabad, Jealgora, Lodna, 
Kustore, Bhudrachawk, Industry collieries etc. This development regarding 
the “organisation of the work-time & the breaks” was an example of 
“incorporation” of “assertive” popular practice of mining community, and 
promotion of new ones between them as well. But, this pursuit of 
re-organisation of time traversed through different phases-from ‘subversive 
struggle’ against work-time, to ‘assertive internal negotiation’ about 
work-days/free-time. This was the case also with the festive activities such 
as, Ganesh-puja, Sohrai, Makarsakranti etc., which could not get the 
validation of employers.
                The mining classes started demanding and agitating for 
institutionalisation of provisions for ‘formal leaves’ (paid and casual) and 
sick leaves during the second half of the 1940s. They had organised a total 
strike in Bhowra and Amlabad colliery for around three months and thirteen 
days in 1948. They had called for a strike for largely similar demands for a 
week in March 1947.
	These developments were not informally, all pervasive in the entire 
coalfield. The majdoors working in the least mechanised mines had drudged in 
a little different situation. The working pattern here was largely 
characterised by continuity of the practices from those prevailed in the 
preceding period. Perhaps that is why some ‘family mazdoors’ and regular 
commuters preferred working in those mines. The politics of lead and lift 
allowances and compensation for forced idleness was, ipso facto, not as 
intense among these miners as was the case with the agitated group of miners 
in some big collieries.
                                                                        IV, 
1940s-70s
During the decades of the 1940s to the early years of the 1970s, the mining 
communities were introduced to a series of state statutes aiming to 
streamline the time of colliery work.  What was the nature of the 
‘implemented form’ of the time-routine? How did the mining community 
experience and deal with that?  I will further explore these issues in a 
great detail in course of my research work. The sources I will look at are 
as follow.










his is the abbreviate and modified version of the last draft.

_________________________________________________________________
Block annoying pop ups! Empower your search! 
http://server1.msn.co.in/features04/general/MSNToolbar Enrich your internet 
experience!