The plight of child labourers in the tribal belt of Jharkhand has always been under scrutiny of researchers and NGOs. Despite all the work being done in this area, many are unaware of the condition of tribal children working in the mica mines of Giridih and Koderma. A social organisation called Aid has been working among such children in Koderma and Giridih. The NGO works to bring the plight of these kids involved in the extraction of mica from illegal mines under the public eye.

Aid recently compiled a document on the impact of mica mining on child health to identify the areas where these children are most vulnerable. The data was submitted to the government and it also highlighted the role and involvement of middlemen in this trade.

The document reveals startling facts. ?In India most mica mines are located in Jharkhand. It is estimated that 18,000 children are involved in mica mining in the two districts of the state.? The existence of such high instances of child labour is not known primarily because the workers mostly come from the interiors.

Organised groups involved in illegal mining of mica mostly engage children. ?Employing children in mica cutting and splitting is categorised as hazardous occupation under the Child Labour (Prevention and Regulation) Act. However, child labour in this region is common since it happens to be very cheap,? the document further adds.

In Tisri block of Giridih district, 3,018 tribal children involved in mining-related works were traced by the organisation during its survey. ?Child labour in mica mining and scrap mica collection is the worst form of child labour. Children go 20 feet below the ground, mostly in loose soil in search for mica. Many deaths are a result of collapse or caving of the ground. In the last five years, there were more than 45 deaths. Snakebites were also responsible for fatalities in some instances. Other diseases such as silicosis, asthma and bronchitis, T.B and malnutrition are common among tribal children and adults working in the industry,? the study concluded.

The Tisri block in Giridih district of Jharkhand is a geographically-degraded zone where the Santhals have lived for many decades now. Previously, it was a thick forest zone, but over the years, droughts, rampant felling of trees and haphazard, illegal and unscientific mining have devastated it.

Until 1980, organised mica mining took place in the region. The slump in mica trade now has taken its toll on the local tribal inhabitants, who have been left without any means of livelihood in the absence of any alternate source of income.

Now the prime livelihood of the people living in the region is collecting scrap mica. In this vocation, entire families are involved and the product is sold for meagre amounts to agents.

Women, too, are an important constituent of the labour force, but children form a cardinal part. What is intriguing is that there are no official statistics available on child labour.

?They are the invisible work force. They earnanything etween Rs 6 and Rs. 8 per day for a minimum of 10 hours work. Culturally, the Santhals engage their children in the trade to add to the income. This, coupled with the non-functioning of local government schools in the region, has ensured that children do not get any basic education,? the report adds.

Aid, however, has tried to extend a helping hand to such children and improve their life. ?The special centres established to address the needs of children working in mica mines also cater to the educational and recreational needs of the tribal children and their parents. Parents of such children are given information and made aware of how they could benefit from different programmes launched by the government for their upliftment,? the document states.

The study, however, did not cover the plight of tribal children engaged in illegal coal mines in the entire belt which is spread over from Hazaribagh, Giridih, Dhanbad and Dumka. These tribal children, who constitute the major work force employed by organised coal mafia gangs, are subjected to grave physical exploitation at their place of work. Aid plans to include the tribal children working in the illegal coal mines soon.

A spokesperson for the organisation said since that this was the first phase of their study, it was confined to the mica mines and that Aid plans to extend its helping hand even to the tribal children working in the illegal coal mines. Aid wants to set up special centres in the mining fields of Jharia and Dhanbad.

Salman Ravi