1. Abstract
“Development”- central to the policy of the newly independent states in the postcolonial period.
Today, development a highly contested term - critiqued by various experts and movements who
have gone so far as to challenge its genesis and roots in history.
Yet, development remains one of the strongest concepts encountered in the “field” - strongly
desired and intensely resisted at the same time.
My research is an attempt to study impact of a mining project in Jharkhand, a mineral rich but
poor state of India, and locating it in this debate of development.
Jharkhand- history of a predatory loot of resources through mining activities.
Though there is plethora of research on exploitation of resources in Jharkhand, but there is lack of
empirical work on how project affected people experience such accumulation by dispossession.
This study mainly focuses on process of land acquisition and people’s experience of it. The data
has been collected through fieldwork in the Palamau district of Jharkhand.

2. Introduction
“Soche the company aayega to din bahur jayega, VIKAS hoga, par yahan to company zameen
barglaa ke hadap liya aur badle me laat jutta khila raha hai”
- Bachni Devi
Word “Development” - central to the policy of every country in post world war II period.
India no exception- policy since independence driven by “growth”, shift in 1991 era.
State claiming to be financially incapable invited private players.
Privatisation of natural resources - leading to displacement, dispossession and destruction of
natural resources.
Mass land acquisition, which is witnessing huge protest and phenomena has become pan-India
(Singur and Nandigram in WB, Forbesganj in Bihar , Jagatsinghpur in Orissa, Ghaziabad in UP
and Nagri In Jharkhand), as patterns are comparable.

3. contd.
Since the State invites private players it becomes obligatory on their part to offer
certain subsidy and concession.
Archaic Land Acquisition Act,1894 used for the purpose, now a new Act LARR
2013 has come into being.
Such model led to economic progress but also marked exodus of marginalised
population cross the globe, mining industry contributed heavily.
Today development model of India is highly contested due to rising inequality,
poverty, unemployment, poor health service, malnutrition and at the same time
rising number of billionaires making upto Forbes list.

4. Contd.
Jharkhand- long history of predatory loot of resources- Displacement of
many but development of little.
Yet, development remains one of the strongest concepts encountered in
the “field” - strongly desired and intensely resisted at the same time.
Though there is plethora of research on exploitation of resources in
Jharkhand, but there is lack of empirical work on how project affected
people experience accumulation by dispossession.
An attempt is made to explore a localized understanding of
“development”with a special focus on process of land acquisition.

5. Framework
- Accumulation by dispossession (Harvey.D,
2003)
- Uneven Development (Frank. A.G,1966)
-Internal Colonisation - Jharkhand experience of
underdevelopment (Prakash. A, 2001)
- Lack of empirical research (Ayelazuno. J,2011)

6. Scheme of Chapterisation
Introduction
Ch1: Development by Dispossession
Ch2: Jharkhand: Myriads of Corporate eyeing
Ch3: Is fair Land Acquisition possible?
Ch4: “Hum Vikas Virodhi nahi hai”: A tale of
development from field
Conclusion

7. Literature Review
-Development was an idea coined by powerful forces from west to intervene in socio-political and
economic life of “Third world”, which included countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the
Caribbean and the South Pacific (Escobar, 2011)
The genesis of this discourse in India was also result of such global development and to
understand it we must analyse debate over colonial history.
There are two broad interpretation- a) Driven by Purposeful imperialism, b) Economically
motivated
A) Purposeful imperialism
- Colonialism was driven by white man’s burden of civilizing others, whom they perceived as
“primitive”
- This white men's burden explained in Said' orientalism which he calls a “systematic discipline by
which European culture was able to manage and even produce the orient politically,
sociologically, militarily, ideologically, scientifically, and imaginatively during postEnlightenment period” (Said, 1978:3)
-Calling development as “dynamic knowledge”, europeans acquired a legitimacy to rule over
south

8. Contd.
- In post colonial times mainly after post world war II period this was further
augmented through development discourse. As Said argues that Development
as discourse shares structural features with other colonizing discourses and it
“can be discussed and analyzed as the corporate institution for dealing with the
Orient—dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it,
describing it, by teaching it, settling it, ruling over it: in short, Orientalism as a
Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the
Orient.” (Said,1978)
- Alvares (1992) says that “development became a tool in hands of west for
substituting south’s psyches with new programmes borne out of western souls”.
Though idea of development ran parallel with rise of capitalism and modernity in
nineteenth century but its institutionalisation only started in post world war II
period and thus it is called as “the era of development” (Escobar, 2011), egTruman's speech

9. contd.
B) Economically motivated
Permanent Settlement Act, 1793- Zamindarimajor change in Land relationsState ownership of common resources
Such objective met through legal instrumentsLand Acquisition Act,1894(Gadgil & Guha,1992)

10. Contd.
In the neoliberal era such accumulation by dispossession
has caused unrest across the globe and India specifically
and has invited fierce protest (Sarangi, D. 2004).
Jharkhand being one of the richest state in terms of
mineral reserves has been one of the worst hit by
unscrupulous loot of minerals (Areeparampil, M. 1996)
Social impact on the project affected people
(Parasuraman, S. 1999 & Cernea, M. M. 2000 ).

11. Contd.
- Research Design (Ragin,1997).
- Qualitative research (Hakim, 2000)
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Exploratory
research, qualitative research, tools of data
collection (Harvard manual on research
methodology, retrieved from isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.../Research
%20Methods_Some%20Notes.p., for more details about exploratory research)
- Interviewing in qualitative research (Schostak,
J. (2005)

12. Objectives
To understand the process of land acquisition in
terms of role played by different actors (State,
Private firms and project affected people), in order
to produce “localized” understanding of
development and development induced
development.

13. Research Questions
1. What is the role of state (including bureaucracy, media, police and political
parties) and non state actors in the process of land acquisition for a private
player?
2. How private industry engages itself in the process of land acquisition?
3. What are the spaces of democratic participation for project affected people in
the process of land acquisition?
4. What has been the experience of project affected people with such project?
5. Do aspiration towards development varies across different social groups?

14. Project at a glance
Usha martin- kathautia mines. The company has also received the mining lease rights
for two coal blocks located at Kathautia and Lohari (Palamau) in Jharkhand, having
estimated reserves of 30 MnT and 10 MnT respectively. Kathautia mine commenced
operation in fourth quarter of 2010. The coal is of a high-grade variety with less than
16% ash content and 6000 calories per kg, suitable for sponge iron production.
Aims to operate in 7 villages of Patan block in Palamau, Jharkhand. It aims to acquire
2345 acres of land
Protest since 2011 under the banner of Bhumi Adhigrahan Visthapana Sangharsh
Morcha”.
Corruption of usha martin (Interview of madhu Koda “Why I am in Jail)
HC stay on land acquisition in 3 villages (Gadikhas, Batsara, Sikka)

15. Methodology
Qualitative research
As defined by Hakim, qualitative research provides the:
“‘individuals’ own accounts of their attitudes, motivations and
behaviour.(Hakim, C. 2000).
Exploratory Research
It is undertaken to better comprehend the nature of the
problem since very few studies might have been considered
in that area (Sekaran, U. 2003)

16. contd.
Importance of Exploratory research:
It is flexible and can address research questions
of all types (what, why, how). Exploratory research
provides an opportunity to define new terms and
clarify existing concepts. It is often used to
generate formal hypotheses and develop more
precise research problems. It help establish
research priorities. It may be used to check the
feasibility of a more extensive study

17. Data collection Tools
1. Primary
A) Interview (Indepth, unstructured and semistructured
B) Focussed Group Discussions
Total 16 indepth-interviews (9 project affected
people among them only 2 women, 3 company
officials, 2 district administration, 2 political
leaders and 2 FGDs (Both conducted with
women in two separate villages)
Stratified sample was taken by combination of
snowball Sampling and purposive sampling.

18. contd.
Secondary tools:
Newspaper archives, placards and photographs. These ephemeral sources
reveal both the changing dimensions of the movement as well as the different
meanings attributed to the same events by various stakeholders.
Data Analysis Plan:
Analysis proceeds by extracting themes or generalisations from evidence and
organizing data to present a coherent, consistent picture. These generalisations
can then be used to generate hypotheses.

19. Key Findings
- No alternate debate over present dominant
development discourse
- State oppression in connivance with private
firms
- Though illiteracy is prevalent but political
awareness is there, awareness about LARR 2013
- Favourable role of state actors in the process of
land acquisition for the benefit of private firm:
(Bureaucracy, Police, Political leaders, Media)
- Active role of non-state actors in the process of
land acquisition

20. contd.
- No appreciation for business opportunity, still
people vouch for sarkari naukri like CCL.
- Company has contributed to “Izzat”.
- Not against project but process, and want fair
deal (proper compensation)

21. Scope
Scope and Limitation
Since most of the studies on Jharkhand dealing with impact of mining projects
are quantitative in nature so this study tries to fill this void by making an attempt
to study through qualitative method. It tries to develop a localized understanding
of the issue, which hitherto are restricted to metanarratives. Different theories
applied in this study are only to contextualise the debate but the main focus is to
capture people’s perception and experiences.
Limitation
- Since the study is exploratory in nature and qualitative method is applied so
the findings can not be generalized.
- Looking at the population size and considering time constraint, it was not
possible to conduct random sampling (as 10% is required)
- Local Identity (Caste an important factor)
- Disturbing situation in the area (Rumour of thieves)
- Conspicious behaviour of company has led to strained relationship in the area

22. Ethical Concerns
Informed consent was taken before taking any
interview, clicking photographs and recording
videos
- Respondents were explained purpose of the
interview
- names of the respondent was withheld in cases
where they requested not to publish it.
- Favourtism was strictly avoided, false promise
were not made, unrealistic demands were politely
denied

23. References
Alvares, C. (1992). Science, development and violence. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
Areeparampil, M. (1996). Displacement due to mining in Jharkhand. Economic
and Political Weekly, 1524-1528.
Ayelazuno, J. (2011). Continuous primitive accumulation in Ghana: the real-life
stories of dispossessed peasants in three mining communities. Review of
African Political Economy, 38(130), 537-550.
Baviskar, A. (2001). Written on the body, written on the land: violence and
environmental struggles in central India. Violent environments, 354-79.
Berg, Bruce L.2009. Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences.
USA.: Allyn & Bacon.
Brayman, Alan.2008.Social Research Methods. Oxford University Press.

24. Contd.
Cernea, M. M. (2000). Risks, safeguards and reconstruction: a model for
population displacement and resettlement. Economic and Political Weekly,
3659-3678.
Chandrasekhar, C.P. 2010. ‘Road to rebellion’.Frontline, Vol. 27. November 619.
Escobar, A. (2011). Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of
the Third World (New in Paper). Princeton University Press.
Ferguson, J. (1994). The anti-politics machine (pp. 194-227). Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press.
Fernandes, W. (2006). Mines, Mining and Displacement in India. 2006).
Managing the Social and Environmental Consequences of Coal Mining in India,
The Indian School of Mines University, Dhanbad, 333-344.

25. Contd.
Guha, R., & Gadgil, M. (1992). This fissured land: An ecological history of India.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996, 117.
Harvey, D. (2003). The new imperialism. Oxford University Press.
Harvey, D. (2009). The'New'Imperialism: Accumulation by Dispossession.
Socialist Register, 40(40).
Morris, S. (2007). Towards reform of the land acquisition framework in India.
Indian Institute of Management Working Paper, (2007-05), 04.
Parasuraman, S. (1999). The development dilemma: displacement in India.
Macmillan Press Ltd.
Said, E. (1979). Orientalism. 1978. New York: Vintage, 1994.
Sarangi, D. (2004). Mining'Development'and MNCs. Economic and Political
Weekly, 1648-1652.
Shiva, V. (1988). Staying alive: Women, ecology and development. Zed Books.

26. Contd.
Supreme Court in State of Gujarat vs. Fiddali
Badrauddin Mithibarwala & Ors. (AIR 1964 SC
1043). Retrieved from
http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/19878/
Venkateswaran, S. (2007). Industrial
Displacement: Looking beyond Cash
Compensation. Economic and Political Weekly,
42(22), 2050.