Arctic Minerals Podcasts
Saleem Ali
Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt
Dear Saleem,
I am writing to let the colleagues in the Ecominerals list know about a new book by Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt and Patrik Oskarsson titled ‘Everyday Justice in India’s Coal Transition: Testimonies from the Margins’. The book covers research in India’s eastern coal tracts over more than thirty years, funded by various organisations, especially the Swedish funding agency FORMAS.
Below is a brief description of the book’s content.
Everyday Justice in India's Coal Transition reimagines the concept of justice by exploring what a 'just transition' away from coal could look like in the Indian context. It defines 'everyday justice' more broadly to include informal economies and labour, and the realities of human lives that have been fundamentally altered by coal mining. In doing so, it acknowledges the rights of local communities to make choices about their own future, have attachments to their own place and other local people, and finally, participate in political decisions and hold property. It builds a compelling case for everyday justice in India's coal transition through three kinds of evidence: testimonies collected from the same individuals over more than two decades, beginning in the late 1990s, to present a temporal view of their altered livelihoods and worldviews; a detailed examination of coal production and transport by various agents and unconventional labour arrangements therein; and the degradation of the landscape and decay of peasantry in older coal mining regions situated near the Jharkhand region in eastern India. Through decades of research, observation, interaction, and conversation with people, Lahiri-Dutt and Oskarsson provide vital insights for those aiming to understand grassroots perspectives and the need for multiple approaches to justice.
Please let me or Patrik know if any of you are interested in reviewing the book.
Many thanks
Kuntala
Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, AO
Emeritus Professor, Resource Environment & Development Program
Crawford School of Public Policy
ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
The Australian National University
ACT 2601, Australia
Tel: +61 409158145
Staffpage: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/people/kuntala-lahiri-dutt
Editor: Annals of the American Association of Geographers