By Gary Marbaniang
I just came across Jimmy Rose America’s Got Talent performance of “Coal keeps the light On” on YouTube. I’ve seen his performance a few times before but it did not strike a chord with me. I feel that this song will resonate with all the people involved in the coal business in Meghalaya. The ban on coal mining a few years ago decimated the economy in our state. The coal sector is generated the highest revenue for our state and a lot of people depended on this sector directly and indirectly for their livelihoods.
The current lockdown has wreaked havoc on the lives of ordinary workers all over the world. It just made me realise that for the people involved in the coal business in Meghalaya, a lockdown happened almost six years ago. The ban on coal mining was a bolt from the blue and just like that people’s livelihoods were taken away from them. You don’t need to know about John Maynard Keynes Multiplier to understand the manifold economic benefits of coal mining in a state like Meghalaya. It is just like a chain reaction. So when the ban on coal mining was announced, it had a punishing effect on the State’s economy and people at the bottom of the chain network were the hardest hit. For most people involved in the coal business in Meghalaya, all they know is the coal business. I’ve seen news reports about how prosperous towns turned into ghost towns in the U.S.A because coal mining came to a grinding halt for one reason or another. So we can well imagine the plight of people in a State like Meghalaya when their livelihoods were taken away because of the ban on coal mining.
The bank where I used to work with before is located in a small village in Jaintia Hills. The bank rented a building from a person who worked in the coal business. His story is the epitome of the rags to riches story. His story is truly incredible and inspiring at the same time. He used to work as a taxi driver until one day he decided to try his luck and dabble in the coal business. So he bought land at a throwaway price from a person who already tried his luck digging the land but his efforts were of no avail. He could not find the precious mineral so he gave up. Frustrated at his futile attempt he sold off the land. And as legend has it, the owner of the building where my former employer rented now bought the land and upon digging one layer more he struck gold! I mean coal!
For Meghalayans this is our version of the American dream! Such incredible stories also create livelihood opportunities for thousands of other people who are directly or indirectly involved in the coal business.
Yes,unscientific coal mining has adverse environmental impacts but livelihoods are also very important. Just ask any policy maker and he will tell you that job creation is an arduous task. So let’s hope that with the lifting of the coal ban in Meghalaya, the blueprint that the Government of Meghalaya comes out with will not only protect the environment but also create new jobs for the thousands of people who lost their jobs because of the ban on coal mining.
As far as the current lockdown is concerned, let’s hope that the government will be able to control and flatten the corona virus curve and the lockdown is lifted sooner rather than later. Barring the Great Depression of 1929 and the Global financial crisis of 2008,no other crisis has hit the global economy with such force and destruction as the COVID-19 pandemic. The global economy has been derailed and economic activities have come to a standstill. The crisis has devastated the lives of people who live in the margins of society. Just as coal keeps the lights on for many poor families in our state, so are other lowly occupations which are generally looked down upon by the rich and the middle class. Even scavenging keeps the lights on for many families in India.
This crisis has impaired the abilities of many families to earn a livelihood since going out is one of the prerequisite conditions of their work. Once this crisis is over, they’ll have to rise up again from the ashes and they’ll need all the help and support they can to get back on their feet again. Not to forget the countless families who have lost their loved ones during this crisis. They’ll have to move on and try to get their lives back on track once this crisis is over.
In the meantime we should all lend a hand to help the needy and the poor especially those who are in desperate need of help. We should also lend our unequivocal support to the people who are risking their own lives on the frontline fighting this pandemic to protect the rest of us from danger.