Everyday Justice in India''s Coal Transition : Testimonies from the Margins of Society

Documenting the voices of the displaced Indigenous people of eastern India, this book seeks to understand the experiences of those who have had to leave their homes and livelihoods to enable the expansion of coal mining over twenty years.

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.