“What is the alternative?” said Kamala Bhil, whose husband died of silicosis and one of her sons is suffering after being diagnosed with the lung disease. “Where is it? Four of my sons work in the stone mines even as they know they will contract silicosis. But what is the alternative to earn a livelihood? None.”
The 55-year-old is from an Adivasi community and lives in Bhil Basti in Jodhpur region of Rajasthan. She is among thousands of women who have lost their husbands or sons to silicosis contracted while working in stone mines. However, the widows themselves or other surviving family members are forced to now work in these mines for anything between Rs 200 to Rs 400 per day as there are no other livelihood opportunities for them.
With mining, the promise of development or a transition to a better life has never been realised for these women. The only transition they have witnessed in their lives is the successive deaths of their husbands, sons, brothers and…