Neoliberalism and Class Reproduction in India: The Political Economy of Privatisation in the Mineral Sector in the Indian State of Orissa

Resource Governance and Developmental States in the Global South

“…I have addressed this phenomenon -whose presence has also been acknowledged in official sources (Government of Orissa 2007; Planning Commission, 2002) -in previous research work (Adduci, 2012) as part of an effort to contribute to a more in-depth understanding of the specific socio-economic dynamics characterising Odisha's society. Here I argued that the existence of illegal mining practices can be traced back to the pre-liberalisation period and that such practices implied the existence of a wide network of corruption, which rested on the silent assent of top-level actors populating the state apparatus (bureaucrats and politicians) to illegal access to the Odisha's mineral and forestland resources (Adduci, 2012). 13 The attempt to take into account the interplay between the legal and the illegal level of mining allows for a better understanding of the socio-economic dynamics at work in Odisha within the context of the unfolding of broader capitalist dynamics.…”

“…This scenario suggests that illegal mining enables the local dominant class to appropriate a part of the surplus generated through the chain of extraction and commodification of minerals under the guise of rent. This acknowledges the rentier characteristics of this class, which could be defined as a neo-rentier class, in order to distinguish it from the landed gentry it originates from (Adduci, 2009(Adduci, , 2012.…”

“…Within this perspective, according to the state government, the process of value addition became equal to industrialisation. While the questionability of such an equation has been discussed elsewhere (Adduci, 2012), 14 it is important to briefly address with the major implications of the new mineral strategy for the Odisha's development trajectory, highlighting the possible changes brought forth by the implementation of neoliberal policy practices, as well as the possible continuities with the past.…”

“…Here the conditions seem to be set for the continuous production of significant socio-economic unbalances within the Odisha's social fabric as well as the reproduction of regional unbalances within India. Within this scenario, Odisha witnessed an intensification of illegal mining -a reality referred to in official sources (Government of Orissa, 2007;Planning Commission, 2002), press reports (Das, 2010;Mehdudia, 2010;Sethi, 2007) and analysed in a previous research work, where the modalities through which illegal mining is practiced have been explored (Adduci, 2012). Recent fieldwork activity shows that, alongside the increasing controversies arisen around this phenomenon, and the parallel intensification of public control measures, in recent years a specific modality of illegal mining, namely the digging of mineral forest land in the absence of lease grants, appears to be declining.…”

“…However, these developments appear to have paved the way for a new way to practice illegal mining, namely the rise of intermediate agents dedicated to illegal trade practices, consisting of buying illegally unspecified quantities of ore from legally operating mines, and selling them, once again illegally, below market prices. 18 In continuity with the past, although more intensively, illegal mining activities appear to importantly contribute to the social reproduction of the local dominant class as a rentier one (Adduci, 2012).…”