Twenty-five years ago this would most likely be a story of terrible working conditions, corruption, poor government oversight, dismally low pay and poverty in Meghalaya, one of India’s smallest and poorest states. It is still a story of terrible working conditions, corruption and poor government oversight but no longer a story of low pay and poverty.

Today's narrative in the Jaintia Hills, perched between the Himalayas and the vast plains of Bangladesh, is one of a rapid scramble for wealth and the exploitation of ancient tribal land and verdant forests for cheap coal that fuel India’s industrial growth. More than 70 percent of the land in this region is used in mining activities and large scale extraction is carried out in the absence of government regulation. The number of such mines, known as "Rat Hole" mines, is unknown due to the lack of regulation but local mine owners estimate the number to be in the thousands. Migrant workers here earn up to ten times the national average wage with many tribal landowners no longer needing to work, watching their bank accounts grow as their culture erodes.



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