RATIONALIZING LOSSES IN THE INDIAN COAL INDUSTRY 31 worker. In sum, rising absenteeism due to a number of causes has resulted in the loss of production so that the gap between the marginal product of a representative worker and the real wage to which he has been entitled has been continually going up. It will be our attempt in this paper to examine the validity of these allegations, especially with regard to the fact that, the problem of ensuring an effective supply of labour to the mining industry has been persistent through history. As such, it would also be worthwhile to consider the historical context and the bottlenecks that had constricted the supply of labour in the pre-1947 period; and more specifically, whether the phenomenon of absenteeism as observed today can be linked within a single causal nexus. Thus we would attempt to evaluate the impact of nationalisation on the industry, given that both prior to and after this apparently comprehensive reform, the same predicament continues to riddle the industry. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Coal mining in India was largely a product of colonialisation, and in most parts, based on a rather mercenary inclination towards the commercial exploitation of the natural resources of the colonised country with the minimum of investment. Considering along with this the institutional factors like the near-zero opportunity earning of the rural labour force, it is easy to see why our imperialist profiteers relied mostly on labour intensive techniques for the expansion of their mining activities. However, none of the colonial explorers were interested in the development of the Indian coal mines per se—either in the sense of conserving the best quality coal for future purposes, or in the sense of bringing about an acceptable standard in the working conditions of the mines—particularly in the context of ensuring safety within them. What prompted such apathy, was understandably, the threats to their sustained political longevity. However, all this had a two-fold impact. First, that the entire reserve of the best quality Indian coking coal was disposed of commercially to cater to purely non-metallurgical uses. What could have been used for the development of the other core industries like steel were diverted elsewhere, so that, when such attempts were made by the planners of an Independent India, import of steel was made necessary for the lack of good quality coking coal. Secondly, the total neglect towards the improvement/maintenance of the working conditions within the mines imparted an instability to the otherwise abundant and inexpensive labour force that was to prove remarkably enduring over time. Such hindrances in the process of effective labour supply was obviously affecting the viability of the mining operations. As expected, the imperialist burgeoisie attempted the use of brute force to harness it.2 However, as is evidenced by the Report of the Labour