India: Children in Jharia’s coal mines lose childhood to smoke, fire, and endless survival

They breathe in hot air from smoldering fires underground. They carry sacks instead of books, drink filthy water, and wade barefoot through black mud. And instead of the bell that signals the start of school, they hear the sound of pickaxes in the coal mines. This is what childhood looks like in Jharia, the infamous “burning city,” home to one of India’s largest coalfields for about a hundred years. In numerous photo series, Indian photographer Sourav Das has documented the fate of children whose lives are little more than a struggle for survival under the harshest conditions.

No healthcare, playground or classroom. And it is not uncommon for them to be put to work to contribute to the family income. Where houses and shacks collapse when cracks open up in the hollowed-out ground beneath them, they even have to live in ruins. Some of them crawl out of the coal mine entrances or scurry across smoking garbage heaps like pitch-black shadows, dressed in rags, faces eaten away by coal dust. Under Indian law, child labor under the age of 14 is forbidden. But violating the law is still rarely punished.

Photographer: Sourav Das, India

Sourav Das, born in 1987, holds a Master’s in History and a Bachelor’s in Documentary Photography. He invokes the famous Henri Cartier-Bresson when he says: “With one eye the photographer looks at the world, with the other into his own soul.” What he finds there is, above all, a great deal of empathy for the millions who still live in misery in the world’s most populous country. And admiration for all those who do not give up trying to make a positive difference, even under the most difficult circumstances. For instance, he documented the initiative of a teacher who simply moved the school in his village outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic so he could continue teaching the children. For this photo series, he was awarded second prize in the 2021 UNICEF Photo of the Year competition.