Mafia Raj

Mafia Raj (lit. 'mafia regime') refers to a criminalised nexus (or 'mafia') of corrupt government officials, elected politicians, business interests and other entities (such as law-enforcement authorities, non-governmental organisations, trade unions or criminal organisations).[1][2]

In India (where the term originated) it can refer to cities, states, government departments, public sector businesses or entire sectors of the economy that are subject to these conditions. Due to the ability of these mafias to operate their illegal activities in a sustained fashion, sometimes openly and with the use of violent intimidation, terms like Goonda Raj ('gangster regime'), Jungle Raj ('jungle regime') and Anarchy are used to refer to the same phenomenon.[3]

In the Indian and Pakistani media, the mafias are usually mentioned by the name of the economic sector in which they are involved. Terms such as coal mafia, timber mafia (sometimes forest mafia), contractor mafia (sometimes road construction mafia or road contract mafia) and land mafia are commonly used.

An Indian coal mine. The Dhanbad mine complex is allegedly dominated by a coal mafia.

The state-owned coal mines of Bihar (now Jharkhand after the division of Bihar state) were among the first areas in India to see the emergence of a sophisticated mafia, beginning with the mining town of Dhanbad.[4] It is alleged that the coal industry's trade union leadership forms the upper echelon of this arrangement and employs caste allegiances to maintain its power.[5] Pilferage and sale of coal on the black market, inflated or fictitious supply expenses, falsified worker contracts and the expropriation and leasing-out of government land have allegedly become routine.[6] A parallel economy has developed with a significant fraction of the local population employed by the mafia in manually transporting the stolen coal for long distances over unpaved roads to illegal mafia warehouses and points of sale.[7]

The coal mafia has had a negative effect on Indian industry, with coal supplies and quality varying erratically. Higher quality coal is sometimes selectively diverted, and missing coal is replaced with stones and boulders in railway cargo wagons. A human corpse has been discovered in a sealed coal wagon.[8]

In June 2012, the Bollywood epic Gangs of Wasseypur was released portraying the coal mafia in the area of Dhanbad. The movie received overwhelming response and was declared a hit. Another Bollywood movie Gunday was also loosely based upon coal mafia.

  1. ^ "Developmental policy of the state, globalisation and prawn aquaculture," Journal of the Indian Anthropological Society v.23, Indian Anthropological Society, 2003: "Mafia Raj is the rule of a group of powerful people usually outsiders from among politicians and their relatives, top bureaucrats and merchants), their musclemen and local encroachers (local non-fisher-folk and also some influential local fisher-folk financed by outsiders who operate in connivance with revenue and police officials)."
  2. ^ Lok Sabha, "Lok Sabha Debates, ser.11 Jul 29 1997 v.15 no.5, Lok Sabha Secretariat, Lok Sabha (House of the People), Parliament of India, 1997: "This has also placed the mafia raj in politics and in every sphere of social life in Bihar,". With recent killing of Ex. MP in Uttar Pradesh before media which is planned by Uttar Pradesh police, Uttar Pradesh is Jungle raj in 2023.
  3. ^ Mahendra Prasad Singh and Rekha Saxena, India at the Polls: Parliamentary Elections in the Federal Phase, Orient Blackswan, 2003, ISBN 81-250-2328-3: "The manifesto of the Bahujan Samaj Party sought to highlight four major objectives ... annihilation of the 'Goonda-Mafia raj' and anarchic forces".
  4. ^ Indu Bharti, "Usurpation of the State: Coal Mafia in Bihar", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 24, No. 42, p. 2353. 21 October 1989.
  5. ^ S. Venugopala Rao, Crime in Our Society: A Political Perspective, Vikas Publishing House, 1983, ISBN 0-7069-1209-8: "Using the vast money, muscle and caste power, trade union leaders have built up a Mafia-like empire which totally controls the life and economy of Dhanbad ... workers who constitute about 40 percent of Dhanbad districts population are mainly tribals, adivasis, Harijans and backward castes, while the trade union musclemen are mostly Rajputs of Bhojpur and Rohtas districts."
  6. ^ Ajeet N. Mathur, Asian Regional Team for Employment Promotion, World Employment Programme, Industrial Restructuring and Union Power: Micro-economic Dimensions of Economic Restructuring and Industrial Relations in India, International Labour Organization, 1991, ISBN 92-2-107494-3: "According to many workers, it is not possible for genuine trade unionism to flourish in Dhanbad because of illicit trading and profiteering in the garb of trade unionism and the protective umbrella such an institution holds out."
  7. ^ "Coal theft and vote". Frontline Magazine, The Hindu Newspaper Group. 26 February – 11 March 2005. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ D. K. Mittal, Coal Industry, Anmol Publications Private Limited, 1994, ISBN 81-7041-863-1. Snippet: "Default on quality, quantity and timely supply of coal have taken their toll on the Indian industry and come in their way in acquiring international competitiveness ... coal ministry officials have themselves observed boulders and dust being loaded in wagons supposed to be carrying steam coal ... checking officials even found the dead body of a person."