Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the political economy of sand mining in Bihar and the syndicate that controls it, popularly referred to as the “baloo (sand) mafia.” What is referred to with the English word “mafia” in fact reflects distinctively postcolonial forms of power that underlie the politics of caste.

Paper long abstract:

This paper, based on ethnographic research conducted over the last decade, explores the changes that have occurred in the sand mining industry in Bhojpur district, Bihar. Bihar is India's poorest state, known for criminality that increased in the wake of lower caste political mobilizations in the 1990s. Over the last eight years, a new state government shifted public discourse from caste empowerment to economic development and the state registered some of the highest growth rates in India. The resulting construction boom greatly increased demand for sand. The syndicate of powerful men who control sand mining has long been popularly referred to as the "baloo (sand) mafia." I examine what the story of the baloo mafia reveals about the changes taking place in Bihar. What is popularly referred to with the English word "mafia" - people talk about a plethora of mafias, the sand mafia but also an education mafia, cooperative mafia, fodder mafia, etc. - while evoking types of organized criminality familiar in Western contexts, in fact reflects distinctively postcolonial forms of power. The sand mafia is centered on caste-based networks that have expansive reach, intersecting with other "mafias" such as the "coal mafia" in neighboring Jharkhand. These networks exercise influence within state institutions while being grounded in local and regional territorial dominance. Examining mafia networks reveals the dynamics underlying the politics of caste and lower caste politics, in fact, can be seen as emerging in part as a reaction against a long history of upper caste "mafias."