About me

Salman Ravi

The Coal, The Cartels, and The Truth: My Thirty-Five Years in India’s Coal Capital

For over three and a half decades, my life has been soundtracked by the low rumble of heavy machinery, the crackle of underground fires, and the quiet, pervasive anxiety of the Dhanbad-Jharia coal belt. To report from the "Coal Capital" of India is not just to cover a beat; it is to bear witness to a parallel universe where musclemen, politicians, and corporate interests form a complex, often deadly syndicate.

When I look back at my body of work, especially my dispatches for The Telegraph and my broadcast reporting for BBC Hindi, I see a landscape defined by both immense tragedy and profound human resilience.

Witness to the Deluge: The Gaslitand Tragedy

I will never forget September 26, 1995. Unprecedented monsoon rains caused the Katrijore rivulet to breach its protective embankments. Within hours, raging waters inundated the underground Gaslitand colliery, operated by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL). It didn't just flood a mine; it created a watery grave.

My coverage at the time was focused entirely on pulling the truth from the muck. I tracked the devastating loss of life, confirming that 64 miners were trapped and killed in the main pit, while eight others perished in the surrounding satellite collieries. But reporting numbers wasn't enough. Through my dispatches, I sought to expose the systemic failures of regulatory bodies like the Directorate-General of Mines Safety (DGMS). The truth was stark: safety barriers near local water bodies were routinely flouted to maximize output, making "inundation" an ongoing, preventable threat.

Years later, I returned to these families for a piece titled "Mine mishap memory." I found that while official promises of justice and safety reforms had long been forgotten in administrative corridors, the trauma remained raw. For the local residents, the arrival of every monsoon brought a severe, collective anxiety. Documenting that enduring pain has been one of the most sobering responsibilities of my career.

Pulling Back the Curtain on the Coal Mafia

Long before mainstream pop culture romanticized Dhanbad’s gang wars, I was on the ground documenting the gritty reality of the "Gangs of Wasseypur." My investigations focused heavily on the institutional networks driving illegal mining, transport, and black-marketing.

I watched as billions in public revenue were siphoned off by powerful syndicates. But what broke my heart—and fueled my reporting—was the human cost. I strove to bring national and global attention to how these cartels exploited structural poverty. They forced thousands of marginalized, local scavengers into the perilous world of illegal "rat-hole" mining, risking their lives for a pittance while the elite kingpins reaped the profits.

When disaster struck—whether it was the 2001 Bagdigi mine inundation or the relentless underground fires of Jharia—my camera and microphone were there. My goal was always to challenge the tightly controlled narratives of corporate entities like BCCL and local contractors, pushing past their public relations statements to highlight how basic safety protocols were ignored for the sake of profit margins.

Walking the Burning Fields of Jharia

Some of the most physically demanding reporting of my life took place in the burning fields of Jharia. Standing on ground that is literally smoking, I captured the harrowing reality for BBC of thousands of laborers working directly above centuries-old underground coal fires.

Through these dispatches, I wanted the world to see the environmental injustice unfolding in plain sight. Poisonous gas emissions, heavy soot, and sudden land subsidence were systematically destroying the health, homes, and futures of local tribal and working-class populations. They were being choked out of their own land, and the world needed to listen.

Inside the Red Corridor and the Release of Alex Paul Menon

Beyond the coal seams, my work as a broadcast journalist required a deep institutional knowledge of India’s "Red Corridor." For decades, I reported from the volatile tribal pockets of Bastar, Dantewada, and Sukma, as well as parallel Maoist movements in Jharkhand and Nepal, focusing on the root causes of the insurgency rather than just body counts.

This deep immersion eventually blurred the line between reporter and facilitator. On April 21, 2012, Sukma District Magistrate Alex Paul Menon was abducted by CPI (Maoist) rebels and held hostage deep in the Bastar forests. After 12 grueling days, negotiations progressed, but a critical communication breakdown occurred: the government-appointed mediators reached the remote outpost of Chintalnar by helicopter but had no way to navigate the mine-laden, rebel-controlled wilderness.

Knowing the terrain and holding an unusual position of trust with both sides, I volunteered alongside a colleague to serve as a human bridge. We drove the mediators deep into the Tadmetla forests on the backs of our motorbikes, navigating safely through core rebel checkpoints. By reaching the armed Maoist squads, we were able to de-escalate immense tension, maintain unbroken communication, and directly ensure the safe, formal handover of Alex Paul Menon on May 3, 2012.

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