Location : New Delhi, India, Date: on Monday-Tuesday, 11-12 August, 2008 Venue: Anil Agarwal Green Centre 38, Tughlakabad Institutional Area New Delhi–110062     Dialogue across Boundaries: People and Mining in India A joint workshop supported by the Mine Labour Protection Campaign, mm&P (Mines, Minerals & People); Australian National University, and Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.     This workshop aims to take a stock of existing social science research on a range of social issues around mining in India, to introduce the scholastic work to that of the activist groups struggling on the ground, and to build an effective dialogue and trust between the two. A close scrutiny to important theoretical, methodological and standpoint challenges in the Dialogue would hopefully illuminate both research and action. Given the great significance that large and small, formal and informal, mining currently holds in furthering India’s economic development, the poor social performance record of both state-owned and privately-owned companies, structural adjustment program, and the emergent policy climate, the timing of this Dialogue is of crucial importance. One of the goals is also to bring forth in the public domain a publication that showcases the issues, interests, approaches, innovative methodologies and the stimulating and emergent areas in research and practice that cut across disciplinary and thematic boundaries. The need for this Workshop emerges from the rigid disciplinarity that marks social science research in India, and the poor dialogue amongst academics and between them and the activists. This Workshop intends to address and close this gap, and hopes to shape future social research on mining in India. There is increasing but scattered evidence that not only the civil society organisations but also good social science research is emerging on a range of complicated social, political, cultural, historical and gender issues around large and small mining in India, connecting them to broader political, historical, and economic factors than purely measuring the environmental impacts of mining.           The workshop, therefore, would focus amongst other things on the following questions: mineral resource theorisations and their applicability in India – is there a ‘resource curse’ and why?; cultural and social impacts of mining and the question of measuring them – do people matter?; gender in mining, gender and mining – ‘feminism lite’ in engendering mining ; land ownership and resource rights – whose resource? do the laws reflect citizens’ interests? should one engage with the legal system to change it?; indigenous community, local community, and ‘Community Development’ – where do the differences lie?; community participation and co-management in mining – is it impossible even to dream of?; the question of legality, illegitimacy and illicit mining – who and what is illegitimate?; impacts, legality and livelihoods in mining – social justice; large vs small mining, artisanal mining – differentiating between mineral extraction practices and production and supply chains; child labour – generational continuity or exploitation begins at home?; the emerging concept of Corporate Social Responsibility – what to make of it? what lies beneath?           The Workshop is free and open to those who are interested in social research and activism on mining in India. However, no travel assistance or payment in any form would be possible for the organisers. For a dialogue to take place effectively, the researchers should be open to activism and familiar with field-based and ethnographic research on social issues rather than use pure statistical data or econometrics. Similarly, the activists intending to join in the dialogue should have some interest and experience in research and policy issues. Please send an Expression of Interest to both Kuntala and Rana as soon as possible – an abstract outlining your research, standpoint or idea will be useful. Please note that we intend to selectively invite paper presenters. If you are interested in publishing, please note that full papers will be due by 15 July 2008.     Contacts: Local Organiser: Mr Rana Sengupta, Mine Labour Protection Campaign, Email: rana@mlpc.in Mobile: 9414133141 Mr Nivit Kumar Yadav, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, Email: nivit@cseindia.org, Mobile: 9968023535 Academic matters: Dr Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, The Australian National University, Email: Kuntala.lahiri-dutt@anu.edu.au Telephone: +61 2 6125 4343