India : the slaves-laborers of the Taj Mahal | M6 | Les Chemins de l'Impossible

The Taj-Mahal, the jewel of India, was built out of white marble, the purest. A magnificent stone which is only found in Makrana, in the Rajasthan. The mine extends over more than 30 kilometers. Some 20,000 miners extract this white gold.” The mine having been over-exploited, it is sometimes necessary to dig 150 meters deep at the risk of one’s life to extract the blocks of marble and send them up by cable. Every day the production represents 200 tons. Fatal accidents are daily. These miners don’t earn much more than $5 a day which they send to their families back in their villages. But they are proud because they are participating with their blood and their tears in the building of eternal splendors.”