Ancient mines, Indian diplomacy and the power of a nation

KIMBERLEY, IN SOUTH AFRICA’S Northern Cape province, became the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to install electric street lighting. The city’s claim to fame is the Big Hole, which holds the contested title of being the deepest hole ever dug by hand. And from the Big Hole came diamonds that powered a brand familiar to us all: De Beers.

Electricity had that connection to mines underground. From powering elevators, lighting and dewatering to pumping in air, electricity made so many things possible. A claim about Kolar Gold Fields is that it was the first region in Asia to get steady electricity.

Scratch the surface, and the claim changes slightly to be the first region in Asia to receive long-distance hydroelectricity, courtesy of the Shivanasamudra hydropower station. Whatever the fine print of the claims, the link between electricity and mining is old and established.

According to the official website of The Hutti Gold Mines Co. Ltd, mining in the region is around 1,900 years old. Electricity then was just a lightning streak in the sky. “The Hutti mine is probably one of the most ancient metal mines in the world, dating to the Pre-Ashokan period,” the site says. “The ancient miners worked down to depths between 35m and 190m.”

The preferred method of extracting ore was fire-setting. Miners would identify a reef and then build a fire on it. When the rock was still hot, they would douse it with water, causing the stone to crack or explode. This dangerous work was most probably done by slaves. “The industry subsequently declined and eventually disappeared between 500 and 600 AD, perhaps due to the break-up of slavery as a social institution,” the site says.

It is into this mine that you are going this week, dear reader, with Senior Writer and Photo Editor Bhanu Prakash Chandra leading the way. Today, Hutti is India’s deepest active gold mine. From Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, Special Correspondent K. Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy adds an interesting article to the mix from inside Jonnagiri Gold Mine, India’s first private-sector gold mine.

Now on to black gold. Far from home, will India step up to ensure the flow of oil through the Hormuz Strait, asks Admiral Karambir Singh, former navy chief of India. The admiral is suggesting a UN maritime security support mission backed by India, based on a framework that is “technical, non-confrontational and focused on civilian shipping”.

While we are on the topic of projecting power, former diplomat Ramu Damodaran asks why only one Indian has ever been elected president of the UN General Assembly, while six other countries have had that honour twice. And a seventh is in the offing—Bangladesh. The incoming president is Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman.

THE WEEK’s contributor from Ukraine, Mridula Ghosh, writes about how India’s projection of power is seen in Kyiv. She draws comparisons between the US model and how Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar have been communicating with Russia and Ukraine about the war.

Sometimes projecting power goes beyond diplomacy and warships. At least that was the message designer Tarun Tahiliani conveyed at THE WEEK Salon in Delhi, powered by Bandhan Bank. He said that growing up in South Bombay, there was a pervasive tendency to look towards the west. But the grown-up Tahiliani has a different take: “Indians have always draped fabrics. And we do it in a way nobody else in the world does.”

THE WEEK also hosted the Mental Health of Young India Conclave in Delhi this week, where Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel was the chief guest. Miss Universe India 2026 Kaziah Liz Mejo also spoke at the event. The minister said that mental support for young people should reach them before a crisis manifests. Prevent the fire, rather than fighting it.