Brick Nationalism: Silver Bricks or Sun Dried Ones?

Abstract

The author would like to acknowledge the anonymous referee appointed by EPW for their valuable inputs, especially pertaining to adding technical audit information; Vishvesh Kandolkar and Pithamber Rao Polsani, for initial discussions and inputs on this article; and “Mrinmayee” (https://www.mahijaa.com/about), for providing information about their research on CSEB. While this building material supports a shiny political campaign in the form of a silver brick laid at Ayodhya, the on-ground situation of brick kilns in India remains grim, with the exploitation of both labour and the environment. To change this scenario, an array of solutions for brickmaking, including compressed stabilised earth blocks, need to be made mainstream. The decentralised, skill-based technologies in brickmaking are the answer to mitigate environmental deterioration and enhance skill development.