Editor’s Note
This story from Surat illustrates how global economic shifts can reshape local lives. As demand for diamonds wanes, skilled artisans like Rakeshbhai Dhabhi are adapting with resilience, turning from polishing gems to selling soup. Their stall’s name, ‘Gem Artist,’ poignantly bridges their past craft and present enterprise.
For the past three months, Rakeshbhai Dhabhi and his wife have been selling vegetable soup daily at 7:30 PM on a street in Surat. Their stall is named ‘Ratna Kalakar’ (Gem Artist), which curiously draws people in.
The 43-year-old Dhabhi explained the hardship he and hundreds of other diamond workers are facing due to the closure of many small and medium-sized businesses in Gujarat’s diamond city, caused by a drop in demand.
Dhabhi, involved in work from diamond cutting to polishing, has worked in Surat’s lanes for 18 years. Yet, his daily wage has dropped from Rs 1,200-1,300 to Rs 600-700. With no other option, the couple now sets up a temporary stall every day to support their family.
Dhabhi’s wife fears he might take a drastic step like her brother, who was also a diamond artisan and committed suicide in May due to financial distress.
Not all are as fortunate as Dhabhi, as many diamond artisans – often the sole breadwinners for their families – have taken the extreme step of ending their lives under pressure after losing their jobs.
Surat, once famous for its thriving business, has been grappling with an economic slowdown for the past few years. A recession in the industry is underway due to falling demand for diamonds in the international market.
Several diamond workers who spoke to ThePrint said there has been no improvement in the situation, and every day, some helpless worker is either losing their job or having their salary cut in some factory.
They said that due to less work from the slowdown, 10-hour shifts have been reduced to 7-8 hours. They also reported a decrease in the wages of daily wage laborers.
According to the Diamond Workers Union Gujarat (DWUG), a total of 71 diamond workers have committed suicide in Surat in the past 18 months. Of these, 45 cases emerged in the past year, with 31 occurring in the last six months.
The main reasons for suicides in Surat include financial instability and unemployment. To address this, DWUG started a helpline in July. Since its inception, the helpline has received over 2,500 distress calls from workers.
According to a September report by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the total gross export of cut and polished diamonds was $1,290.89 million (Rs 10,822.37 crore), which is 22.87 percent lower than $1,673.56 million (Rs 13,892.3 crore) in the same period last year.
Regarding imports of cut and polished diamonds, it fell by 20.11 percent from $158.1 million (Rs 1,312.73 crore) to $126.3 million (Rs 1,058.42 crore).
According to DWUG, there are approximately 8-10 lakh diamond workers in Surat and, overall, about 25 lakh workers in Gujarat. Most of these workers are neither permanent nor registered employees on payroll. While a large part of the workforce is from Saurashtra, many are from distant states like Odisha and Karnataka.
However, in the last two years post-Covid, things started going from bad to worse.
28-year-old diamond employee Nikunj Tank, who had been working in the sector for three years, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his room on August 2. His family includes his elderly parents, wife, and a 15-month-old daughter.
His father Jayantibhai told ThePrint that his son had a debt of about Rs 4 lakh.
45-year-old Vinubhai Parmar, another diamond worker, was fortunate to find the DWUG helpline. He said that when he was laid off three months ago, he was told the reason was the slowdown.
