Productivity and labour standards in tea plantation sector in india 5 growing administrative districts. Harvesting hunger plantation workers and the right to. Bruce sent first sample of tea leaf to the first commissioner of. Till now as per the source of assam tea welfare board, there are 950 number of tea estates in assam. The disappearing children of assam asia al jazeera. Commercial planting of tea began around 1840, when tea seeds were imported from china and planted on the plains of northeast india in assam and darjeeling. Tea plantations are predominantly located in northeastern states of india, particularly assam and southern states of india. A case study from subhimalayan regions of west bengal, india article pdf available. Workers on tea plantations in the assam region of india are systematically. A rmsa is a type of study that enables the quick identification and focus on potential root causes of constraints facing the sector. The success of the first sample led to the establishment of the assam company in. Welcome to assam tea plantations provident fund and. The sector is structured by private tea plantations which have pursued the working. The working class in the tea plantations of assam is perhaps the most oppressed in the organised sector of the economy.
For every kilogram of packaged assam tea that is sold, tea brands and. In assam, tea is grown both in the brahmaputra and barak valley. Out of the total, 54% is existing in assam and 23% in west bengal. Productivity and labour standards in tea plantation sector. Socioeconomic condition of tea garden workers of west. There are more than 850 tea estates and more than 2500 tea gardens in assam that covers thousands of acres of lan d. It contains theine and when added to boiling water along with sugar and milk, it gives a very cheap and stimulating drink.
The government of india imposed this responsibility on them through the plantation labour act of 1951 pla. In exercise of the powers conferred by subsection 1 of section 15 of the industrial employment standing orders act, 1916 xx of 1946, the governor of assam. Initial effort of planting chinese varieties in assam soil did not succeed. Sociocultural life of the tea plantation workers in assam.
In the case of the tea plantations, the responsibility for welfare measures has been given to their management. They also found that child marriage is another problem among the tea. Home the assam tea plantations provident fund and pension fund deposit linked insurance fund schemeamendment act, 2019 search with title search with file name. These are jalpaiguri and darjeeling in west bengal, nilgiris and coimbatore in tamil nadu and idduki and wynad in kerala. Small tea plantation and its impact on the rural landscape of. The tea plantations of assam, which constitute the countrys 53. The success of the first sample led to the establishment of the assam company in 1839 and within a short course of time.
The picture, however, is not completely rosy as the tea plantation, tea. Though assam plantation generally produces black tea, the region also produces smaller quantities of green and white teas. The tea industry of assam is more than 180 years old by now. By late 1830s, a market for the assam tea began to be evaluated in london and the east india companys positive feedback led to the inauguration of a lengthy process of withdrawal of agricultural lands and forests to allow significant shares of this province to be converted to tea plantations. Political, economy of tea plantations in colonial assam 2014 by rana p. About 17% of the workers of assam are engaged in the tea industry. Behal is a book on the history of tea plantations in assam during the colonial period. Lazy natives, coolie labour, and the assam tea industry. Later on, tea cultivation started in nilgiri hills of southern india, tarai along the foothills of the himalayas and in some area of himachal pradesh. The tea garden labourers of assam known as tea tribes have adopted a common nomenclature adivasi only to unite about sixty distinct tribes under one fold so as to collectively fight for indigenous rights in assam. First tea garden of assam established by maniram dewan in.
The prominence of imported coolie workers from central and south india has obscured the signi. Chapter historical background of tea plantation in assam and. Pdf the tea plantations in the northeast indian state of assam, launched by the british colonial regime in the midnineteenth century, had. Assam tea is manufactured specifically from the plant camellia sinensis var. Highlighting the contributions of tea in the economy of assam, a scholar con. Assam were cleared up and tea plantation was seriously considered by the company. This fosters trust and builds customer relationship. The gi tag helps to boost the growth in these regions.
Low wages, poor housing and lack of avenues for social mobility have been a recurring theme since the inception of the plantation complex in north east. The trade was lost in 1833, and a year later native tea plants were found growing in assam. As a result of such effort, first consignment of assam tea was sent to london in 1838. Hence labour is the heart and soul of tea plantation. Shocking conditions for workers on indias tea plantations. Interest was reignited, the first export of tea from india was 12 tea chests in 1838. Indian tea garden workers pluck leaves assam youtube. These gardens are mosdy found in the districts of dibrugarh, jorhat, magaon, sibsagar, sonitpur, and darrang. But the living conditions of many teaplantation workers in india the worlds second largest producer of the drink are not given nearly as much importance, an investigation by the bbc has revealed. Addressing the human cost of assam tea oxfam digital repository.
Assam tea is a black tea named after the region of its production, assam, india. In west bengal the two contiguous districts, jalpaiguri. Random survey on 50 households of workers of the garden was conducted to understand the educational status of the workers, in particular the women workers and their children. Growth and development of tea industry in assam ijser. Of the agriculture based industries, tea plantation occupies an important place in assam. Overview accountability counsel and local civil society organizations support tea workers and their families in assam, india, in their efforts to improve and protect their health, wellbeing, and human rights on tea plantations. Thus it is the most important beverage crop of india. The state of assam is the worlds largest tea growing region, lying on either side of the brahmaputra river, and bordering bangladesh and burma myanmar. A case study from subhimalayan regions of west bengal, india article pdf available october 2016 with 3,859 reads how we measure reads. Harvesting hunger plantation workers and the right to food. Further, as shortterm profit gain objectives became dominant it led to a. The other areas where tea is grown to a small extent are karnataka, tripura, himachal pradesh, uttaranchal, arunachal pradesh. Tea tribes are multi ethnic groups of tea garden workers in assam. Short essay on tea plantation in assam article shared by the hundreds of lush green tea gardens nestling in the himalayan foothills of assam have not only added charm to the states natural beauty but also forms the backbone of its economy.
Education as a social security measure and the plantation. The tea plantations in the northeast indian state of assam, launched by the. Women tea workers with conical straw works at tea plantation at heritage north east tea garden in jorhat, assam. In these 950 tea estates, seven lakhs ninety five thousands eight hundred fifty. The economic significance of tea plantations in india. Pdf small tea plantation and its impact on the rural landscape. International journal of advance study and research work 25815997 volume 1issue 1april 2018 tea garden labors of assam. Project report study of labour condition in tea gardens. About 78% of the countrys total area under plantation is. Socioeconomic status of the tea garden women workers. Procedure for the plantation owners to use the gi tag associated with the darjeeling and assam tea darjeeling. Majority of production of tea come from assam asom and west bengal paschim banga.
Tea was originally a chinese export first traded by the east india company in 1685 from canton up river from macao and the trade was in 1750 a more valuable revenue stream than all of india. Another reason for the endemic poverty is the failure of the government to strictly implement the plantations labour act of 1951 in assam. Educational vulnerability and risk factors of tea garden. Socio economic development of plantation workers in north. Behal examines the links between the colonial state and private british capital in fostering tea plantation in assam for growing world market. It helps them build distinct identities whether being tea from assam or darjeeling, as the case may be. Tea plantations were confined to upper assam only but later on, new areas such as lower assam and darjeeling were also opened up to tea cultivation, there were 35 tea plantations in assam alone. The investigation, conducted jointly with radio 4s file on four in india. The assam industrial employment standing orders rules, 1947 495 the assam industrial employment standing orders rules, 1947 dated the 29th september, 1947 no. The first commercial batch of tea ever produced outside of china came from assam.
Role of tea industry in rural development of assam. Short essay on tea plantation in assam worlds largest. Since then the number of tea gardens have increased by leaps and bounds. L international trade in tea is among the largest in value among tropical and subtropical crops. In assam, there are two main areas of tea production a the brahmaputra valley and b the surma valley. A historical background of tea in assam gadapani sarma. However, the oxfamcommissioned research shows that a living wage could be within reach for workers on assam tea plantations. The assam tea plantations provident fund and pension fund. The world bank groups international finance corporation ifc owns 16% of these plantations. Dont you just love the colours, the hats and the sound of the leaves being plucked.
Project report study of labour condition in tea gardens of new jalpaiguri group no. Exploitation of teaplantation workers in colonial bengal. Later in 1844 this garden was sold to assam tea company which had been formed in 1839. Tea plantation women workers in assam examined that the education facility is not sufficient for tea garden workers children especially for girls because of nonavailability of school nearby labours house. Maniram was induced to accept the dewanship of the asam company, a tea concern started by the. Distribution of value from production in assam to export from india.
The government of assam gave it a concrete shape in the assam plantation labour rules, 1956. Tea plantations in india are mainly located in rural hills and backward areas of northeastern and southern states. How can plantation owners in assam or darjeeling use. Tea farming information detailed guide agri farming. It is a term used to denote those active tea garden workers and their dependents who reside in labour quarters built inside 800 tea estates spread across assam while ex tea tribes to those who were once active as tea workers but now have left the job and labour quarters for other employment opportunities after. The objective of the study is to understand what the key challenges facing assam tea plantations are and to provide recommendations to market actors on possible solutions. Major tea growing areas of the country are concentrated in assam, west bengal, tamil nadu and kerala. Globalization and plantation workers in northeast india is a piece of research study regarding the impacts of globalization among the workers.
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