Question

Look into the history of either tea or coffee plantations in India. See how the life of workers in these plantations was similar to or different from that of workers in indigo plantations.

Answer 1

(i) Accounts of earlier Indian history do not mention the use of tea or its cultivation. We get a mention by a Dutch sea-traveller in 1598 that tea is being eaten as well as drunk in India.

(ii) In 1824, tea plants were discovered in the hills of the Indian state of Assam. The British introduced tea culture into India in 1836. India had been the top producer of tea for nearly a century.

(iii) The workers in the tea plantations were oppressed. They were given low wages. There were poor housing and lack of social mobility. For making more profits, the tea planters reclaimed wastelands where the workers had to labour hard to develop plantation. For this, the planters introduced indentured labour system. The local as well as outside labourers were employed under contract.

(iv) There were two types of indentured labour system- Arkatti and Sardari. Under Arkatti system, unlicensed recruitment was carried from Chotanagpur and other tribal areas of the sub-continent. Under the Sardari system new labourers were employed by those who were already employed in the plantation gardens.

(v) The labourers had to work hard. The outside labourers had to stay at the garden for a longer period. They were not permitted to meet their family, even on occasions. They were exploited in many ways. They were not allowed to leave the plantation garden during the contract period.

(vi) The labourers in the tea plantations and indigo farming were similar in the way that they were exploited heavily. The profit was made by the owners and the labourers got almost nothing. They were different in the way that, however, there was a contract with the planters, but indigo workers were not under indentured labour system.