Published Paper Details:

Assam, one among the eight sisters in the North-Eastern region has been playing a vital role over the years in establishing a unique identity for India in the world scenario through its contribution in the production of tea. Although Assam was annexed into the British Empire in 1826, the British had made several detailed enquiries starting from 1778 about the resources of the region. The Britishers were keen to start tea cultivation so that they could compete with China which was the major explorer of tea during that period. In this context, the colonial government found the province of Assam the most suitable region to start the commercial cultivation of tea. As the tea plantations were highly labour intensive, the issues relating to labour gained high attention during that period. In due course of time, such requirement of labourers caused migration of labourers transforming the demographic structure of the whole society of Assam. Hence, through this paper an attempt has been made to study about the recruitment of tea garden labourers and how it led to the migration of labourers in colonial Assam. The current paper is basically a qualitative one based on secondary sources. Due to the laziness for working in the tea gardens by the local Assamese people and shortage of adult population, the tea plantations had to face the problem of shortage of labour. It is in this context that the colonial state provided a patronage and the migration of the black tribals i.e. the Adivasis started. The labourers were appointed mainly through two systems, i.e. Contractor system and Sardari system both of which proved to be brutal and inhumane. Moreover, inhumane practices were used in the whole process of transportation of labourers. After they reached the tea estates, the planters did not made proper arrangements for their living. Even after 72 years of independence, there is no marked improvement in the living standard of the tea garden labourers in Assam. The government, trade unions, media as well as the elite ones within the community have to play a positive role towards uplifting the condition of these people.