Agony of the Plantation Workers in Assam: A Historical Study

Abstract

This paper is attempts to explore the conditions of the Tea Plantation workers in Assam. It tries to trace the history of the tea plantation in Assam and to draw out the conditions of the labourers in the plantations. It also tries to look into how the jump from Planters Raj to Swaraj i.e. the shift from colonialism to independence affected the conditions of the plantation workers. This paper primarily resolves around two questions: how did India’s post-colonial regime affected the prolonged exploitation of the plantation workers, has the exploitation come to end with the independence of the country, and is there any historical continuity of that exploitation of these workers in India’s post-colonial experience which still remains a cause for agony of the largest stake-holders of the tea industry. The impact of post-colonial legislations and welfare policies, various facets of the exploitation of the workers besides economic and the political dimension of the Bagan Life will also be a concern of this paper.