Lush greeneries of a tea estate in the easternmost district of Tinsukia in AssamDarjeeling tea estate women tea pickers. Women form the majority of the tea pluckers.
India is one of the largest tea producers in the world, although over 70 per cent of its tea is consumed within India itself. A number of renowned teas, such as Assam and Darjeeling, also grow exclusively in India. The Indian tea industry has grown to own many global tea brands and has evolved into one of the most technologically equipped tea industries in the world. Tea production, certification, exportation and all facets of the tea trade in India are controlled by the Tea Board of India. From its legendary origins to modern processing techniques, tea production in India delicately weaves together cultural heritage, economic prowess, and technological advancement.
The British East India Company began large-scale production of tea in Assam in the early 1820s. The first tea crops grown there were of a variety traditionally brewed by the Singpho people.[1] In 1826, the East India Company took over control of the region in the Treaty of Yandabo. In 1837, the first British tea garden was established at Chabua in Upper Assam; in 1840, the Assam Tea Company was established, and it began the commercial production of tea in the region. Beginning in the 1850s, the tea industry rapidly expanded, consuming vast tracts of land for tea plantations. By the turn of the century, Assam became the leading tea-producing region in the world.[2] Tea became widely grown in India as both a cash crop and monocrop; academic Nayantara Arora argued that the emergence of the tea industry in India as a result of British rule led to the transformation of Indian subsistence farmers into industrial agriculturalists whose economic self-suffiency was reduced in favor of market dependence.[3]
In India, the semi-medicinal use of tea brew was noted in 1662 by Mendelslo:[4]
At our ordinary meetings every day we took only thay, which is commonly used all over the Indies, not only among those of the country, but also among the Dutch and the English, who take it as a drug that cleanses the stomach, and digests the superfluous humours, by a temperate heat particular thereto. — Indian Food A Historical Companion by Achaya K. T.
In 1689, Ovington records that tea was taken by the Banias in Surat without sugar, or mixed with a small number of conserved lemons and that tea with some spices added was used against headache, gravel and gripe. The tea leaves for such use may have come from China. In pre-colonial times in South Asia, tea was used for medicinal purposes and would grow wild; the practice of drinking tea daily and having it be an aspect of social status in South Asian culture was entirely a result of British colonial influences.[5]
While experimenting to introduce tea in India, the British noticed that tea plants with thicker leaves also grew in Assam, and these, when planted in India, responded very well. The same plants had long been cultivated by the Singpho people, and chests of tea were supplied by the tribal ruler Ningroola to the British.[6] The Assamese and Chinese varieties have been regarded in the past as different related species, but are now usually classified by botanists as the same species, Camellia sinensis.
The introduction of Chinese tea plants, different from Indian tea, to India is commonly credited to Robert Fortune, who spent about two and a half years, from 1848 to 1851, in China working on behalf of the Royal Horticultural Society of London. Fortune employed many different means to steal tea plants and seedlings, which were regarded as the property of the Chinese empire. He also used Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward's portable Wardian cases to sustain the plants. Using these small greenhouses, Fortune introduced 20,000 tea plants and seedlings to the Darjeeling region of India, on steep slopes in the foothills of the Himalayas, with the acid soil liked by Camellia plants. He also brought a group of trained Chinese tea workers who would facilitate the production of tea leaves. Except for a few plants that survived in established Indian gardens, most of the Chinese tea plants Fortune introduced to India perished. The technology and knowledge that was brought over from China was instrumental in the later flourishing of the Indian tea industry using Chinese varieties, especially Darjeeling tea, which continues to use Chinese strains.
The tea industry in British India mostly employed indentured laborers, often referred to as "coolies", to work on large plantations. Although these were in theory willing recruits, in practise many laborers were coerced or tricked by recruiters to come and work on the plantations.[7] The majority of indentured laborers on Indian tea plantations were women, as tea cutting was seen as "women’s work", though they received less pay than male laborers despite often being coerced into producing more.[7] Indian writer Mulk Raj Anand described the tea industry in colonial India as "The hunger, the sweat and the despair of a million Indians!"[8]
From the outset, Indian-grown tea proved extremely popular among British consumers, both for its greater strength, and for its cheaper price. Tea had been a high-status drink when first introduced, but had steadily fallen in price and increased in popularity among the working class. The temperance movement in Britain massively promoted tea consumption from the early 19th century onwards as an alternative to beer. Water used to make beer was of dubious quality, but the complete boiling necessary for tea rendered it safer.[9] Many men in particular found China tea insipid, and the greater strength and lower price of Indian teas appealed greatly. By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, big brands such as Lyons, Liptons and Mazawattee dominated the market.[9] Tea was the dominant drink for all classes during the Victorian era, with working-class families often doing without other foods in order to afford it. This meant the potential market for Indian teas was vast. Indian tea (effectively including Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka) soon came to be the "norm", with Chinese tea a minority taste. Until the 1970s and the rise of instant coffee, Indian tea had almost sole command of the hot drinks market. Its rivals were cocoa, coffee and savory drinks such as Bovril and Oxo.[10] In recent decades, Asian tea has lost much ground in the cheaper end of European markets to tea from Africa, especially Kenyan tea.
Women in tea plantations
The tea industry in Assam heavily relies on the contribution of women, who constitute over fifty percent of the workforce.[11] Historically, women have played pivotal roles in Indian tea production, primarily as pickers and farmers. Despite enduring exploitation during the colonial era, characterized by low wages, long hours, and inadequate facilities, these women have displayed remarkable resilience. Their contributions have been vital in driving the industry's growth and sustainability. However, despite their significant role, women in the tea sector still face gender disparities and are often marginalized in leadership positions. This disparity reflects broader societal challenges related to gender inequality in India, as evidenced by the country's ranking of 108 out of 191 on the Gender Inequality Index.[12] Despite these hurdles, women in tea plantations continue to shape the industry's trajectory and contribute significantly to its historical narrative. Their experiences shed light on the complex interplay of gender dynamics, labor practices, and social inequalities within India's tea industry.
View of tea plantations in MunnarLockhart Tea Factory in MunnarTata Tea Museum in MunnarCherry Resort inside Temi Tea Garden, Namchi, SikkimTea plantation in Palampur, Himachal PradeshDarjeeling tea plantations on hills, Darjeeling
The expansion of the tea industry since the early 2000s has come at enormous cost to the local communities, farmers, and the land.[16] Corporations like Tetley, Typhoo, Camellia, TATA, Unilever, Taj,[17] and others have been buying out small tea growers and family-run farms. Their tea production has followed Green Revolution methods, putting growth and profit over the lives of cultivators and the health of the soil. The term "neoliberal corporatization" has been used to describe these methods.[18] Although by the 1980s, tea farms and most of the agricultural land was owned by Indians who took over the British plantations post-independence, Western and Green Revolution influences shifted the tea industry from smaller farms to large corporations. Indian-owned tea corporations are supported by the World Bank and the IMF.[16]
India’s tea industry is a lucrative business, and there is especially a global demand for Assam black tea. For example, since 2006, the TATA corporation has been buying up small farms in Assam with the support of a $7 billion investment from the World Bank.[19] By 2010, they owned 24 farms in Assam and Northeast India.[20] TATA has several workers' rights abuse allegations against them, as they do not have protective measures for their farmers when spraying chemicals, they pay low wages, and demand long working hours.[16] In 2014, TATA’s tea company was in the news for worker’s rights abuses and trafficking of young girls.[21] The present-day tea industry in India is growing increasingly dominated by corporations to meet global demands.[10]
Government and the Indian tea industry
The Indian tea industry as a mass employer has enjoyed the attention of the Indian government. When export sales went down, the government was sympathetic to the demand of the industry and its cultivators. It has passed resolutions supporting the industry domestically and has also lobbied extensively with organizations like the WTO internationally.
The Indian administration along with the European Union and six other countries (Brazil, Chile, Japan, South Korea and Mexico) filed a complaint with the WTO against the Byrd Amendment, which was formally known as the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 legislated by the US. The essence of this act was that non-US firms that sell below cost price in the US could be fined and the money is given to the US companies who made the complaint in the first place. The act adversely affected the commodities business of the complainant states and has since been repealed after WTO ruled the act to be illegal.
Furthermore, the Indian government took cognizance of the changed tea and coffee market and set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) to look into their problems in late 2003. The IMC has recommended that the government share the financial burden of the plantation industry on account of welfare measures envisaged for plantation workers mandated under the Plantation Labor Act 1951. Moreover, IMC has recommended to introducing means so that the agricultural income tax levied by the state governments can be slashed and the tea industry be made competitive. It has recommended that sick or bankrupt plantation estates should be provided with an analogous level of relaxation for similarly placed enterprises/estates as are available to industries referred to BIFR.
A Special Tea Term Loan (STTL) for the tea sector was announced by the Indian government in 2004. It envisaged restructuring of irregular portions of the outstanding term/working capital loans in the tea sector with repayment over five to seven years and a moratorium of one year, which was to be on a case to case basis for large growers. The STTL also provides for working capital up to Rs. 2 lakhs at a rate not exceeding 9% to small growers.
In addition to these measures, the Tea Board plans to launch a new marketing initiative, which will include a foray into new markets such as Iran, Pakistan, Vietnam and Egypt. It also plans to renew its efforts in traditional markets like Russia, the UK, Iraq and UAE. Noteworthy is its intent to double tea exports to Pakistan within a year.
Assam Orthodox Tea is set to receive the Geographical Indications (GI) exclusivity. A GI stamp identifies a certain product as emanating from the territory of a WTO member or region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin.
Darjeeling Tea also has its Geographical Indication (GI) registered in India in 2004 in India, in the European Union in 2007, and in other countries as well. The Darjeeling logo was registered in 1999 by the Tea Board of India in India.[22]
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs set up the Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF) under the Tea Board on December 29, 2006. The aim is to fund the replantation and rejuvenation (R&R) programm. In the same year, Tata Tea agreed to take over Jemca, which controls a 26 percent market share in the Czech Republic.
The CCEA gave its approval for pegging the subsidy at 25 percent and adopting a funding pattern of 25 percent promoter's contribution, 25 percent subsidy from the government and 50 percent loan from the SPTF. Banks have also been instructed to increase the lending period to over 13 years.
Beginning in 2013, the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has been actively promoting the sale of tea in the country's top five export markets for that product: Egypt, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and the United States.[23]
A herd of wild elephants in an elephant-friendly tea garden in India.
Tea and independence
Tea was important during India's struggle for independence.[24] Gandhi urged people to boycott British goods, including tea, because of poor working conditions. Advertisers also promoted tea as a patriotic drink. After independence, tea became a symbol of unity and was owned by Indians.
The introduction of [25] CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) tea processing has had a transformative impact on the Indian tea industry. This method, known for its efficiency and consistency, revolutionized tea production by automating key stages of processing, leading to higher yields and reduced labor costs. CTC tea's uniform flavor profile and affordability have driven increased demand both domestically and internationally, allowing Indian tea producers to diversify their offerings and remain competitive in the global market. As a result, CTC processing has played a crucial role in making tea more accessible to a wider population in India and has solidified tea's status as a staple beverage, transcending barriers of class, creed, and color.
Separate time zone
Tea gardens in Assam do not follow the Indian Standard Time (IST), which is the time observed throughout India and Sri Lanka. The local time in Assam's tea gardens, known as "Tea Garden Time" or Bagantime, is an hour ahead of the IST.[26] The system was introduced during British days because of the early sunrise in this part of the country.
By and large, the system has subsequently been successful in increasing the productivity of tea garden workers as they save on daylight by finishing the work during the daytime, and vice versa. Working time for tea laborers in the gardens is generally between 9 a.m. (IST 8 a.m.) to 5 p.m. (IST 4 p.m.) It may vary slightly from garden to garden.
Film maker Jahnu Barua has been campaigning for a separate time zone for the north-east region.[26]
In popular culture
Sagina Mahato, a 1970 Bengali film, directed by Tapan Sinha, deals with labor rights in the tea plantations in the Northeast during the British Raj.
Paradesi (English: Vagabond) is a 2013 Indian Tamil drama film written and directed by Bala. The film is based on real-life incidents that took place before independence in the 1930s, especially in southern tea estates.
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northern Myanmar. Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of Camellia taliensis. After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans, primarily due to its caffeine content.
Darjeeling is a city in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of 2,045 metres (6,709 ft). To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, to the east the Kingdom of Bhutan, to the north the Indian state of Sikkim, and farther north the Tibet Autonomous Region region of China. Bangladesh lies to the south and southeast, and most of the state of West Bengal lies to the south and southwest, connected to the Darjeeling region by a narrow tract. Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, rises to the north and is prominently visible on clear days.
Camellia sinensis is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves, leaf buds, and stems can be used to produce tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree.
Assam tea is a black tea named after Assam, India, the region of its production. It is manufactured specifically from the plant Camellia sinensis var. assamica (Masters). Assam's people tried to plant the Chinese varieties in Assam soil but did not succeed. Assam tea is now mostly grown at or near sea level and is known for its body, briskness, malty flavour, and strong, bright colour. Assam teas, or blends containing Assam tea, are often sold as "breakfast" teas. For instance, Irish breakfast tea, a maltier and stronger breakfast tea, consists of small-sized Assam tea leaves.
Nilgiri tea is a drink made by infusing leaves of Camellia sinensis that is grown and processed in the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, India. The leaves are processed as black tea, though some estates have expanded their product offerings to include leaves suitable for making green, white and oolong teas. It is generally described as being a brisk, fragrant and full-bodied tea. The region produces both rolled and crush, tear, curl tea and it is predominantly used for blending. Nilgiri tea is also used for making iced tea and instant tea.
Nepali tea is a beverage made from the leaves of tea plants grown in Nepal. They are distinctive in appearance, aroma and taste, but are similar in many ways to tea produced in Darjeeling, perhaps because the eastern zones of Nepal have geography and topography similar to Darjeeling. Its relatively smaller production quantities mean that teas from Nepal are less well known than those from Darjeeling.
Darjeeling tea is a tea made from Camellia sinensis var. sinensis that is grown and processed in Darjeeling district or Kalimpong district in West Bengal, India. Since 2004, the term Darjeeling tea has been a registered geographical indication referring to products produced on certain estates within Darjeeling and Kalimpong. The tea leaves are processed as black tea, though some estates have expanded their product offerings to include leaves suitable for making green, white, and oolong teas.
The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, previously known as Indian Botanic Garden and the Calcutta Botanic Garden, is a botanical garden situated in Shibpur, Howrah near Kolkata. They are commonly known as the Calcutta Botanical Garden and previously as the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta. The gardens exhibit a wide variety of rare plants and a total collection of over 12,000 specimens spread over 109 hectares. It is under Botanical Survey of India (BSI) of Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.
The Tea-garden community is a term for a multiethnic, multicultural group of tea garden workers and their descendants in Northeast India. They are primarily concentrated in the modern state of Assam, where they have been notified as Other Backward Classes (OBC) and are loosely referred to as Tea Tribes. They are the descendants of peoples from multiple tribal and caste groups brought by the British colonial planters as indentured labourers from the regions of present-day Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh into colonial Assam during the 1860-90s in multiple phases to the newly established tea gardens. They are primarily found in districts with a large concentration of tea estates, such as Upper Assam districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Lakhimpur, Santipur and Udalguri, and Barak Valley districts of Cachar and Karimganj. The total population is estimated to be around 7 million, of which an estimated 4.5 million reside in residential quarters built inside 799 tea estates spread across tea-growing regions of Assam. Another 2.5 million reside in the nearby villages spread across those tea-growing regions. They speak multiple languages, including Sora, Odia, Assam Sadri, Sambalpuri, Kurmali, Santali, Kurukh, Kharia, Kui, Chhattisgarhi, Gondi and Mundari. Assam Sadri, distinguished from the Sadri language, serves as lingua franca among the community.
Colonial Assam (1826–1947) refers to the period in the history of Assam between the signing of the Treaty of Yandabo and the Independence of India when Assam was under British colonial rule. The political institutions and social relations that were established or severed during this period continue to have a direct effect on contemporary events. The legislature and political alignments that evolved by the end of the British rule continued in the post Independence period. The immigration of farmers from East Bengal and tea plantation workers from Central India continue to affect contemporary politics, most notably that which led to the Assam Movement and its aftermath.
The Economy of Assam is largely agriculture based with 69% of the population engaged in it.
India is the second largest producer of tea in the world after China, including the famous Assam tea and Darjeeling tea. Tea is the 'State Drink' of Assam. Following this the former Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia had plans to officially recognise tea as the Indian "National Drink" in 2013. According to the ASSOCHAM report released in December 2011, India is the world's largest consumer of tea, consuming nearly 30% of global output. India is also the second-largest exporter of tea, after China.
Tata Consumer Products Limited is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company and a part of the Tata Group. Its registered office is located in Kolkata while its corporate headquarters is in Mumbai. It is the world's second-largest manufacturer and distributor of tea and a major producer of coffee.
The North Bengal Tea Industry production areas are in the North Bengal region of West Bengal state, in Eastern India. It includes tea estates and facilities in the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Kishanganj and North Dinajpur in West Bengal.
Kangra tea is a tea from the Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh, India. Both black tea and green tea have been produced in the Kangra Valley since the mid-19th century. Kangra tea was given the Geographical Indication status in 2005.
Goodricke Group Limited is an India-based tea producing company headquartered in West Bengal. It is a part of the Camellia PLC UK – the world's largest private sector tea producer. The four tea producing companies in its fold include Goodricke Group Limited, Stewart Holl (India) Limited, Amgoorie India Limited and Koomber Tea Co. Pvt. Limited. The Group owns 30 gardens and 27 tea factories spread over Darjeeling, Dooars, Assam and Cachar. In recent years the Goodricke Group acquired in Assam two estates of the McLeod company being in economic difficulties. The major Darjeeling brands include Goodricke Castleton, Roasted and Margaret's Hope, while the Black (CTC) tea includes Goodricke Khaass, Goodricke Zabardast and Goodricke Chai.
Sikkim tea is a variety of tea grown in the state of Sikkim, India. Sikkim tea is not as widespread in use as the neighboring Darjeeling tea, however it has recently gained more popularity due to the increasing demand for organic products. The tea is mostly sold under the marketing name 'Temi tea'. Unlike Darjeeling tea, Sikkim tea has yet to receive a GI tag.
Dooars-Terai tea gardens refers to the tea gardens in the Dooars and Terai regions in the Jalpaiguri Division of West Bengal, India
The Inland Emigration Act of 1859 was a pivotal piece of legislation enacted by the British colonial government in India to regulate the internal migration of laborers to the tea plantations of Assam and other regions. The Act was primarily aimed at securing a steady and controlled supply of labor for the rapidly expanding tea industry in Assam, an area that was newly colonized by the British and largely undeveloped. The Act is widely recognized for its role in institutionalizing the indenture system within India, which led to significant exploitation and harsh conditions for the laborers it governed.
References
↑ Gokhale, Nitin A. (1998). The hot brew: the Assam tea industry's most turbulent decade. Guwahati: Spectrum Publications: Distributors, United Publishers (published 2005). ISBN978-81-85319-82-7.
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