Tea Plantation Labour in India production organisation which gives rise to certain specific social relations, Historically, plantations all over the world were a product of colonialism and their products were mainly for export to the more developed areas, In some cases, such as rubber and cinchona plantations, they were established to provide raw material for industry in the West —especially the colonising country. In others, such as tea, coffee, sugar, ete. their markets lay in the developed colonising countries. The rapid growth of tea plantations in India during the nineteenth century w as due to the rising popularity of Indian tea over China tea in Britain. Indian tea had a thicker brew than Chinese tea and it became pop ula with the working class in Britain. Hence plantations in the r were basically international in character. colonies First, large areas of land and secondly, a large labour The development of plantations necessitated two basic requirements. the areas most suited for plantations force. However, and during the formative years the Plantations faced the problem were initially sparsely populated labour shortage, T h h a e d yha to d be to i d n e d p u e ce n d d o b n y m t i h g e ran p t lant l e a r b s our of whose migration through fair or foul methods. The in the early stages faced labour shortages, wages remained very low. tea plantation workers in Assam ang West 4 S | B Introduction Bengal at the early stages of the industry were lower than the wages of agricultural labour in the vicinity. Hence coercion, low wages and immigrant labour were the three inseparable components of the plantation system. The fourth component was political support, The colonial governments invariably support.ed the planters' methods of procuring labour. In fact, the colonial government passed laws to maintain the system. The Workmen’s Breach of Contract Act of 1859 was enforced in Assam which maintained that once a worker entered into employment in a plantation in Assam he could not leave before a period of five years. The Inland Emigration Act of 1863 replaced the earlier Act and itreduced the period of contr.act to four years but it also gave the right to planters to arrest erring workers. Both Acts did not grant any protection to the workers. In other parts of the country where these Acts were not enforced plantation workers found it difficult to leave a plantation, as the planters used force to prevent them and the government did not provide workers means of redressal. Hence the workers were atthe mercy of the planters. . Moreover, besides government support the planters were united and financially powerful. This is clearly admitted in the Report of the Rege Commission (1944) set up by the colonial government to look into the living conditions of plantation labour in India. This Commission noted that the employers were highly organised and powerful whereas the workers were “all unorganised and helpless”, Though plantations are historically linked with colonialisml they are not structurally, or inevitably, linked with it. As the colonies freed themselves and became independent countries, a new set of production relations developed. Political pressure forced the government to prov.ide protection and security of employment to plantation worlsers. Coercion relaxed and trade unions began to function among the workers enabling them to fight for their rights. In India, after indepen.dence, the government extended most of the laws protecting industrial workers (such as the Industrial Disputes Act, Minimum Wages Act, ete.) to the plantations and even passed a separate Act known as the Plantation Labour Act. However, the main problem before the workers is of ensuring that these Acts are enforced properly. In fact this volume mainly deals with this problem and its consequences on the lives of the workers and their families.