British Tea on Indian Land
While the variant assamica of tea grows wildly in India, Indians did not develop their own tea culture like China did. Instead, tea was introduced as a cultivated crop by the British in an attempt to lessen the monopoly China possessed on the tea trade. In the early 1820’s, the East India Company began large-scale production of tea in Assam, India, using Chinese seeds, planting, and cultivation methods.
The British encouraged their citizens to work on tea plantations in Assam by promising free land to anyone who would grow and export tea to Europe from India. Tea production in Assam quickly grew, and the Assam Tea Company was established by 1840 for commercial tea production; by 1900, Assam was the largest tea-producing region in the world. Indians did not, at the time, drink much tea, however. Tea was initially viewed as a medicinal beverage, but it was not particularly popular, and most of India’s tea was exported. Until the mid-19th century, even, tea was reserved only for India’s elite.
Indian Tea Grown by Struggling Indians
After India established its independence from Britain in 1947, India still continued to be the leading world producer of tea, only surpassed by China in 2005. Indians, however, are also drinking more tea; China leads by a larger margin in exports, and India is the world’s largest consumer of tea. This production has been hugely profitable and important to Indian history. However, it has also lead to many difficulties. Even after independence, much of India’s tea relies on British corporations for trade. Worker exploitation on the fields and in the factory, sometimes reaching proportions of horrible cruelty, was common throughout the 19th century. Today, many of the same problems persist. The Tea Board of India is the country’s legislative body for the growth of tea, but its policies are not always effective.
In an attempt to create better working conditions, in 1951 the Plantation Labor Act was enacted. This has required employers to provide subsidized food, healthcare, education facilities, safe water and housing for workers that often live on estates far from cities or towns with other options. If an owner abandons a plantation or fails to provide adequate working conditions, workers are often left isolated and vulnerable. While conditions today are better than what they were under British rule, they are still very poor and employers violate the Plantation Labour Act with impunity; one study declared that 25% of plantations broke these laws.
Even when housing and other amenities are provided, it is usually in very poor condition and families are crowded together. Rising food prices have made minimum wages an unlivable amount. Estimates place a living wage, one that can provide for the basic needs to support a family, around double to triple the amount many workers are paid. Most boys cannot afford to be educated beyond primary schooling, and it is the rare girl who attends school at all, continuing a cycle of poverty. Additionally, health care is severely compromised by harsh working conditions, illness, unsafe water, and contact with unsafe pesticides and insecticides. All of these factors contribute to the challenges India has faced in the past and those experienced today by tea growers.
While the variant assamica of tea grows wildly in India, Indians did not develop their own tea culture like China did. Instead, tea was introduced as a cultivated crop by the British in an attempt to lessen the monopoly China possessed on the tea trade. In the early 1820’s, the East India Company began large-scale production of tea in Assam, India, using Chinese seeds, planting, and cultivation methods.
The British encouraged their citizens to work on tea plantations in Assam by promising free land to anyone who would grow and export tea to Europe from India. Tea production in Assam quickly grew, and the Assam Tea Company was established by 1840 for commercial tea production; by 1900, Assam was the largest tea-producing region in the world. Indians did not, at the time, drink much tea, however. Tea was initially viewed as a medicinal beverage, but it was not particularly popular, and most of India’s tea was exported. Until the mid-19th century, even, tea was reserved only for India’s elite.
Indian Tea Grown by Struggling Indians
After India established its independence from Britain in 1947, India still continued to be the leading world producer of tea, only surpassed by China in 2005. Indians, however, are also drinking more tea; China leads by a larger margin in exports, and India is the world’s largest consumer of tea. This production has been hugely profitable and important to Indian history. However, it has also lead to many difficulties. Even after independence, much of India’s tea relies on British corporations for trade. Worker exploitation on the fields and in the factory, sometimes reaching proportions of horrible cruelty, was common throughout the 19th century. Today, many of the same problems persist. The Tea Board of India is the country’s legislative body for the growth of tea, but its policies are not always effective.
In an attempt to create better working conditions, in 1951 the Plantation Labor Act was enacted. This has required employers to provide subsidized food, healthcare, education facilities, safe water and housing for workers that often live on estates far from cities or towns with other options. If an owner abandons a plantation or fails to provide adequate working conditions, workers are often left isolated and vulnerable. While conditions today are better than what they were under British rule, they are still very poor and employers violate the Plantation Labour Act with impunity; one study declared that 25% of plantations broke these laws.
Even when housing and other amenities are provided, it is usually in very poor condition and families are crowded together. Rising food prices have made minimum wages an unlivable amount. Estimates place a living wage, one that can provide for the basic needs to support a family, around double to triple the amount many workers are paid. Most boys cannot afford to be educated beyond primary schooling, and it is the rare girl who attends school at all, continuing a cycle of poverty. Additionally, health care is severely compromised by harsh working conditions, illness, unsafe water, and contact with unsafe pesticides and insecticides. All of these factors contribute to the challenges India has faced in the past and those experienced today by tea growers.