The untold story of tea garden labourers, uprisings, and resistance from the Inland Emigration Act to open revolt against colonial rule.

Most people associate India’s independence with the Dandi March, the Quit India Movement, or ferocious speeches in Delhi. Seldom do one’s thoughts stray to the misty hills of Assam, where verdant tea bushes loom to the horizon. But beneath that placid green is a past filled with tears, sweat, and frequently blood. Thousands of men, women, and children who were brought from far-off places under promises that soon became chains fought their own battle for freedom and dignity here in the tea gardens of Assam. Their battlefield was the muddy walkways between tea rows, the claustrophobic labour lines, not the courtroom or the political rally.

The Inland Emigration Act of 1859 and the Plantation System: The Origins of Bondage

When the British East India Company realised that Assam's climate could be used to grow tea, they converted large areas of land into plantations. However, tea needed work—cheap, plentiful, and manageable. The Inland Emigration Act of 1859 was passed in order to meet this need. Under contracts that confined them to estates for years, it permitted the hiring of labourers from underdeveloped areas such as Chota Nagpur, Odisha, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh. These workers were trapped after being transported, frequently hundreds of miles away from their homes. It was illegal to leave the plantation without authorisation.

Arkatis, or recruitment agents, presented rosy images of luxury and comfort, but the truth was harsh discipline, long hours, and low pay—sometimes as little as three pies per day. Under this system, 220,000 labourers—men, women, and children—had been transported to Assam by 1918–19, and another 100,000 arrived the following year.

The Shocking Truth of Garden Life

Workers were housed in rows of tiny, ill-ventilated huts called “labour lines.” Cholera, dysentery, and malaria were ongoing dangers, and many people never recovered from them due to a lack of access to healthcare. Because wages were so low, “body and soul” were hardly kept together. While some workers received in-kind compensation in the form of salt or rice, others saw their meagre pay reduced by “fines” for alleged errors or deductions for tools. The discipline was severe. Employees who disobeyed orders risked being turned over to the police, denied food, or flogged. British managers viewed their employees as interchangeable, meaning that if one died, another could be sent in.

Early Unrest and Riots—Sparks of Resistance

Unrest was inevitable due to the cruelty of the system. According to official records, there were at least 140 instances of rioting, unlawful assembly, and desertion in Assamese tea gardens between 1904 and 1921. These incidents were acts of rebellion against an oppressive colonial system, and they had more to do with wages than that. Workers frequently departed plantations in large groups, walking miles to get home while chanting anti-British slogans and attending nationalist rallies.

The Gardens’ Martyrs

Among the tea garden martyrs, a few names jump out:

• Maniram Dewan: The first native tea planter in Assam, he rebelled against the British after witnessing their exploitative practices. Known as the first martyr of tea, he participated in the 1857 rebellion and was put to death in 1858.
• Moongri (Malati Mem) Oraon: In 1921, this young tea worker became the first female martyr in Assam. She was killed while working with Congress volunteers to support the anti-alcohol campaign.
• Christosen Munda: The leader of Phulbari, Sonitpur, who organised labourers for a mass demonstration. He was hanged by the British as a warning to others.
• Bankura Chaora: During a 1946 wage protest, a British manager fatally stabbed her.
• Beja Baishnab and Dwariki Das both perished in prison as a result of their involvement in worker protests. Bidyawati, Beja’s wife, didn’t find out about his passing until she was released from prison. Even though they are frequently left out of school textbooks, their sacrifices were just as important as those made by leaders in India’s cities.

The 1921 Massacres at Chargola and Longai

The Chargola and Longai tea gardens in the Barak Valley saw what may have been the most horrific event in this little-known chapter in 1921. Hundreds of workers made the decision to leave their plantations and go back home after Gandhi visited Assam that year, and the national Non-Cooperation Movement. Armed Gurkha troops met them as they marched while chanting “Gandhi Maharaj ki Jai.” The soldiers suddenly started shooting. An estimated 100 workers were killed, according to reports. Under strict supervision, the survivors were compelled to return to their jobs. Outside of Assam, this massacre is mostly forgotten, but it is considered to be among the most heinous acts of colonial violence against defenceless civilians, along with Jallianwala Bagh.

A Political Awakening: The Gandhi Effect

Thousands of tea garden workers were among the historic crowds that Mahatma Gandhi drew to Assam during his 1921 visit. His appeal for self-respect, dignity, and non-cooperation resonated deeply with many who had never heard nationalist speeches before. Because they refused to harvest tea for the empire, workers in the Surma and Chargola valleys started to leave their plantations. The spark had been ignited, but the British responded with violence, wage cuts, and arrests. The tea garden community began to perceive itself as a part of a broader national struggle for the first time.

Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha’s Inception: Organising the Workers

The Assamese labour movement gained momentum in the 1920s and 1930s. As a voice for the workers, the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) called for an end to bonded contracts, improved wages, and humane working conditions. The frequency of strikes increased. Workers in certain estates refused to pick tea leaves, which caused production to stall and compelled managers to engage in negotiations. Even though union leaders were frequently arrested, their tenacity steadily reduced the British influence over the workforce.

Women at the Front

Women were primarily employed in tea gardens, frequently performing the most difficult and tiresome tasks, such as picking tea leaves for hours in the sun. However, many of them went on to become leaders, messengers, and movement defenders in addition to being labourers. Many were inspired by Moongri Oraon’s martyrdom. Women spearheaded anti-alcohol campaigns, shielded wounded activists from law enforcement, and occasionally faced British managers head-on. Although their bravery was frequently unrecognised, it was essential to maintaining the movement within the estates.

Songs, Tales, and Unity in Cultural Resistance

In the tea gardens, resistance was woven into songs, dances, and folktales in addition to being waged with slogans and strikes. Disguised to avoid the British, oral traditions conveyed messages of defiance. Folk songs described the longing for freedom, the journey from homeland to plantation, and dishonest recruiters. These songs became rallying cries and historical documents as they were passed down through the generations.

Independence and the Last Push

Worker agitation increased in the 1940s as nationalist movements peaked and World War II put a strain on British resources. The 1946 murder of Bankura Chaora revealed the waning moral authority of colonial rule while also demonstrating the continued prevalence of management violence. The Inland Emigration Act’s legal bondage was broken, but the tea gardens did not instantly transform into egalitarian havens when independence was eventually achieved in 1947. Although it would take several more decades to achieve true justice, the workers had contributed to the fall of the empire.

Tradition and Acknowledgement

The Tea Plantation Workers’ Provident Fund was one of the reforms that leaders like Omeo Kumar Das pushed for after independence. However, tea garden labourers’ contributions to India’s independence are still not fully acknowledged. Their descendants are still employed in the same occupations today, frequently dealing with destitution and substandard living conditions, serving as a reminder that independence was merely the beginning of a more extensive quest for equality.

Conclusion – remembering the unremembered

A testament to human tenacity, bravery, and the will to oppose oppression, the tale of Assam’s tea gardens during the freedom struggle is more than just a labour history chapter. Every Independence Day, as we raise the tricolour and play the national anthem, we must keep in mind that freedom was not only gained in battlegrounds or political rallies, but also in the sweat-stained fields of Assam, where men and women, shackled by contracts and protected by bayonets, managed to refuse the empire.

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References:

• Barpujari H. K. Assam in the Days of the Company, 1826–1858: A Critical and Comprehensive History of Assam during the Rule of the East-India Company from 1826–1858. Guwahati: Lawyer’s Book Stall, 1980. PDF. Accessed via Indian Culture Portal, https://ignca.gov.in/Asi_data/42192.pdf.
• Barpujari, H. K., ed. The Comprehensive History of Assam, Volume 5. Guwahati: Publication Board, Assam, 1990. Accessed via Google Books, https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Comprehensive_
  History_of_Assam.html?id=sRzQo-ekzMEC.
• Assam Labour Enquiry Committee. Report of the Assam Labour Enquiry Committee. Shillong: Assam Secretariat Press, 1921.
  PDF. Accessed via DSpace GIPE, https://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10973
  /21490/GIPE-016313.pdf.
• Guha, Amalendu. Planter-Raj to Swaraj: Freedom Struggle and Electoral Politics in Assam, 1826–1947. New Delhi: Indian Council of Historical Research, 1977. Accessed via Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.463094
• Guha, Amalendu. “Coolie Exodus from Assam, 1921–22.” Economic and Political Weekly 11, no. 32 (1976): 1173–1180. Stable URL via EPW: https://www.epw.in/journal/1987/5/special-articles/coolie-exodus-assam-s-chargola-valley-1921-analytical-study.html.
• Lahiri, Sarat Chandra. The Tea Industry in Assam: Its History and Conditions. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co., 1903. (Link not found; physical or library access preferred.)
• Saikia, Yasmin. Fragmented Memories: Struggling to Be Tai-
  Ahom in India. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004. Accessible via Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/fragmentedmemori0000saik.
• Sharma, Jayeeta. Empire’s Garden: Assam and the Making of India. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2011. PDF. Accessed via Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019667501/.
• “Assam Tea Labourers Massacred.” The Amrita Bazar Patrika, November 1921. (Historical newspaper; link not found or behind paywall.)
•  “Gandhi in Assam.” The Assam Tribune, January 1921.