Tea Industry: A Planter’s Perspective- Part 1

Politics & Tea Industry

November 29: We have been reading about the Tea industry in articles which are published in dailies off and on. This probably will be one of them, read and may be pondered over for some time over a cup of tea or coffee and forgotten or may appeal to people, like me, who really think that it’s high time that some steps should be taken to safeguard interest of the planters/owners in running the industry.

The reason I say this is that most of the write-ups published don’t really bring out the basic problems which the industry has been facing for years now. It’s not only the cost versus sale realization theory which is mostly talked or written about but there are issues much more deep rooted and which no stake holder brings to the fore and even if they do, are not highlighted. The managements of today have left caution to the winds as they only live for today, nothing is thought of for the future may be 20 to 30 years hence.

I am myself a planter/owner of a tea estate in Cachar, Assam spending most of my past 13 years here at Cachar. My experience has been that managing the labour, whether working or non working/retired/ dismissed is the biggest challenge. Even if they are provided with everything under the P L Act their mindset needs a thorough shift from the present ‘management is the culprit’ to ‘management is a friend’. I have been trying just this even if it has created extra costs sometimes but I must admit it’s been a failure.

The basic reason is illiteracy. Majority of them being unlettered,  the only language they are made to understand is ‘money’. This is attributed to the legacy which the British colonial rulers have left behind and now have been filled in by the political so called local leaders who are exploiting them to such an extent that all the good work done by the employers gets shadowed by their lies and mischievous propaganda and self promotion to garner votes.

It is human psychology that one tends to get swayed by negative propaganda and acting immediately on it without analyzing the effect it has on them, fellow labourers & the socio-economic system of the place. These labourers are illiterate and get easily influenced for really no benefit at all. This is what these leaders play upon. I am sure that almost all the tea estates in Cachar are engulfed by this disease, but none really talks about it or has done anything to bring a change.

In a recent example, a well established garden had to face the brunt of labourers for almost 4 months when their administration collapsed in the face of political interference. Do we want our properties to be taken over by these people who do not care for the livelihood of the daily wage earner? What society are we leaving for the posterity?

To be continued…….