Assam Tea Plantations Research Articles

Ethical Recursivity: Reconciling Ethics and Action in a Publicly Engaged Anthropology

Abstract While anthropologists have been cautious to avoid essentialism, the notion “informant” in anthropology’s promotion of scholar-informant solidarity has been surprisingly undifferentiated. Based on my experience of interlocutors’ heterogeneity during my fieldwork on Assam tea plantations, I illustrate the ambiguity, porosity and mutability of the category of the “informant.” I argue that the general imperative to support informants occludes that there are multiple interlocutors with different, at times conflicting, claims. Therefore, a (conscious or unconscious) decision about whom among the multiple interlocutors to support in the field of study seems inevitable. Inspired by the epistemological concept of recursivity, drawn from the recent framework of a recursive anthropology, I suggest ethical recursivity as one possible answer to the question on what ethical grounds anthropologists could base their decision about whom among the multiple (marginalized) interlocutors they show solidarity to, in order to reconcile ethical premises and actions within a publicly engaged anthropology.

Shifting Narratives of Soil in Scientific Discourses of Colonial Assam Tea Plantations

With the establishment of tea plantations in Assam in the first half of the nineteenth century, colonial tea planters and scientists began to examine ways to profitably produce tea for a growing global market. Apart from the visible landscape alterations through mass deforestation, tea monocultures also surreptitiously effected considerable transformation on its immediate physical environment, particularly on the soil. This paper highlights how the question of soil came under the purview of the colonial tea scientists when over the years, consequently and inevitably, these plantations showed a decline in the quality and quantity of tea produced. As a result, the initial conviction in the fertility of Assam’s soil within the tea discourse began to be replaced with discussions that revealed how plantation cultivation of tea itself was at the root of these problems in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

“It would taste better with sugar”—Navigating deprivation and confidence in everyday life on a tea plantation in Assam

SummaryThis story focuses on an ordinary working day on a tea plantation in Assam from the perspective of Jiya—a tea plucker on Dolani Tea Estate. It illustrates how Jiya navigates fundamental deprivations in her everyday life structured by the company's relentless siren without losing track of the scope for confident action. The photos, the plantation, the protagonist, and the incidents described in the story are based on real places, persons, and observations I encountered during thirteen months of fieldwork on Assam tea plantations between 2014 and 2017. However, the compilation of multiple observations into one day is a work of fiction. All names of persons and places in the story are pseudonyms. Quotations in the text are my own translations from Hindi into English.

Workplace effect on intergenerational occupational transition of labourer: evidence from tea plantations of Assam, India

Workplace effect on intergenerational occupational transition of labourer: evidence from tea plantations of Assam, India

Agricultural Land Use Influences Bacteriophage Community Diversity, Richness, and Heterogeneity.

The last two decades have witnessed a large-scale conversion of crop cultivation areas into small and mid-sized tea plantations in Assam, India. Agricultural land-use pattern positively or negatively influences native hydrology and above- and belowground biodiversity. Very little is known about the effect of agricultural land-use patterns on the soil virus (especially, bacteriophage) community structure and function. This metagenomic-based study evaluated the rhizosphere viral community structure of three interlinked cultivation areas, viz., mixed cropping area (coded as CP1), tea-seed orchard (CP2), and monocropping tea cultivation (CP3). The bacteriophages belonged to four major classes with the dominance of Malgrandaviricetes (CP1: 79.37%; CP2: 64.62%; CP3: 4.85%) followed by Caudoviricetes (CP1: 20.49%; CP2: 35.22%; CP3: 90.29%), Faserviricetes (CP1: 0.03%; CP2: 0.08%; CP3: 3.88%), and Tectiliviricetes (CP1: 0.12%; CP2: 0.07%; CP3: 0.97%). Microviruses dominated the phage population in both CP1 and CP2, representing 79.35% and 64.59% of total bacteriophage abundance. Both CP1 and CP2 had higher bacteriophage richness (species richness, R in CP1: 65; R in CP2: 66) and lower evenness (Pielou's evenness index, J in CP1: 0.531; J in CP2: 0.579) compared to the CP3 (R: 30; J: 0.902). Principal component analysis of edaphic soil factors and bacteriophage community structure showed a reverse-proportional correlation between the levels of Al saturation, and exchangeable Al3+ ions with that of soil pH, and bacteriophage abundance. Our study indicates that monocropping tea cultivation soil bears less viral richness, abundance, and heterogeneity.

Plantationocene: A Vegetal Geography

A Plantationocene is a threshold for understanding planetary change. Rather than attributing environmental transformations to the universal agency of humankind, a Plantationocene grounds the alteration of landscape in histories of colonialism and race, and takes the plantation to be a pivotal engine for producing novel but fraught natures. This article develops a vegetal geography of a Plantationocene, engaging relations between plants and people as well as the role plants play as mediators of habitability in a landscape. It argues that such geographies influence and are underscored by the exploitation of labor, violent enclosures of land, and the quest to profit from both human and other-than-human life. Vegetal geographies are tracked in three conceptual registers: the vegetal agency of plants put into circulation by plantations, vegetal economies centered on labor power and the work plants do, as well as the vegetal politics of landscape change proceeding though an ecology of relations and the asymmetric exercise of power. This reading of a Plantationocene and its vegetal geographies brings scholarship on planetary transformations into closer dialogue with colonial history and postcolonial political economy. The argument is grounded in an ethnography of the Adivasi community, elephants, and tea plantations in Assam, northeast India.

Beyond “Enclaves”: Postcolonial Labor Mobility to and from Assam Tea Plantations

AbstractLabor mobility to and from tea plantations in India has been treated as an exception. Plantations continue to be imagined as unaltered enclaves with an immobile, bonded, or fixed labor force as their key feature. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in India, this article investigates forms of labor mobility to and from Assam tea plantations. While tea labor is not spatially immobile, I argue that spatial mobility does not necessarily lead to upward social mobility. Based on this observation, I reconsider the plantation in the twenty‐first century in two ways: first, plantations are permeable and transforming spaces, due to ongoing labor mobility and evolving changes in the political economy of Assam tea production; second, certain forms of inequality and injustice attributed to plantation economies need to be located beyond the Plantationocene.

Sex, sahibs and bodies: women workers in the tea plantations of colonial Assam

ABSTRACT The recent developments in the evolution of ‘labor history’ as an academic field have injected new direction into theories of Gender, Sex and Bodies. Incidents of sexual violence and gender oppression have long been a brutal part of human history. In contemporary times, plantation societies are finally receiving critical attention as historians embark on gendered reappraisals of history, especially in countries like India. This article sets out to retrieve several accounts of sexual violence in the tea plantations of Assam during the colonial period. It also shows how the colonial masters (Sahibs) of the tea gardens have oppressed/sexualized the bodies of men/women workers in the tea gardens of Assam. An attempt is also made to reconstruct the forgotten stories of two tea-garden working-class women, Mangri Orang alias Malati Mem and Durgi Bhumij alias Durgi Mem, who were sexually abused by the European tea planters. From their objectification as sexualized bodies, the duo later showed their abilities of agency when they joined India’s freedom struggle and transformed into freedom fighters. The paper analyzes the connections between oppressed/sexualized bodies of women tea plantation workers and the colonial capitalist patriarchy in the history of Assam.

Correlation of vitamin D and calcium status: Case study of the women in the tea plantations of Assam, India

Vitamin D and calcium are interrelated in terms of concentration and activity in the human body. Deficiency of these nutrients has serious health consequences, often resulting in skeletal diseases like osteoporosis, osteomalacia and non-skeletal diseases like diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cancer. Vitamin D and calcium deficiencies have been precarious in many rural areas across India. The present study is carried out to determine the status of vitamin D and calcium among women residing in one of the most vulnerable areas of Assam i.e. tea plantations. An attempt to study the association between vitamin D and calcium is also made. 370 women working in two tea estates are selected. Serum vitamin D and calcium status are estimated through standard protocols with the help of technicians. Results showed significantly low status of both vitamin D and calcium among the women when compared to standards. Further, positive correlation and linear regression coefficients determine direct proportionate relationship between the nutrients. Prolonged deficiency in both these nutrients could have severe potential threats to their health and productivity. The study highlights the need to sensitize these rural women regarding this health issue prevailing among them and ways to bring about its eradication.

Locating 'Coolie' Women's Health in Tea Plantation Environments in Colonial Assam

Abstract The history of Assam tea plantations in India is well-documented, yet a gender sensitive environmental history of these colonially-introduced plantation landscapes is absent. The colonial tea planters saw advantages in a growing female presence in their plantations, in terms of increased male ties to the plantation, lower wages for female workers and the added benefit of biological reproduction that would fulfil the need for manual labour in these plantations for generations. This paper attempts to understand how this plantation structure in general and the work regime in particular relied on a particular type of gender identity, which in turn had a detrimental effect on the health of the women labourers in this new landscape.

Perception of climate change and adaptation strategies in tea plantations of Assam, India.

There is increasing evidence that climate change will strongly affect tea cultivation. It will be one of the challenging issues, particularly for the tea plantations of Assam, India. Based on a questionnaire survey carried out in four major tea-growing regions of Assam, viz., Upper Assam, South Bank, North Bank and Cachar, the study analyses tea growers' awareness of climate change, its impact on tea, adaptive approaches undertaken and future strategies. Majority of respondents were aware of climate change and its effect on tea production. Tea growers attributed prolong drought, excessive precipitation within a short period, temperature extremes, increase in insect and disease infestation, the emergence of new insect pest species, increased weed infestation and wind velocity as underlying effects of climate change. Results also specified that tea growers had a positive approach towards adaptive management strategies to mitigate climate change. Adaptive measures executed to combat climate change included rainwater harvesting, irrigation, afforestation, biodiversity conservation, soil mulching and creation of wind barriers. As future management strategies, tea growers have opted to gradually replace synthetic fertilisers with organic manures and pesticides, construct anti-erosion measures along riversides and embankments, generate awareness programs among the workers and other residents on conserving biodiversity, generate clean energy for tea production and cultivate climate tolerant/resistant cultivars. The present study will be helpful to make more informed future strategies regarding best practices for tea cultivation under a changing climate for tea-growing regions all over the world.

Insecticide resistance among field populations of Hyposidra talaca Walker (Geometridae: Lepidoptera) in tea plantations of Assam, India: detection through a biochemical approach

The black inch looper, Hyposidra talaca is a serious defoliator pest of tea and its management relies profoundly on application of insecticides. Here, we investigated the insecticide susceptibility in H. talaca collected from six districts of Assam to five insecticides: bifenthrin and deltamethrin (Pyrethroids), quinalphos (Organophosphates), emamectin benzoate (Avermectins) and flubendiamide (Diamides). Based on relative susceptibility values, all populations showed varied levels of susceptibility to the insecticides evaluated as compared to the susceptible population. Tinsukia and Dibrugarh populations showed high LC50s to most of the insecticides assessed. A moderate to high level of resistance was recorded for deltamethrin [Resistance coefficient (RC) = 19.03–31.75; Resistance ratio (RR) = 8.23–38.90]. Bifenthrin showed moderate level of resistance [RC = 11.80-23.79; RR = 16.52–25.52] while quinalphos demonstrated low-resistance level [RC = 4.35–6.06; RR = 3.22–4.41]. Emamectin benzoate and flubendiamide were effective against H. talaca in all tested populations, except for Tinsukia and Dibrugarh populations where low levels of resistance were recorded. Detoxification enzyme assays indicate that glutathione S-transferases (GST), general esterase (GE) and cytochrome P450 (CYP) activities were high in all field populations as compared to susceptible ones. GE and CYP had significant variation among different population and registered positive correlation with the LC50s of deltamethrin, bifenthrin and quinalphos. Synergistic assays reveal that the use of synergists’ piperonyl butoxide, S.S.S.-Tributylphosphorotrithioate and ethacrynic acid in combination with deltamethrin and quinalphos re-establishes the toxicity of these insecticides. The findings show that detoxification enzymes play important role in the development of resistance to insecticides in H. talaca and will be useful in designing resistance management programmes against the pest.

Corporate Responsibility for Human Rights in Assam Tea Plantations - A Business and Human Rights Approach

This paper explores how UK-based companies deal with their responsibility to respect the human rights of Assam (India) tea plantations workers. Using publicly available corporate reports and other documents, it investigates how companies approach, and communicate on, their potential human rights impacts. It highlights the gap between well-documented human rights issues on the ground and corporate reports on these issues. It aims to answer the following research question: in a context where the existence of human rights violations at the end of the supply chain is well-documented, how do companies reconcile their possible connection with those violations and the corporate responsibility to respect human rights under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights? The paper reveals the weakness of the current CSR approach from the perspective of rights-holders. It supports a business and human rights approach, one that places the protection of human rights at its core.

Corporate Responsibility for Human Rights in Assam Tea Plantations: A Business and Human Rights Approach

This paper explores how UK-based companies deal with their responsibility to respect the human rights of Assam (India) tea plantation workers. Through qualitative content analysis of publicly available corporate reports and other documents, it investigates how companies approach and communicate their potential human rights impacts. It highlights the gap between well-documented human rights issues on the ground and corporate reports on these issues. It aims to answer the following research question: in a context where the existence of human rights violations at the end of the supply chain is well-documented, how do companies reconcile their possible connection with those violations and the corporate responsibility to respect human rights under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights? This paper reveals the weakness of the current corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach from the perspective of rights-holders. It supports a business and human rights approach, one that places the protection of human rights at its core.

Changing Nature of Labour Movement in the Organized sector industry: A Reflection on the Tea Plantations of Assam

Purpose of the study: The purpose of the paper is to study the changing nature of Labour Movement in an Organized Sector industry of Assam i.e. Tea Plantation.
 Methodology: The study is based on both the primary and secondary sources such as available archival materials, historical documents of different trade unions/ labour movements etc. Moreover, the insights gathered through consultation of such materials along with already published literature, official reports etc.
 Main Findings: The labourers of tea gardens of Assam during the colonial period mobilized mainly for the economic demands and for the oppressive nature of the colonial state but after independence their movement is converted into political (identity) movement.

Detection and biochemical characterization of acaricide resistance in field populations of tea red spider mite, Oligonychus coffeae (Acari: Tetranychidae), in Assam tea plantation of India

ABSTRACTThe red spider mite, Oligonychus coffeae, (RSM) is one of the most damaging pests of tea in most tea-producing countries. The use of synthetic acaricide, the main strategy for controlling RSM, has increased year by year. In this study, eight field populations of RSM were evaluated for resistance against five different acaricides (ethion, dicofol, propargite, fenazaquin, and fenpropathrin) using the leaf-dip method. The results showed that almost all the tested field populations had developed a high to very high level of resistance to ethion and dicofol. The highest level of resistance for RSM was found to ethion and dicofol with a resistance ratio of 134.27 and 65.38, respectively in the Cachar population as compared to the laboratory susceptible population. Propargite and fenazaquin were very effective against RSM in all tested populations, whereas a minor level of tolerance was evident against fenpropathrin at the recommended dose. Biochemical assays using detoxifying enzymes indicated that general esterase, glutathione-S- transferase, and cytochrome P450 monooxygenase activities were higher in all conventional field populations than in the susceptible population and also had a significantly positive correlation with the LC50 values for ethion and dicofol. Synergism assays were therefore performed using ethion and dicofol in combination with common synergists like piperonylbutoxide (PBO), S.S.S.-Tributylphosphorotrithioate (DEF), and ethacrynic acid (EA). Results showed that mixing of PBO with ethion ensured about 36.73 times higher toxicity against RSM. DEF was moderately effective in revamping the effect of ethion whereas only EA was able to reduce the tolerance of RSM population to dicofol up to 11.71 times. The present studies infer that general esterase and cytochrome P450 monooxygenase may play a major role in imparting resistance to ethion whereas only glutathione-S-transferase plays an important role in dicofol resistance in RSM. The present study indicates the need for adopting integrated resistance management programmes to effectively control RSM in the tea plantations of Assam.

Detoxifying Enzyme Profile and Total Body Lipid Content of Selected Lepidopteran Pests of Tea Plantations of Assam, India

Detoxifying Enzyme Profile and Total Body Lipid Content of Selected Lepidopteran Pests of Tea Plantations of Assam, India

Susceptibility to acaricides and detoxifying enzyme activities in the red spider mite, Oligonychus coffeae Nietner (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Susceptibility of red spider mite, Oligonychus coffeae Nietner (Acari: Tetranychidae), collected from conventionally-managed (synthetic acaricide usage) versus an organicallymanaged (no acaricide usage) tea plantations in Assam, India, to five synthetic acaricides was determined in laboratory bioassays. Activity of three principal detoxifying enzymes of these mite populations was also assayed. The median lethal concentrations (LC50) of ethion, dicofol, propargite, fenpropathrin, and fenazaquin were 1049.75, 599.21, 232.03, 11.44, and 6.75 ppm, respectively. Field rates of these acaricides were compared with 95% lethal concentration (LC95 in ppm) values, and a decrease in the susceptibility of the test population to ethion, propargite, dicofol and fenpropathrin was observed. There was no change for fenazaquin which was effective at lower doses than the recommended dose. Of all the acaricides tested, fenazaquin was the most toxic and ethion was the least toxic. General esterases (GEs), glutathione- S-transferase (GST), and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases exhibited a higher activity in mite population from the conventionallymanaged tea plantation as compared with the activity in mites from the organicallymanaged tea plantation. These findings may be helpful in the selection of acaricides and in developing resistance management strategies for an effective management program for this major tea pest.

Passage to Bondage: Labor in the Assam Tea Plantations ed. by Samita Sen, Suhit Kumar Sen

Passage to Bondage: Labor in the Assam Tea Plantations ed. by Samita Sen, Suhit Kumar Sen

Geographical variation in susceptibility of tea red spider mite, Oligonychus coffeae (Nietner) (Acari: Tetranychidae) to commonly used acaricides in tea plantations of Assam, north east India

ABSTRACTThe tea red spider mite, Oligonychus coffeae, is one of the most destructive pests of tea in the world which is mainly managed by chemical acaricides. In the present study, concentration-mortality responses of O. coffeae from eight tea geographical populations along with a laboratory susceptible strain against five acaricides, viz., ethion, dicofol, propargite, fenazaquin and fenpropathrin were assayed based on standard leaf-dipped method. Although observed levels of susceptibility varied between populations and acaricides, population from Cachar region registered a high LC50 value to most of the acaricides evaluated. Almost all of the tested field populations had developed high to very high level of resistance to ethion and dicofol, with resistance ratios ranging from 13.58 to 134.27-fold. Fenazaquin and propargite were very effective against O. coffeae in all tested populations, while fenpropathrin showed minor variation in their susceptibility. Significant positive correlation was only observed between the LC50 values of ethion and dicofol (r = 0.95, P = 0.005) suggesting the potential for cross-resistance. These results indicated that control failure was associated with resistance to ethion and dicofol therefore reinforcing the need of resistance management program and offered useful information about alternative acaricides to control O. coffeae.