Most of us break our sleep inertia with a cup of tea to get a boost for the start of the day. It's a morning habit that we picked from our parents, so did they. But have we ever contemplated what elements are actually used to make this drink that we enjoy with every sip and where do they come from? or do we ever ponder what are the stories behind these people that make it Teas Leaves possible to us from dense forests?
Well, these people, the tea labourers, are one of the most deprived communities in our country. They are deprived of proper education, facilities, a proper amount of wages and it goes on and on. Yet, here we celebrate another international without addressing the issues of the tea labourers in our country. The tea garden is inhabited by about 94 indigenous peoples including Garo, Tripuri, Santal, Munda, Orao, Bauri, Lohar, Ribdas, Telugu, Bhumij, Kanu, Bin, Chhatri, Sabar and Bakti. Although, everything was shut down in the lockdown during the Corona epidemic, the tea gardens were kept open at risk.
According to researchers, most of these people live a poor lifestyle, so their own culture and way of life comes with sacrifices and unfullfillments. Due to the decline of their language, their ethnic identity is in crisis. They are also unable to retain their ethnic identity due to socio-economic conditions. In the historical social context, tea workers speak Bhojpuri as a means of communication among themselves. As a result, the use of their own language has decreased. Boys and girls do not want to learn the Munda language now. When they are in the family, one or two talk. But when they go out, they have to speak Bengali for which they don't get to practise their own language. Their socio-economic status has reached such a stage that, now many have forgotten their identities and the most concerning of all that, many are forced to hide their identities.
Every may day, we talk for their rights and raise voice to respect them but later live as if they even existed, this lands us to a very important question in the end,
"What different can we do this time?"
Written by Arjyashree Chakma, Sushmit Chakma
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