We Are Just Mazdoors! A Decolonial Ethnographic Account of Health Inequalities, and Inequities Among Tea Garden Laborers in Assam, India

Abstract

This article investigates the lived experiences of health inequalities and inequities among tea garden laborers in Assam, India. By employing decolonial ethnographic research, this study explored long-standing health inequalities and inequities in the tea industry and workers’ illnesses and injuries due to inadequate occupational, environmental, and health care policies. Neither the state nor the management of the tea garden, according to the interviews, has taken the essential actions to safeguard the health and safety of the workers in tea gardens either during the pandemic or at any other time. Instead, hearing gaalis (verbal abuses) from babus (the tea garden managers) is a part of their everyday life. We argue that even after 7 decades of post-colonial rule, tea garden workers are subject to a ghettoized economy characterized by closure and control. Thus, we need to reexamine how the tea industry is structured in order to rectify existing health inequities.

Justice for Tea Workers; COVID-19 Lessons From South Africa

“…They recommend that the governments of India and Assam provide training to tea workers regarding their legal rights. 1…”

“…A Decolonial Ethnographic Account on Health Inequalities, and Inequities among Tea Garden Laborers in Assam, India" by Gogoi and Sumesh. 1 This is, regrettably, not a new topic because injustice has plagued the tea garden laborers for more than a century. Nevertheless, its presentation as an occupational health and safety issue to an English-language audience is a relatively new angle.…”

“…They recommend that the governments of India and Assam provide training to tea workers regarding their legal rights. 1 Not discussed in the article, but of great interest to the readers of NEW SOLUTIONS, is the role of unions in the tea plantations. In Bangladesh, it appears that unions play a constructive role on behalf of tea workers.…”

“…Moreover, the high rate of maternal mortality, to which the failure of plantation owners to provide adequate nutrition and adequate medical care greatly contributes, is another issue specific to women workers. 1 Gogoi and Sumesh inform us about organizations that have a better track record of working for the interests of tea workers than ACMS. These are the All Adivasi Students' Association of Assam and the All Assam Tea Tribal Students' Association (AATTSA).…”

“…They have demanded the full implementation of the Plantation Labor Act of 1951, and the Minimum Wages Act of 1948, in their true spirit." 1 What can be done internationally to improve conditions for tea workers? Oxfam 7 has called on governments to pass laws making human rights due diligence mandatory for tea companies.…”