Why There's No One Left to Vote in North Bengal's Tea Gardens

Jaigaon (West Bengal): Nibha Toppo is stout and has hands that bear the distinct marks of hard work. She is in her forties, she says, but is thin in frame and appears much older as a result – a reflection of the years of undernourishment she has endured as a tea labourer in the estates of north Bengal.

Nibha and her family have been working in the Raydak Tea Garden for generations.

“We receive only Rs 250 per day. We don’t have ration cards, and our provident fund benefits have been suspended. There is no solution, so we work all day for Rs 250. If we are provided with all the government benefits that we are entitled to, then our daily wages would be more than Rs 500, but we don’t get any of it,” said Nibha.  

In April this year, the state government announced a daily wage increase of Rs 18. Rs 268 is much lower than tea workers’ wages in the southern states of the country, many tea labourers are quick to point out.

And this is also the likely reason behind the large-scale migration observed in numerous villages across the Duars region. There are no adult males in at least 12 villages in the Buxa hills. All of them have moved out for work.

“We don’t find suitable jobs here. Even cultivation of orange and cardamon has stopped. Monsoon sees very few tourists. What can we do? Men are moving to other states for better income,” said another tea worker, Yankey Dukpa.

BJP, TMC and the courting of tribal communities

Nestled in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, the Duars region in Bengal relies heavily on the tea and tourism industries, with its economy intricately tied to both.

There are more than 300 tea gardens in the two districts of Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri. The political dynamics of this region is closely tied to the support of the hill tribes, including Gorkhas, Mundas, and Oraons, who make up the tea garden workforce.

Traditionally a stronghold of the Left parties, the Trinamool Congress made gains in the area in the 2016 assembly elections but faced a setback in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, as the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged victorious in all 12 assembly segments. This sweep happened thanks largely to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s influence over the Bharatiya Tea Workers Union which it backs and which, in turn, has significant heft in 199 tea gardens.

In the 2021 elections, the BJP secured all five seats in Alipurduar and four out of seven seats in Jalpaiguri. Changing political allegiance has put the ruling TMC and the BJP in a competitive position as they seek to garner the support of tea garden workers who have become pivotal players in rural politics.

Following the appointments of Nishith Pramanik and Debashree Chaudhuri as Union ministers from north Bengal, there had been great anticipation of overall development in the region. However, party workers and locals say that Chaudhuri seldom visits her own area, Raiganj.

Pramanik, on the other hand, is facing challenges in safeguarding his bastion. Suman Kanjilal, who won the Alipurduar seat as a BJP candidate in 2021, joined the TMC earlier this year. He is the face of the ruling party in the district.

“I could not develop the area as an opposition MLA. I had hoped to bring about progress through central projects and the support of BJP MPs like John Barla. However, I did not get this opportunity as a BJP legislator. I also faced questions from the people due to the party’s double standards on the issue of state division and NRC. As a result, I left BJP,” Kanjilal told The Wire.

Kanjilal’s switch to the TMC has been a setback for the local BJP. Taking a cautious approach, they have fielded candidates with strong organisational ties for the upcoming Panchayat elections. “People are voting for the BJP, but candidates who win the elections are leaving the party for the TMC. We are making a careful selection this time,” said Alipurduar BJP district secretary, Narayan Mongar.

Jobs and citizenship

In the neighbouring district of Jalpaiguri, opposition leader Subhendu Adhikari, during his campaigns, announced that the BJP comes to power, the government will increase the Lakshmi Bhandar women’s welfare allowance from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000. 

But this is a distant promise for locals.

Roshni Munda, a tea worker from the Kalchini area, said, “The hike in the allowance will be a factor when voting for a new government. But right now, I’m thinking about ration cards, owning a house, and what will happen to our tea gardens and jobs.”

Alipurduar, though small in size compared to other districts of the state, is rich in diversity and houses indigenous communities like the Bodo, Mech, Toto, and Rajbongshi. A significant segment of the district’s population consists of tribal voters, who have been actively involved in grassroots social initiatives supported by the BJP and RSS. However, there is a sense of uncertainty among many regarding the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

These indigenous people, particularly tea garden workers, have been in this region for several generations. Beena Munda, who belongs to a tribal community, said she has been worried. “My father worked as a labourer and spent his entire life in a modest hut. How and from where would we acquire the necessary documents? Have you seen what’s happened in Assam?” she asked.

‘Chaa Sundari’ a real estate scheme?

The TMC, meanwhile, is actively courting voters through the ‘Chaa Sundari’ scheme, which focuses on approximately three lakh permanent workers employed in 370 tea gardens registered with the state’s labour department. The objective of this programme is to ensure funds within the next three years for the construction of houses for all permanent tea garden workers who do not currently own one.

According to the government’s claim, the initial phase of the project has been completed, with approximately 3,000 houses constructed in five tea gardens located in the Alipurduar district. The total cost of this phase is estimated to be Rs 182 crore. Among these gardens, the closed Lankapara Tea Garden alone will have 1,223 Chaa Sundari houses, while the Torsa Tea Garden will have 476 houses, Mujnai Tea Garden will have 792 houses, and Dheklapara Tea Garden will have 478 houses. Over 1,000 houses have been handed over to tea workers. 

Zia-ul Alam, the convenor of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-backed Joint Action Forum of Tea Workers, said that this incentive was little else other than a way to ensure that big players develop this area into gated communities for wealthy second home buyers.

“This is just another real estate venture. Second homes in tea gardens are becoming popular. However, workers have been residing in the tea gardens for generations. Many own plots ranging from three to four cottahs. The government should focus on the rightful ownership of those lands,” said  Alam.

‘Lift us out of this’

Located on the Indo-Bhutan border, Jaigaon is an important tourism and commercial hub in the Alipurduar district. Earlier this year, the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came to this town to hand over keys of Chaa Sundari houses to the beneficiaries. However, hardly any worker has moved into these houses since then.

“We want the government to ensure the labourers’ legal rights and lift them out of the cycle of daily wages. The housing project’s name reflects the deception prevailing in the state. Their true intention is to clear the labourers from sight and to hand over the land to real estate developers. If Trinamool truly cared for the workers, they would have ensured land ownership. However, how will the government grant land ownership on lands owned by tea garden owners?” said Alam.

Echoing him, Taria Minoj, a worker in Sankosh Tea Garden said, “The government said they will provide keys to the Chaa Sundari houses. But we’ve been staying on this land for the past 150 years. They should first give us papers for this land. Where will we go if they evict us? We will not let go of the land.”

In March this year, news broke of possible school closures in Buxa Hill. According to the National Education Mission’s directives, the State Primary Education Council has listed primary and upper primary schools that will be closed for having fewer than 30 students. As many as 162 schools in Alipurduar district featured in that list – including all schools in Buxa Hills.

“What is the point of voting? Winners will be kings, what would we get?” said Rencho Dhukpa, who has recently opened a homestay in the area. 

BJP, which has swept this region in the last two election is also aware of the local anger. Local leader Vishal Lama said, “People voted for us last time, but not sure about this time.”

With men seeking employment opportunities outside the state and women engaged as daily wagers in the plains, it is unclear as to who would stay back to cast their vote at all.

“Who will give us our daily wages if we go to vote?” asked Sumi Toppa. “At the same time if we don’t vote, they might deny us the benefits of government schemes too,” he added.

Whether the houses have residents in them or not, most have flags of all the political parties on them.

Translated from the Bengali original by Aparna Bhattacharya.