CHAPTER III 101
3.1 Migration
3.1.1 Ethnic Identity
It has been observed that the immigrant tea plantation workers in Assam have been striving to protect and uphold their ethnic identity though cultural assimilation. Sharma (2011) brings out a diverse picture of the tea industry in Assam by not only dwelling upon the origin of the tea plantation in Assam, but also by critically analyzing the role of the British Government, the planters, the elite Assamese class, the questions of identity of the migrant tea plantation workers mainly at the backdrop of the pre-independence era. The author analyses how the local non-tribal inhabitants of Assam have tried to do away with the tags of primitiveness by pushing it towards the tribal and the migrant tea plantation workers.
A person’s identity is defined as one which is congruent to his or her view of the continuity and sameness of his or her personality. Individual’s sense of their own identity becomes stronger over the years. In this sense of identity, there is a clear awareness about one’s aspirations and characteristics (Kupiainen et al; 2004). The tea tribes in Assam form a distinct cultural group who has its own practices, beliefs and languages.
Karlson’s (2010) work deals with a number of questions relating to politics based on
"ethnicity" or community belonging among "tribal" or indigenous peoples in India's northeastern region. Question of indigenous peoples' right to self-determination, a right that most indigenous organizations in the world regard as crucial and that is central to the UN draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Autonomy or self-determination, in one form or another, is on the agenda of more or less all mobilized communities in Northeast India.
The Adivasis in India are traditionally known as the “first peoples” or indigenous people (Ananthanarayanan 2010). The immigrant tea plantation workers in Assam have been striving to protect and uphold their ethnic identity though cultural assimilation is seen to have been taking place. The concept of ‘assimilation’ was first used in American race relations research to describe the process by which immigrant groups were integrated into the dominant white culture (Abercrombie and Nicholas 2006). In R. Park’s (2003) ‘race relations cycle’, the social interaction between the host society and new immigrants was conceptualized in terms of four stages- contacts, competition, accommodation and assimilation. At the present time, assimilation is not only considered to be a oneway process but it is a reciprocal one involving mutual adjustments between host and migrant communities. A person’s identity is defined as one which is a person’s view of the continuity and sameness of his or her personality. Individual’s sense of their own identity becomes stronger over the years. In this sense of identity, there is a clear awareness about one’s aspirations and characteristics (Kupiainen et al; 2004). The tea tribes in Assam form a distinct cultural group who has its own practices, beliefs and languages.
In the Northeast, the British rulers enacted the Assam Land Act 1834 followed by the Wasteland Grant Rules 1838 in order to get land easily for the tea estates (Fernandes, 2003).
They hoped that once deprived of their livelihood, the Ahom, Koch and Boro landowners of Assam would work in the plantations (Goswami 1999: 68-71). But they were not ready to become wage labourers on their own land alienated unjustly from them. Also the Chinese whom the British brought to the Assam could not become the type of workers they needed (Guha 1977). The tribals of Jharkhand, Orissa and Chattisgarh were thus the next choice.
Because of their impoverishment they were “compelled to emigrate mainly to Assam tea
gardens when they could not obtain justice from the government and could not bear to stay on in their newly transformed status as tenants” (Chatterjee 1990: 159). Thus they and Dalits elsewhere formed a continuous flow of indentured labour that helped the worldwide expansion of the ‘plantation complex’ (Sen 1979: 8-12).
The differences in language in upper Assam and lower Assam Adivasis is clearly visible.
Sadri and Assamese while in lower assam and cachar district its more of Jharkhand tribal language and Bengali. Their notion of self and identity is greatly influenced by their dependence on the tea industry for their sustenance and them being considered ‘outsiders’
by the other indigenous groups of the region
They are popularly referred to as the ‘tea tribes’ or ‘saah janajati’ by the Assamese speaking population of the state and other linguistic groups. The tea garden workers and the ex tea garden population are also referred to as tea tribes or ‘Coolies’ which is used derogatorily. They have remained cut-off from the other indigenous groups of the state.
They exhibit the nature of a closed group. From the primary data collected during the field study, it was evident that all the respondents of workers’ category had their origin in the tribal belts of east and central India mainly.
They mostly speak Adivasi languages like Shadri, Kharia, Kurukh, Santhali, etc. at home and can speak a little Assamese for communicating with the other ‘local’ people.
Language is a barrier that disconnects them from the other indigenous groups in the state.
There is little communication with the other groups which makes them the ‘outsiders’ in the state. In the field study it has been found that majority of the plantation workers in upper Assam speak fluent Assamese while those in middle and lower Assam speak
Shadri and other tribal languages from the Chota Nagpur belt. Those in Barak Valley speak tribal languages with a lot of Bengali influence. Therefore, certain amount of language assimilation is seen to have been taking place among the tea plantation workers also referred to as the Adivasis. There are variations in the degree of assimilation of the tea plantation workers with the dominant linguistic groups in the region. When their previous generations where first made to migrate to the state in the late eighteenth century and more in the early nineteenth century, they were made to settle down in various areas spread throughout the state which were identified as prospect tea estates. Thus owing to the harassment and confusion that took place during the migration process, many family members got separated from each other and were made to settle in separate estates.
Historical migration of the tea tribes from other states to the tea estates in Assam has altered the design of traditional families. But this has not led to proper assimilation of the tea tribes into the indigenous groups in Assam. As mentioned above, they have always been considered as ‘outsiders’ who follow weird cultural practices and food habits. As most of the
‘tea tribes’ that consist of the tea plantation workers and the ex-tea garden population settled in villages and towns have stuck to their traditional beliefs and practices similar to the tribals of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and other regions of Chota Nagpur area, the process of assimilation has not been taking place in a smooth way. The religious practices of puja, marriage, birth and death rituals are all performed in indigenous tribal ways. Discrimination existed in the ways people already dwelling in this region dealt with the Adivasi groups who were made to settle here.
During the field work conducted at various estates, it was often observed that almost every estate’s labour line had a small temple or a chapel within its premises. The missionaries
introduced education to these immigrant plantation workers and those who embraced Christianity are closely associated with the nearby parish for any kind of rituals to be performed and worship. The immigrant workers lead a life of exclusion in the labour lines.
They have little interaction with the outside world.