The Assam Human Development Report of 2003, acknowledged the fact that the health status of its tea garden laborers is much below the state average; the state itself is languishing at the bottom. The present study is an attempt to explore the health condition of the tea industry laborers, especially laborers of the Beesakopie tea garden, a garden in Tinsukia District of Assam. The study reveals that a significant percentage (23%) of labor families suffer from calorie deficiency of more than 1,200 calories. Further, it is also observed that there is a huge gap between the per capita requirement and intake of both protein and carbohydrate among the laborers and their families. Therefore, it was observed that the laborers are suffering from various disorders like fever, cough, anemia, hypertension, gastric problems, skin problems, etc. Moreover, the data reflect that a considerable percentage of members of labor families died during the last five years due to tuberculosis, high blood pressure, lack of proper treatment and so on. Child mortality is also observed whose reasons are not known to the laborers, indicating the lack of awareness among the laborers. Further, the laborers do not show any interest to go to hospital for treatment. The laborers are ignorant or are not conscious about personal hygiene and sanitation practices. Moreover, only 1% of labor families use filter to purify water. Therefore, health awareness among the tea industry laborers is very poor. Thus, the government as well as the authority of the tea industry should consider this serious issue as an integral part of the developmental plan, for equitable and sustainable economic growth of the country.

The tea industry, which is the single largest industry of Assam, is also the largest labor-oriented industry. It is an export-oriented, labor-intensive agro-based industry, which occupies an important role in the economy of Assam. This industry is the gift of the colonial administration, favored by geographical and political factors that have paved the way for the early start of tea plantation in Assam. A large portion of the population of the state is directly and/or indirectly dependent on this industry, with diversified origin, caste and culture. This industry provides livelihood to more than one million workers directly and more than three million dependents indirectly. It employs 2.5 persons per hectare compared to 1.38 persons engaged in agricultural sector. Long back, the tea industry laborers had migrated from various parts of the country, especially from Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh (undivided), Uttar Pradesh (undivided), and West Bengal in search of livelihood. However, the then British government had taken initiatives to attract cheap laborers from various provinces of India for setting up tea industry in Assam. The laborers were recruited for two or three years, but they settled permanently in different parts of Assam. At present, the laborers of the tea gardens hold an important place in the demographic as well as economic map of Assam.

In the early period, the recruited laborers were given inhuman treatment. The tea planters exploited the laborers in many ways. In the eyes of the European planters, the laborers were a `beast in a menagerie' (Singh et al., 2006). However, even after 60 years of independence, the plight of the laborers of the tea gardens of Assam has hardly changed. The ineffective union of the tea workers in this liberalized and globalized economy has resulted in lowering their bargaining power with the planters. Thus, the economic condition of the laborers has hardly improved, resulting in deterioration of their health as well as social status. Since, health is the asset of the laborers, deterioration of health condition would push them back further in other aspects. Therefore, an earnest and immediate policy change by the government and the tea estates is required to improve the health condition of the laborers. The present paper is an attempt to explore the dynamics of the health condition of the laborers of a tea garden of Assam with an objective to provide some policy suggestions. The rest of the paper is organized as follows: It presents a brief review of literature, followed by the profile of the sample tea garden as well as the sample laborers and the analysis. Finally, the study concludes with some policy suggestions.

Agricultural Economics Journal, Health Awareness, Tea Garden Laborers, Assam Human Development Report, Child Mortality, Agricultural Sectors, British Government, Personnel Management, Multistage Sampling Techniques, Beesakopie Tea Estate, Medical Services, Political Development.