Women Empowerment & Tea Plantation Industry of Assam

Tea Plantation Industry, the single largest agriculture based industry of Assam have been completing near about two centuries of its journey. In India tea was first discover in Upper Assam in 1823 but the journey of tea plantation was started in 1835 at Chabua. The origin of tea bush, which is a cut down version of a strong forest tree, is the native to certain areas from the Southern China to the border of ancient Assam. The aboriginal tribes of Myanmar (Burma), Thailand (Siam) and Indo-China regions were harvesting the wild tea tree (Miang) for medicinal beverage in ancient time. Emperor Shen Nung first discovered tea in 2732 B.C. in China. Female workers have made a significant contribution in the development of Tea Plantation Industry of Assam and economic regeneration of the State. TEs of Assam employed more than 3.79 lakh of women, which constitute about fifty percent of total workforce employed in this industry. Although, this section of population have been working for more than one and half century but their socio-economic and political development remain in vulnerable state.