Plantation Community: A status revisit

by L. Vijayanathan - on 06/03/2015

Disenfranchisement of the Indian Origin plantation workforce in the year

1948 after independence stalled the development of the plantation
community (PC) in contrast to other communities in the country. Memoirs
and research papers on labour movement and Trade union struggle of
Plantation workforce is not new and many have attempted to describe the
disenfranchisement of the PC and its impact for years. Basic human needs
were at a distant dream for many decades until it became an eventuality
rather than addressed through a concerted efforts by way of Political power
and development imperative. With democracy in existence in the country
for a long time; how did the plantation community miss the fortunes of
democracy and development to be on par with others in the country? This
needs deliberations if not a palpable research. I have seen in the recent
past writings in Tamil on various sector approach be it on the lines of local
governance, access to provincial power and decision making, influence at
the central level on the governance part and economic emancipation and
social security on the other hand. However, little efforts have been on to
inform the readers of English dailies so that others would also know fully
well the dilemmas of development realities of the PC.
This attempt is to bring about issues and impediments surrounding the PC
for their transformation that is currently viewed as need and sometimes a
right by many if not for the rulers and their own political leaders. I am using

the term Plantation Community (PC) with much reluctance because to my

knowledge there is no ethnic community defined in terms of their
association with economic activity elsewhere in the world. Labour (in)volunteer migration during the British colonial rule has taken place similar
to that of Indian origin workers in the tea and rubber plantations in other
parts of the world at the same time but those populations were not termed
with their economic activity. In Fiji where Indo Fijians constitute one third of
the population are called Indo- Fijians and not Plantation labour or
sugarcane community. In Sri Lanka the migrated Indian origin labour force
for some reason not known to many are termed with their economic activity
(plantation community) that has stigmatized the large section of the Ethnic
Tamils of Indian origins impeding their progress. However, I am compelled
to use the term for larger understanding of the readers if not as a political
term.
The politics of the PC is dominated by the trade union system from the
beginning of its involvement in national politics dating back to 1930s. On
the advice of Pundit Jawarhalal Nehru the Indian Community in Sri Lanka
formed the Ceylon Indian Congress that was much based in Colombo
comprising the wealthier business men to address their own. Later in order
to increase the membership and sustain its enthusiasm with localised
approach the CIC was extended to the plantations forming the Ceylon
Indian Congress Labour Union (CICLU). This is not the first trade union in the
estates so to say. The first trade union in the plantation emerged in 1931
called All Ceylon Estate Labour Federation in Hatton. I dont want to go in to
history of the trade unions here but want to point out that political
movement showed up as early as in 1940s with the formation of the CICLU
and its first President was Late S. Thondaman paving way for effective
political participation of the Plantation Community. From then onwards the
PC has been in politics obsessed by trade union imperatives rather than
from a democratic perspective, political emancipation and development
realities. That does not mean that political ambitions are least addressed
over the last several decades. More important and burning issues took the
attention of the trade unions such as wage, better living conditions, health
and other amenities that were closely associated with the plantation
system. As a result, continuity of the plantation system and the workforce
with mundane life style impeded any opportunities for upward mobility.
Sustaining the tea and rubber industries was then a necessity for foreign
exchange fetching a good market all over the world. Influence of the trade
unions on the estate became very much in relation to day today work.
Some of the plantations were able to forge an effective working model with
the workforce leading to high profits and shared benefits. However question
of sustaining the industry with profits and shared benefits remain largely a

challenging task. There are different reasons attributed for this mainly from
the RPCs. High labour costs and maintenance of non-working population by
the limited productive labour force in the plantations has been few of the
complaints by the RPCs unaddressed. On the other hand burden remains
with the RPCs though not effectively to support the welfare of the estate
residents that continue to be obscure ending up with no bodys
responsibility.
In a seminar sometime back on Facilitating the Service Provision to Estate
Communities one of the prominent planters shared a point that out of the
total resident population of around 800,000 only 200,000 are employed in
the plantations. There is an increasing attempt by the youth to exit the
plantation economic activities finding greener pastures driving the
plantations to a greater risk. While the figures may not be so accurate but
what it can indicate is that there is an increasing tendency to migrate out of
the plantation system. In the same seminar it was brought to the notice
out of a research project that the term estate Tamils demotivates the
young to be within the plantation system.
When inquiring in to the issues hindering transformation of the PC to cling
into development mode if not to attain on par status with the rest in the
country, the above gave a background setting of the PCs and their life.
Pursuing the question I would like to ponder in to several parameters in line
with the imperatives that need political overhauling with some dedication
and prudence.
Development of a Community will be advanced by many factors; key
among them will be education, resourceful skills of the population, access
to land and capital for economic activity, access to meaningful employment
in the region or elsewhere and many more. If one looks at these factors or
more and map with the plantation system it becomes obvious that the PC is
far behind in reaching these critical factors.
Interventions on social welfare in this sector population have always been
external in a supply mode with a dependency syndrome. Basic human
needs such as food, housing and shelter have been addressed by an
external intervention through structured institutional framework with the
participation of management and the state apparatus for many years. Upon
fulfilment of such basic necessities the plantation management moves to
justify a content workforce expecting returns in the form of high
productivity and obedient labour force. Trade unions play a justifiable role in
maintaining that order with a monitor role bridging the worker and
management. This was the style in the plantation system over several
decades. Supply of the basic needs and Improvement to the living

conditions through support to housing repairs, common water supply

schemes and provision of health through less qualified medical attendants
has been recognized as the development of the PC.
Despite its limitations and barriers, few ambitious individuals/families of the
population have managed to move up in the ladder by enhancing their
education or moving out at very young age in search of jobs and later
ending up as entrepreneurs, (not all those who migrated outward were
successful entrepreneurs any way).
Work in the plantations was the major employment opportunity, other
economic activities mainly related to value chains of the tea or plantation
economy, and trade provided livelihood to larger section of the ethnic
Tamils. Tea plantation regions were in geographically contiguous territories
and therefore the options for other industries or investment in other
productive sectors were limited and not forthcoming.
With the limited opportunities for economic and social emancipation, the PC
heavily depended on the social welfare deliver that entrenched them to the
economic livelihood making matters worse. In this backdrop the TU were
only the option for the PC to look upon to solve their grievances on
employment also that were associated with social and cultural life. A
subscription that over the years saw a steady increase was the fees paid to
the TU for their services to the workers.
As indicated above interventions to the social welfare development of the
PC was done with external support through a Social Welfare Programme
supported by Norway and Netherland. During the early period of their
investment the plantation was managed by two principal agencies of the
state namely Janata Estate Development Board (JEDB) and SLSPCP Sri
Lanka State Plantation Corporation. A social welfare programme was
embedded within these corporations known as Social Welfare Programme
funded by the donors. Aftermath of the plantations privatised under 23
RPCs a new structure emerged in the name of the Plantation Housing &
Social Welfare Trust in the year 1992 incorporated in Sri Lankan under
Companies Act No 17 of 1982. Later in the year 2002 this was renamed as
Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT). This is a tripartite entity with
Government of Sri Lanka, Plantation management companies and Trade
unions being main stakeholders. Main interventions were done in relation to
the labour productivity in the health sector that included basic health
services, maternal and child health and some curative health care. This was
to keep the labour force within the reach and control of the management
often called Plantation Raj.

Considerable improvement however was made in the education of the

children especially primary education. During the initial phases of SWP and
later during the period of PHSWT large sums of donors funds by Swedish
government were invested for developing the required infrastructure mainly
targeting primary and secondary school education. This lead to increased
enrolment and reduction of dropout rates of school going children.
Significant improvement achieved in the primary and middle level
secondary education did not transform to higher secondary due to many
weaknesses of the system lacking qualified and well trained teachers and
political interferences in academic management. Moreover the economic
influence impeding the preference for continuation of education within the
plantations manifest even today. These improvements had positive and
negative influence of the plantations. With the secondary education
attainments high degree of reluctance has been observed among youth
especially male to work within the plantations. At the same time they
lacked sufficient skills for a decent employment elsewhere frustrating them.
Those who attain primary education however and discontinue had
economic impediments to continue and or access to better quality
secondary education within their locality.
I do not wish to dwell in to success or failures of this internalized
intervention on health and primary education and their impact on the
population. There were so many others who have dwelled in to such
analysis. I wish to point out how these programmes were to secure and
sustain the labour of the estates with no long-term intervention for a growth
and development of the community or the region that will bring about the
positive change for Development. However it will be important to
understand that these efforts addressed and supported to sustain minimum
basic human needs that resulted in the welfare of the community and also
sustain the industry but no long term vision for these regions and residents
who are called as Plantation Community.
It can be seen that all the social welfare programmes aimed at sustaining
the tea industry on a plantation raj approach with management taking the
lead role in decision making on all matters of policy and implementation.
Thereby the dominance of the owners of the plantation ensured that there
was no defection from the rules and regulations of the plantation raj
system. The scope for economic independence was limited with such
approach with the explicitly support from the state and implicit blessings
from the Trade unions attached to the plantations. The state support was to
retain the industry that still fetches foreign exchange though not the
highest and shy away from the burden of finding/developing alternative
economic opportunities. It will be easy to handle a discontent labour force
rather than a larger section of a population with no viable alternative
livelihood opportunities. Trade Union implicitly supported for their survival
and more particularly the political participation of the PC was through the

Trade Unions and the Trade Unions would never dilute those contours that
support their dominance.
It is abundantly clear that the economic development and social
empowerment of the PC has been affected with above predicament in place
for a long time with no concrete efforts by any of the main actors involved
with the PC. To make matters worse is the political regression with no vision
and or concerted efforts to readdress the situation.
With to my indicated position in the first paragraphs of this memoir that a
complete overhauling of political dimensions for the PC is needed for a
holistic development of the community, I would further like to rationalize
my supposition from as seen prevalent with the PC that needs a change
preferably immediate.
Political determinants to development and its status
A retired civil servant and a senior writer Neville Jayaweera in one of his
memoirs analysed the two main types of political leaderships. Most
commonly seen are those who ride on the popular mood of the masses to
attain his or her goals of power and then keep it going without making
changes. He describes that such leaderships are like surfers ride the waves.
They keep changing as per the mood of the masses and take advantage of
the state apparatus to keep such a mood without seeking to change it. This
type of politicians are common in south Asian region. There is No vision for
the masses they seek to dominate and rule upon or is there any effort to
transcend to bring about positive changes in the life of the people. On the
other hand the masses too are weak and only seek to fulfil their immediate
needs. As a general measure it can be seen that political offices and
officials chose to address reparation of existing housing, provision of water
lines and sanitation facilities, support child care centres, support to worship
places, support youth clubs with sportswear and materials. These are handouts that are given by politicians local and others to keep the momentum
going for them. Therefore one could see that in the plantation regions it is
rather easy to ride on popular mood since the masses do not seek to
transform their life in to higher order and bring about a change within them
and the society. There seems to be NO PUSH from the community. Long
isolation and plantation raj system of governance have suppressed the
community from voicing their rights or concerns and deprived status. Their
popular demand will be to address their immediate needs rather than to
seek for interventions that will transform their life to higher order. On the
other hand the TUs and or political movements be it a national or regional
have not raised a discontent (except during disenfranchisement period) in
the line of development needs and political emancipation of the community.
This situation allows the political leaderships to keep riding on the PC as far

as they are estate workers and stay closed in isolation.

The second type of leadership Neville Jayaweera enunciates is the one who
is caught with a vision for a civilised society and attempt objectify it. Such
leadership will have a long vision for a transformed society embracing
rights and values. Of-course he articulates such leadership strives for
democratic values. In the case of plantation it will be democracy, growth
and development and many more dealing with basic human needs
(hierarchy of needs). There is always a gap between the vision and popular
mood that the leadership has to fight to thin the gap. For this lot of
mobilization and sacrifices are needed to achieve the vision. Absence of
such a long vision and development goal propelled by political leadership
makes the PC still weak and isolated. PC being a distinct ethnic community
with a short history of 200 years in this country suppressed over decades
suffers to get on par with other communities if not to attain a status of
developed.
Going by the status quo it is visible that there has not been a great effort to
change the political trajectory to bring about a rapid development mode
where human resources skills are developed to match with global process
and or improve human skills and social status of the estate work. The
former approach will need a comprehensive effort making the economy of
those regions of plantation with viable alternatives. In such a situation, the
importance of the plantation industry may diminish leading to reduction in
trade union action. Obviously, this may reduce the effective influence the
TU has on people and sizable income that manages the TU offices and
those employed. In such a situation TU will be replaced with Political
political movements if they are to take the lead in the transformation
emphasising the second type of the political leadership that was highlighted
in this paper. Such an initiation needs a strong vision with comprehensive
long term planning getting inputs from a cross section of expertise and civil
societies.
On the other hand, it is also better to revamp the tea industry with state
and RPCs to improve the productivity and shared returns with an
appropriate plantation management system. This shall envisage a system
that more importantly disconnect the labour and management on all
issues of social welfare, development and local governance and have only
working relations to improve the industry. This situation may continue to go
on the popular mood of the masses yet influence some positive changes
that can have an impact on the life of the plantations. Since TU will still
survive with their influence to make this change, it can still be a viable
approach to support the PC for their development though will not be the
best model.