Photo: Collected
Over a century ago, on May 20 in 1921, tea workers staged a revolution to return home. This is known as "Mulluke Chalo" movement. This was a bloody day in tea workers' history and still the successors today are struggling with their pay packages. On this day in 1921, hundreds of tea workers were massacred at Chandpur Launch ghat by Assam Gorkha police led by British forces.
Saturday (20 May) marks the 102nd anniversary of that horrible day.
Although the day has previously been arranged in a limited manner, it will be widely organized this time in Habiganj, the district with the second-highest number of tea estates in the country. Rallies, seminars, and cultural activities will be held in tea gardens of Chunarughat, Madhabpur, Bahubal, and Nabiganj districts.
"Chandpur Cha Bagan Panchayat" President of Chunarughat Upazila, Sadhan Santal, announced that his garden and other nearby gardens will hold a rally at 9:30am. The gathering will travel to Natmandap's Laskarpur Tea Garden for a discussion meeting.
When asked about the present condition of the tea workers, Sadhan Santal said, “Things had little changed for the tea workers since the tea estate workers’ movement in 1921. Their life in shanties is still poor, so is their pays and parks.”
The organiser of "Prateek Theatre" of Deundi Tea State, Ujjal said," Many individuals in the tea garden are unaware of their ancestor’s bloody history. Every year, Prateek Theatre commemorates the day with a range of events. An homage will be given to the Mullukke Chalo memorial sculpture in Deundi Tea State at 9:00 am today. However, this time the day will celebrated in all tea gardens."
The brutal massacre of workers took place 100 years ago. On that day in 1921, around 30,000 tea workers from Assam and Sylhet region walked for 17 days to the launch ghat in Chandpur to return to their homes in Bihar, Orissa, Madras, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. The tea workers arrived at the Chandpur launch ghat on that day with slogans of 'Mulluke Chalo', led by Pandit Ganga Dayal Dixit and Pandit Deosaran.
The exhausted and defenceless tea workers were later slain by Gorkha soldiers of the Assam Rifles. Workers who were injured in the shooting and lathi charge were cut open and dumped into the Meghna so that the bodies do not float and the genocide remains hidden from the international community. Approximately 15,000 workers were killed, according to various sources.
It should be noted that the Bangladesh Tea Workers Federation designated this day as 'Tea Workers Day' for the first time in 2008 in order to strengthen the tea workers' movement.
TDM/FMT
