Book on 200 Years of Assam Tea Released at Assam Book Fair

A new book argues that tea, not conquest, is why the British stayed in Assam. Dr. Ranoj Pegu released "Assam Tea: Glorious 200 Years" Friday at the Assam Book Fair.

Author Dr. Samudra Gupta Kashyap, a noted journalist, wrote the book for the Publication Board, Assam. It marks 200 years since the British recorded tea growing in Assam in 1823, the date the region's tea industry is conventionally dated from.

Kashyap's central claim, on the historical record he lays out: without tea, the British occupation of the region might have ended within years of it starting. "The British, in fact, would have gone back from Assam after flushing out the Burmese invaders in the 1820s, but for the 'discovery' of tea, which opened up a new area of enterprise and trade for the East India Company," he said.

It traces tea's global story and two centuries of impact on Northeast India, and sets out the contribution of growers who work Assam's smaller, factory-less plots.

Publication Board Secretary Pramod Kalita said: "Dr Kashyap has done a wonderful job within a short period of time by going deep into the history of tea, as well as into the all-round impact the tea industry on Assam and the region."

Sources: Assam Tribune, Sentinel Assam