Decline of the European Entrepreneurship in the Tea Plantation Industry: A Case a study of the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri District (1933 a 1960)

Abstract

Tea plantation industry in India was originally initiated and developed by British enterprises. The management of the estates of various Sterling and British Rupee Public Limited tea companies were vested on the British Managing Agency Houses of Calcutta. They played an important role in converting either a personal lease or proprietary estate into a public limited company. In the tea plantations, the major collieries -commanding greater capital and larger mining rights -were joint -stock firms and 89 per cent of these were controlled by Europeans, mostly British, managing agencies. With the impact of 1930's World -wide economic depression, the colonial firms fell from grace and made a hasty retreat from India. In this juncture, the European tea Companies were also affected by some acts which were implemented after the independence of India such as Minimum Wages Act (1947), Factory Act (1948), Plantation Labour Act (1951). This grave situation compelled the European planters to think whether they would retain their business in India or not? As a result the European tea companies began to shift their business in South Africa, Uganda, and Rhodesia after selling their gardens to the native Indians. Thus an attempt have been made here to draw a pen -picture on the decline of European entrepreneurship of the tea plantation industry in the tea growing areas of Bengal such as Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts.