‘Plantation workers had their own understanding of Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas and the notion of ‘Swaraaj’. Support the statement

‘Plantation workers had their own understanding of Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas and the notion of ‘Swaraaj’. Support the statement.

FOR the plantation workers in Assam freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the confined place in which they were enclosed.

  • Freedom meant them retaining a link with the villages from which they had come.
  • Under the Inland Emigrations Act of 1859, plantation workers were not permitted to leave the tea gardens without permission and in fact they were rarely given permission.
  • When they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of workers defied the authorities. They left the plantations and headed home.
  • They believed that Gandhi Raj was coming and everyone would be given land in their own village.
  • They never reached their destination.