Tagged: Sylhet

Sylhet (Bangladesh): Tea workers rally for 105th anniversary of “Mulluk Chalo” movement

The Tea Workers’ Trade Union Center (TWTUC) shares this report:

Today is May 20th. On this very day in 1921, one of the most barbaric and brutal massacres in the history of the subcontinent took place at the Meghna Ghat in Chandpur. Falling victim to the cruelty of the British colonial rulers, thousands of innocent tea plantation workers lost their lives on that day.

Around the 19th century, the British rulers cleared the hilly terrains of Assam and Sylhet to establish the tea industry. To meet the labor shortage in these plantations, poor and indigenous people from regions like Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Madras in India were lured with the fictional promise of “Gaach hilayega, paisa milega” (shake the tree and money will fall). In reality, however, their lives became confined within the four walls of the tea gardens. They were given ‘tea tokens’ as nominal wages, which were entirely useless outside the plantations. Consequently, these workers were forced into a life of virtual slavery.

In 1921, after 70 long years of exploitation and torture, the daily wages of the workers were slashed to a mere 3 paisa under the pretext of a global recession. Faced with this ultimate humiliation and inspired by the passionate call of the ongoing Non-Cooperation Movement, around 30,000 tea workers simultaneously declared a rebellion. Their slogan was “Mulluk Chalo” (Let’s return to our homeland). Even though the British administration and plantation owners conspired to halt all train and steamer services, the workers set off on foot. Over the course of a long week, thousands of starving workersโ€”including women, children, and the elderlyโ€”crossed hundreds of miles to reach the Meghna Ghat in Chandpur.

On May 19th, as the workers were boarding a ship, a sudden armed assault was launched upon them, and the ship’s gangplank was removed, causing many to drown in the river. Later, during the deep state of night on May 20th, while the exhausted workers lay asleep on the platforms of the Chandpur railway station, Gurkha soldiersโ€”acting on the orders of the British administrationโ€”charged at them with unsheathed bayonets and firearms. In this indiscriminately executed genocide, the bodies of thousands of slain workers were dumped and floated away into the Meghna River. The rest were forcibly driven back into the slavery of the tea plantations.

Although there had been an indirect call from the major political parties of the time behind this movement, the only fierce protest against this atrocity was forged by the workers’ union of the ‘Assam Bengal Railway’. For the offense of staging a continuous two-and-a-half-month strike under the leadership of Deshapriya Jatindra Mohan Sengupta, nearly 5,000 railway employees were terminated from their jobs. Today, more than a century has passed. The history of the Meghna’s waters being stained with the blood of tea workers remains unwritten in our textbooks. We bear the legacy of the sacrifices made by these heroic workers who have been ignored by the pages of history. We shall fight the battle for our rights forever.

Program organized by the
Tea Workers Trade Union Centre (เฆšเฆพ-เฆถเงเฆฐเฆฎเฆฟเฆ• เฆŸเงเฆฐเง‡เฆก เฆ‡เฆ‰เฆจเฆฟเงŸเฆจ เฆ•เง‡เฆจเงเฆฆเงเฆฐ):

1. List of Tea Gardens (by District)

The poster lists various tea gardens across three major districts in the Sylhet division:

Moulvibazar District (เฆฎเงŒเฆฒเฆญเง€เฆฌเฆพเฆœเฆพเฆฐ)

  • Hamidia Tea Garden (เฆนเฆพเฆฎเฆฟเฆฆเฆฟเฆฏเฆผเฆพ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Moulvi Tea Garden (เฆฎเงŒเฆฒเฆญเง€ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Padmajhiri Tea Garden (เฆชเฆฆเงเฆฎเฆ›เฆกเฆผเฆพ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Alinagar Tea Garden (เฆ†เฆฒเง€เฆจเฆ—เฆฐ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Kaliti Tea Garden (เฆ•เฆพเฆฒเฆฟเฆŸเฆฟ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Karimpur Tea Garden (เฆ•เฆฐเฆฟเฆฎเฆชเงเฆฐ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Bijoya Tea Garden (เฆฌเฆฟเฆœเฆฏเฆผเฆพ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Muraichhara Tea Garden (เฆฎเงเฆฐเฆ‡เฆ›เฆกเฆผเฆพ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)

Habiganj District (เฆนเฆฌเฆฟเฆ—เฆžเงเฆœ)

  • Lalchand Tea Garden (เฆฒเฆพเฆฒเฆšเฆพเฆจเงเฆฆ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Chandi Tea Garden (เฆšเฆจเงเฆกเฆฟ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Ramganga Tea Garden (เฆฐเฆพเฆฎเฆ—เฆ™เงเฆ—เฆพ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Deundi Tea Garden (เฆฆเง‡เฆ‰เฆจเงเฆฆเฆฟ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)

Sylhet District (เฆธเฆฟเฆฒเง‡เฆŸ)

  • Khadim Tea Garden (เฆ–เฆพเฆฆเฆฟเฆฎ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Kalagul Tea Garden (เฆ•เฆพเฆฒเฆพเฆ—เงเฆฒ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Alibahar Tea Garden (เฆ†เฆฒเง€เฆฌเฆพเฆนเฆพเฆฐ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Daluchhara Tea Garden (เฆกเฆพเฆฒเงเฆ›เฆกเฆผเฆพ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)
  • Lalakhal Tea Garden (เฆฒเฆพเฆฒเฆพเฆ–เฆพเฆฒ เฆšเฆพ-เฆฌเฆพเฆ—เฆพเฆจ)

2. Declared Programme Details

The Tea Workers Trade Union Centre has announced a multi-day event observing a major historic milestone:

  • Occasion: The 105th Anniversary Programme of the historic “Mulluk Chalo” (Return to Homeland) Movement of May 20th.
  • Event Type: Discussion Meeting (เฆ†เฆฒเง‹เฆšเฆจเฆพ เฆธเฆญเฆพ) and Cultural Programme (เฆธเฆพเฆ‚เฆธเงเฆ•เงƒเฆคเฆฟเฆ• เฆ…เฆจเงเฆทเงเฆ เฆพเฆจ).
  • Dates: May 20 โ€“ May 22, 2026.
  • Slogan / Header: “Workers of the world, unite” (เฆฆเงเฆจเฆฟเฆฏเฆผเฆพเฆฐ เฆฎเฆœเฆฆเงเฆฐ เฆเฆ• เฆนเฆ“)

Key demands declared on the poster:

  1. The historic May 20th must be officially declared as ‘Tea Workers Day’ (เฆšเฆพ-เฆถเงเฆฐเฆฎเฆฟเฆ• เฆฆเฆฟเฆฌเฆธ) along with a paid public holiday.
  2. The history of the “Mulluk Chalo” Movement must be included in institutional textbooks.