What was the Inland Emigration Act of 1859? What was the notion of swaraj for the plantation workers
in Assam?
Answers
The plantation workers in Assam had their own understanding of Mahatma Gandhi and the notion of Swaraj": (a) For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the confined space in which they were enclosed. (b) Swarajmeant retaining a link the village from which they had come.According to the Inland emigration act of 1859 the plantation workers were not allowed to leave the plantation field without the permission of plantation owner,they were rarely getting such permissions, and if they tried to escape from their they were caught and brutally beaten.
Answer:
Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, plantation workers were not permitted to leave the tea gardens without permission, and in fact they were rarely given such permissions.
For the plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the confined space in which they were enclosed, and it meant retaining a link with the village from which thet had come. When they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of workers defied the authorities, left the plantations and headed home. They believed that Gandhi Raj was coming and everyone would be given land in their own villages. They, however, never reached their destination. Stranded on the way by a railway and steamer strike, they were caught up by the police and brutally beaten up.