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Oct 11, 2022 11:59 AM
The British created the tea industry in India in the 1840s to counter the growing dependence on Chinese tea. What began with the great tea heist from China by Robert Fortune, a Scottish botanist, plant hunter and traveller, ultimately led to the dislocation of indigenous Lepchas from erstwhile Dorje-Ling and then the migration and oppression of Nepalis. These migrants were vital for creating engineering marvels such as the Toy Train, highways on the steep hills of Darjeeling, and the carving out of plantations on hills originally occupied by ancient forests. All this was done to quench the demand for tea back in London.