Lahowal (Dibrugarh): The madol drums rolled through the evening air as the Karam tree stood decorated with flowers and coloured threads in the middle of the labour line at Greenwood Tea Estate in Assam’s Dibrugarh district. Women in bright sarees formed a circle, their feet moving in rhythm on the dusty ground. Among them was 15-year-old Sunita Hasda (name changed), her hair neatly tied, silver bangles clinking as she danced the traditional Jhumur. For a brief moment, under the festival lights and the open sky, she was just a carefree teenager.
Then she noticed him.
He was standing near the edge of the crowd — tall, wearing jeans and a blue T-shirt — watching her with quiet attention. Their eyes met more than once. After the dance ended, he walked towards her with a hesitant smile. They spoke for a few minutes. Before leaving, they exchanged mobile numbers.
The calls began that night.
What started as shy conversations slowly turned into hours of talking. Within months, Sunita left her home at Greenwood Tea Estate in Lahowal and eloped with the boy from nearby Dikom Sessa Tea Estate.
Months later, when she went to the tea garden hospital for an injection, members of a local women’s group noticed her visibly pregnant belly and young face. Suspicion led them to ask for her Aadhaar card. She was 16 years and 11 months old — and eight months pregnant.
There was little space left for intervention. Soon after turning 17, Sunita became a mother.
Her story is repeated quietly across upper Assam’s vast tea belt.
A Silent Crisis in the Tea Gardens
Upper Assam — particularly Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Sivasagar and Golaghat — is home to nearly 70 percent of Assam’s more than 800 tea estates. Behind the lush green plantations that fuel India’s tea industry lies a harsh social reality: high school dropout rates, alcohol addiction, poverty and early elopement among teenagers.
In many estates, arranged child marriages have reduced significantly in recent years. Instead, what has increased is teenage elopement — relationships formed through mobile phones, social media or local festivals, leading to early pregnancy and marriage-like arrangements.
“Earlier, families used to arrange early marriages. Now most cases are elopements,” said Dipali Tanti, an ICDS worker in a tea estate. “When girls fall in love, they become emotionally attached and leave home without thinking about consequences,” she said.
Alcohol: A Colonial Legacy with Damage
One of the most deep-rooted problems in Assam’s tea gardens is alcoholism.
“Parents consume alcohol, especially fathers,” said Prarthana Tanti Satnami, secretary of the women’s wing of Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) in Dibrugarh. “While mothers go to pluck tea leaves, many fathers sit at home drinking. Some die early due to excessive alcohol consumption,” she said.
Locally brewed liquor such as haria and illicit country spirit, often called sulai, is widely available in labour lines. Many families prepare and sell country-made liquor to supplement their income.
Vijay Singh, a former senior official of Assam Company India Limited, who has over 37 years of experience in the plantation industry, said alcohol use among tea workers dates back to colonial times. British planters introduced liquor to labourers to help them cope with trauma, displacement and harsh working conditions.
Today, the impact is devastating. Addiction rates remain high. Illicit and toxic alcohol has caused several mass poisoning incidents in tea gardens over the years.
“When fathers drink, they fight. Children grow up seeing daily quarrels. Many girls feel unhappy at home. They think if they go away with a boy, they will find peace,” said Dipali Tanti.
Neena Patar (name changed), 15, a Class IX student from Jalan Tea Estate, echoed this sentiment. She had eloped with a 27-year-old casual worker from a nearby tea estate.
“My father is an alcoholic. He quarrels with my mother every evening and beats me sometimes. I felt I would be happier away from that environment,” she said softly.
After intervention by the ACMS women’s group, she was brought back home and has resumed her studies.
Education Slipping Through Fingers
Poverty tightens its grip on education in tea estates.
The daily wage of a tea plantation worker is only Rs 250. For families with three or four children, survival often takes priority over schooling. When fathers spend earnings on alcohol or gambling, the financial burden falls entirely on mothers.
“Many girls drop out in secondary school. Primary schools are nearby, but high schools are far from the labour lines. Transport costs and safety concerns stop parents from sending daughters,” said Joymoti Mahato, a member of the ACMS women’s group.
Some families initially enrol children in private schools, hoping for a better future. But as expenses increase, they withdraw them. “Those children do not want to shift to government schools. Finally, they stop studying,” she added.
A study titled Child Welfare Situational Analysis in Tea Gardens in Assam by Bal Raksha Bharat found that over 63 percent of children in at least 70 tea gardens across seven districts of Assam dropped out to support their families financially. Many begin working in tea gardens as early as 11 years old.
According to the study, parents often see tea plucking as a skill that must be learned early. Poor infrastructure, a shortage of teachers, and economic hardship further discourage education.
Ashok Gowala, a teacher at Dewan Bagan Primary School near Lepetkata in Dibrugarh, said many children leave school after failing exams in high school. “They do not get guidance at home. Parents themselves are uneducated and struggling for livelihood.”
He added that children from relatively educated and financially stable families rarely drop out or elope. “Awareness and stability make a difference,” Gowala pointed out.
Mobile Phones and Peer Influence
Even in extreme poverty, mobile phones are common in tea estates, unlike in most other areas.
“Almost every boy and girl has a mobile phone now. They connect through missed calls, social media or at local events,” said Prarthana Tanti.
She estimates that about 60 percent of girls elope within the same estate or community. Inter-community marriages are rare.
“Based on our field experience and cases handled by the women’s group, we estimate that about 60 percent of girls elope within the same estate or community, while roughly 40 percent marry into other tea estates,” she said.
“When one girl elopes and appears happy, others follow. They think it is normal,” Prarthana Tanti said.
Most girls elope between 15 and 17 years of age. Boys are usually older, often between 19 and 21.
Under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA), marriage is illegal if the girl is under 18 and the boy under 21. Many couples wait until they reach legal age to avoid police cases. Some marry within days of turning 18 or 21.
In 2023, Assam saw a major crackdown against child marriage in char areas under the PCMA. However, activists note that tea garden areas did not witness a similar focused enforcement drive, despite long-standing concerns. According to several activists working in Upper Assam, political considerations may have played a role.
They argue that the ruling party enjoys a strong support base among tea garden communities, and a large-scale crackdown similar to that in char areas could have triggered social backlash and potentially affected electoral prospects.
Breaking the Chain
According to Prarthana Tanti Satnami, from 2017 to 2025, the women’s wing of ACMS has stopped at least 500 child marriages in tea estates across Dibrugarh district through counselling, family discussions and police intervention.
Rinki Tanti (name changed), 16, from Jalan Tea Estate in Dibrugarh, was one such case. A Class IX student, she eloped with a boy from Jokai, four kilometres from her home. Her father, Umesh Tanti, said friends informed him about her whereabouts. With consent from the boy’s family and intervention by the women’s group, she was brought back. She now stays with her parents and continues school.
“Earlier, people did not know the legal age of marriage. Now awareness has increased. But children grow up seeing early marriage as normal. Changing mindset takes time,” said Ashok Gowala.
Beyond Individual Choices
In the labour lines of Assam’s tea estates, early elopement is not just a story of teenage love. It is shaped by poverty, addiction, poor schooling, lack of supervision and a long history of marginalisation.
Children grow up in cramped quarters, witnessing domestic violence, financial stress and limited opportunities. For some girls, elopement feels like an escape — a promise of a different life.
But often, it leads to early motherhood, health risks and continued economic hardship.
On some evenings at Greenwood Tea Estate, the madol drums still echo across the labour lines. Younger girls gather in circles during festivals, their silver bangles flashing under strings of coloured lights. Among the women watching from the edges are those who once danced the same steps — now balancing infants on their hips, their festival nights shorter than they once imagined.
This news report is written as part of Population First’s Laadli Media Fellowship 2026.