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Background
The plantation workers were brought to the Sri Lanka by the British at the beginning of the 19th century from South India to work on the plantation sectors. Plantation companies, first British and now locally owned, were responsible for providing them social services like infrastructure, water and healthcare. Due to being highly dependent on their employers for many of their basic needs and with limited opportunities, today they have become a socially, politically and economically isolated community.
Upcountry Tamils of Indian origin in the plantation sector comprise the fourth largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka. Due to historical, economic, political and social cultural factors, they are placed in a unique position compared to other communities. The plantation community lives as an economic enclave because the system of production (tea and rubber) needs residential labour as well as emergence captive of labour.
Different language, religion, management structure and provision of basic facilities led to their social isolation 
from other communities. Lack of political bargaining power, disenfranchisement and loss of voting rights has created political segregation among them. Housing conditions, lack of space with no ventilation, access to safe water, sanitation, lack of electricity and ownership of houses are the major infrastructure problems connected with the plantation sector. As a result, there is no upward social mobility, vertical and horizontal.
Standards of living and livelihood in various political eras
Except the period 1956-1965 they faced no interference from the government and private sector plantation companies both local and foreign assumed full responsibility for the sector. Until 1963 there was no official data to find out government policies but the vibrant trade unions safeguarded working and living conditions.
In 1964 the Indo-Ceylon pact was signed between Sri Lanka and as a result of the agreement the problem of statelessness was solved by repatriation of over 500,000 plantation people to India, reducing the population from 10% to 5%. The result was political participation with restoration of voting rights to the plantation 
community, making them citizens.
Between 1970 and 1977 the passing of the Land Reform Act (1975) with the aim of nationalisation of the State resulted in the takeover of plantation schools by the Government in line with its inward-looking economic policies. In the same era the Government decentralised power by establishing district development councils and a district political authority system but did not include the plantation community.
1977-1990 was the period of economic liberalisation and the commencement of ethnic violence. When ethnic violence reached a peak in 1983, the estate community faced displacement and a lot of people went to India and to the north and east.
Trade union politics shifted to parliamentary politics and in 1977 for the first time an elected member from the community entered Parliament. As a result of these progressive political movements, equal wages for males, females and children was won by the plantation community along with stipulated 300 working days 
per year in 1984.
In 1992, 23 Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) were formed by the Government.
The Plantation Housing Social Welfare Trust was formed for the welfare of the plantation workers and in 2002 it was repositioned as the Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT).
Increased political representation and bargaining power in 1997 paved the way for ministerial portfolios and the creation of a separate ministry for the plantation sector. Although the separate ministry could facilitate more funds to reach estates, after 2010, the ministry was abolished while the sector is currently operating under the Ministry of Livestock and Community Development.
Need for development in social factors
The degree of living standards is defined by the degree of wealth, material and other comforts available to a person or a community. That basically refers to the welfare or wellbeing of a community. In a broader sense, it refers to human development which covers several areas.
Poverty (according to the minimum Calorie intake) was low in the estate sector in comparison to other sectors and basic needs at minimum level were provided by the estate management.
However, Former Secretary of the Ministry of Estate Housing, Infrastructure and Community Development, M. Vamadevan pointed out that Professor W.D. Lakshman, a prominent economist, challenged this. Prof. Lakshman argued that even though it was shown that the estate sector was consistently better placed in terms of poverty indicators than certain other sectors, a person with some awareness of the actual conditions of the resident workers would find it extremely hard to accept this. Vamadevan explained that Prof. Lakshman believed that although the statistics indicated that the plantation sector was not below the poverty line, the actual condition was very difficult to accept.
The health service in the plantation sector is provided by the estate management. “In terms of the child nutrition level according to usual indicators, the estate sector is in a worse off condition compared to other sectors. Plantation sector workers are shorter than others and their weight has some relationship to their height. However, unlike poverty, the parents’ height-to-weight ratio is not a problem that affects the child’s nutrition” he added.
Furthermore, Vamadevan revealed that when considering the 2015 Millennium Development Goals, these achievements must draw concern from the authorities. Child mortality and maternal mortality rates, access to improved water sources and improved sanitation facilities are of serious concern as far as the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals is concerned. He pointed out that ownership of the workers’ homes was promised by the Mahinda Chinthana but this has still not been implemented in the area. “Gaps exist in the provision of health services while the integration of estate health services into the government is not complete”.
Human Capability Approach
Rev. Fr. Andrew Devadson, attached to the St. Marks Church Badulla and the Christ Church Demodara, used the words of famous economist Dr. Amartya Sen to define poverty in a different way. Dr. Sen described poverty as the deprivation of capabilities and not the deprivation of income, consumption and expenditure. He believed that anyone had the capability to reach the highest level with the support of one’s environment while pointing to each person’s innate capabilities as an example.
Between 1818 and1910, the poverty levels of the plantation workers together with the widespread ill health and illiteracy contributed to create the low standard of living; a situation that still remains. He argued that the estate community was not focused upon for over a century on issues such as socio-economic development. “The government plays a part in the plantation community’s economic depravity, social depravity and political depravity.” Fr. Devadson stated that everyone has a capability of reaching a high standard of living while charging that the problems of the plantation societies can be addressed through Dr. Sen’s Human Capability Approach.
He further stated that the plantation communities are excluded from the main stream development forces of the country. “I would like to identify the plantation community as the national minority. As a national minority, they have the same rights as us to be involved in the process of development. This isolation is leading them to unavoidable poverty.
“Sen said ‘change the system then the poverty level will drop’. I think the Pathfinder Foundation will surely offer support in making a positive contribution through research in such areas in the near future. For sustainable development in the plantation community, the holistic approach must be utilised in which socio, economic and political variables are addressed simultaneously. The relevant policies must be formulated and implemented by the state.”
He said that Article 1 of the UN Declaration of the Rights to Development 1986 describes the right to development as “a comprehensive economic, social, cultural, political process. Its objective is the constant improvement of the well being of the entire population and all the individuals and the process of their active, meaningful participation for the development and the redistribution of resulting benefits.”
“But when we look at the plantation community unfortunately we do not see that they are equally standing in terms of mainstream development forces.” Fr. Devadason added.
Pradeshiya Sabha Act, local government and plantation community
Established in 1987, the Pradeshiya Sabha system focused on facilitating people participation in local administration and development and has been the local authority within such an area in charge of regulations control and administration of all matters related to the public utility services and public welfare of the people. While addressing issues on the local government service and plantation community, Fr. Devadason said, “It is very clear that there was a problem with sanitation, roads, water, waste management and public health in the plantation community. In terms of local government there is a responsibility to provide all these facilities to the all communities.”
Today there are more laws prohibiting PS services to assist the plantation sector and it is a characteristic of a rural scenario mandated to local authorities in this case.
“Our studies found the legitimate obstacles in preventing service provision from the PS system was basically down to the present PS Act which was redrafted from the previous Village Councils Act which excluded estate residents from being served by public funds,” he revealed.
At present the Act states that a Pradeshiya Sabha can only administer rural areas but estate residential areas that are part of the estate business enterprises are considered private entities while PS funds can only be spent on rural development.
There is no mandate to impose taxes on estate residents, residential buildings and their properties because those are considered built up localities belonging to estate enterprises.
“Exclusion of estate settlements from public service delivery leads to social, economic and political marginalisation of all estate communities,” he asserted.
Currently whatever services go through to the estate sector is not from the PS budget. These exclusions were prevalent before Sri Lanka gained its independence and is still seen today. Even though the PS system was established for the explicit purpose of facilitating the public’s participation in local government and local development, according to the Act, apart from voting in local government elections, the plantation people have no opportunity to participate in the management of local affairs.
Vertical mobility in youth employment instead of horizontal mobility
Those aged between15-29 years are considered as the youth population in Sri Lanka. The plantation population living in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Ratnapura and Kegalle is an estimated 800,000 but among them almost all estate youth are not actively involved in economic activities. A large percentage of them are still in school while around 93,000 are still undergoing secondary education. Around 7,000 students are currently undergoing senior secondary education which includes both GCE A/L and diploma level programs while approximately 3000 of them are in the technical colleges like the Thondaman Vocational Training College and other vocational training colleges. There is an estimate total of 250 students within the national university system.
Senior Lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka S. Chandrabose pointed out that looking at recent education statistics within the estate sector only 29% of students received pass grades for six subjects at their O/L exam while the national rate is 51%. Around 5500-6000 students entered the jobs market without any training after O/Ls. Among them, 64% failed in Mathematics, 74% failed in English, 67% failed in Science while 34% failed in their primary language which is Tamil.
“So they have to mobilise not for the high level job opportunities but for the plantation services, which is called horizontal mobilisation,” Chandrabose stated.
Estate managements are not in a position to provide employment to such a large percentage of the youth and as a result they have to work as casual workers in the estate for two years.
During this period they have to prove that they are not engaged in any type of trade union activities and not agitating against the estate management while having to accept whatever salary determined by the estate management. After two years, the management determines who would be taken into its staff.
Chandrabose said: “Estate workers have the opportunity to earn more income and connect with other sectors to find suitable jobs. Therefore youth have to find high level jobs which leads to vertical mobilisation. But they are looking at horizontal mobility and not keen on finding higher paying jobs in Colombo or elsewhere.
“Low salary jobs and low profit jobs in the estate sector are what lead to decrease of total production. Therefore, the estate youth have no way of living in the estates and will have to find suitable jobs elsewhere in the country while already a large number of youth have migrated for this purpose.”
Removing the slave mentality
The plantation community was brought to Sri Lanka from India as indentured labourers. ‘Indenture’ was a sealed agreement binding servants to their masters. The poverty-stricken and illiterate Tamils of South India were subjected to the terms of indenture and brought to Sri Lanka to work on plantations. This unfortunate community was condemned to slavery under the British, and post-independence, to the Sinhalese masters.
Ven. Baddegama Samitha Thero said “the plantation community has its own language, religion and culture but when they mobilise to the other part of the country they have to drop their own language, culture and sometimes religion because of the social enforcements from other communities. But equity is a condition through which humans have freedom and confidence to declare their identity in any social condition.”
However, he explained that the plantation communities have no equity, especially in education and employment opportunities. Many of the estate managements do not like to interfere in the education of the plantation people because they believe that they might lose the cheaper labour force through education. Samitha Thero added that he cannot accept this reality. “We made a big mistake in the past. We must offer equity in all opportunities to them like other communities. So this is the time to remove the slave mentality.”
Pix by Lasantha Kumara
