In the picturesque yet isolated Manjolai tea estate, nestled deep within the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) of Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district, 700 families are facing the grim prospect of losing their homes, livelihoods and identity. On May 30, 2024, the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Limited (BBTCL), which had operated the Manjolai tea estate since 1929, abruptly announced its decision to cease operations. The workers, most of them Dalits, who have been residing in the estate for nearly four generations, are grappling with the looming reality of being rendered homeless and jobless by the company they worked for and the government they believed in.
“How would you feel if you were stripped of your home and identity?” was the first question that popped at us when we entered Manjolai, after a 4-hour long drive to the estate that is located 30 kms from the plains. The five villages of Manjolai, Kakkachi, Naalumukku, Oothu and Kuthiraivetti are collectively called Manjolai Estates and are located at an altitude ranging between 1,034 mtrs and 1,400 mtrs.
